Candice Block, "Pleasure Poetry," 2020
Curriculum
Art Therapy and Counseling Curriculum
The 60-credit Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program provides a comprehensive education designed to prepare you for entry-level professional practice as art therapists. This is a four semester program with a 12-credit winter and summer online/low-residency component. You'll have a studio elective requirement, which serves to deepen your practice.
With a 700-hour clinical internship requirement, you'll be prepared to work as an art therapist as soon as you graduate. Clinical training will be scaffolded across both years at distinct sites to build breadth and adaptability for your art therapy practice. First year internships guide you from observation to co-facilitation, while second year internships offer greater clinical complexity and autonomy.
Review the Master of Arts in Art Therapy & Counseling curriculum and degree requirements. Note: This is information for the current academic year. Any future curricular changes will be made when the new catalog is published.
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Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for approved leaves of absence. Thesis in Progress: Students who have not submitted a finished thesis for review and approval by the end of the final semester of enrollment are given a Thesis in Progress grade (IP). All students with a Thesis in Progress grade (IP) will be charged the Thesis in Progress Fee in each subsequent full semester until the thesis is completed and approved and the grade is changed to Credit (CR). If the statute of limitations is reached without an approved thesis, the grade will be changed to No Credit (NCR).
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A minimum of 48 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 12 graduate transfer credits (from previous master's degrees) may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
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One studio elective may be taken prior to the sixth semester, including during a summer semester or winter interim, by any student wanting to complete the program in five semesters. An elective non-studio course may be substituted for one studio with the prior approval of the department chair.
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At the end of semesters I and IV, each student participates in a Professional Progress Review (PPR). The PPR is an evaluative process used to determine the student's progress in the program. It includes a self-assessment as well as evaluation by each of the student's faculty members. Satisfactory progress in the program is necessary prior to advancing to the next phase of the MA in Art Therapy and Counseling program. Serious academic or interpersonal deficiencies may result in termination from the program.
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As part of the Art Therapy Master's program internship requirement, students are obligated to meet the trainee expectations of their internship site. These requirements may include a criminal background check, drug testing, the submission of immunization records, special training, etc.
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6 credit hours for fall and spring semesters, 6 credit hours in the summer.
Take the Next Step
Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242, or gradmiss@saic.edu.