Counseling and Psychology Degree Programs at William James College
William James College is a private college that specializes in psychology programs. Students who completed at least 60 credits of work at another campus can enroll in its Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Human Services, which is also open to those who have an associate degree. This program features online classes and requires that students attend at least one class every month, which the college holds on Saturdays. During the third and final year in the program, students will do an extensive practicum. Students can work with the college to choose practicum locations based on their career goals.
Graduate students can enroll in the college’s Master of Arts program, but they need to pick from one of four emphasis areas. The applied behavior analysis program focuses on working with and helping those who have personal and professional problems because they are on the autism spectrum. Those in the organizational psychology program study the effects of organization and management on others, while the school psychology program teaches looks at how counselors help students. This program features concentrations in global mental health, African and Caribbean mental health, Latino mental health and children and families of adversity. It features classes such as Lifespan Development, Preventative Mental Health in Schools and Group Process and Group Therapy. Students will also do several practicums in school settings.
Two doctoral psychology programs are also available from the college. Leadership psychology offers six concentrations, including global mental health, educational leadership, and leading non-profits and NGOs. Students will do four residency sessions in the first year, three in the second year and two in the third year. They also do practicums in their second and third years and an internship in their fourth years. The college’s clinical psychology doctoral program follows a similar format and offers concentrations in health psychology, military and veterans psychology and other areas. It takes between four and five years to complete one of these programs.
About William James College
William James College is a private college that specializes in psychology and counseling degree and certificate programs. Established in 1974 as the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, it used the practices established by William James, who was one of the early leaders in the field of psychology. Called MSPP during its early years, it originally offered programs for doctoral and graduate students. Many of those students spent a few weeks in Massachusetts each year before returning home to keep working on their degrees. To pay honor to James, the school became William James College or WJC in 2015.
WJC is one of the only schools in the nation to offer Latino studies concentrations for psychology majors. Those concentrations help students understand the issues that the Latino population faces and how to work with them. The Black Mental Health Graduate Academy is another unique program offered by the college. This program recruits African American students to increase the number of minorities working in the field. WJC now offers 12 degree programs, many of which have three or more concentrations. Around 750 undergrads and advanced students attend WJC every year.
William James College Accreditation Details
WJC has APA accreditation for its doctoral programs in clinical psychology and school psychology. It also has approval from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board for its program in applied behavior analysis. The main or regional accreditation held by WJC comes from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
William James College Application Requirements
Those applying to the college’s bachelor’s psychology program must have either an associate degree or 60 credits of college classes. They also need a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Students will complete the William James College application and the essay on the application. This essay asks students to write 500 words on how their past experiences will help them in the human services field and what they hope to do in the bachelor’s program. WJC makes application decisions on May 15 and will continue accepting students if the program has spots remaining.
Only those who have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university can enroll in the graduate psychology programs offered by the college. WJC highly recommends that students have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, though this is not a strict requirement. Students also have the option of providing a GRE score, which can help them stand out among others applying to the program.
Those applying to a doctoral program do not need a graduate degree, but they must have at least 30 credits of work beyond the bachelor’s level. WJC requires that the work applies to school psychology or a similar field. Students applying to any psychology program must submit their official transcripts to show that they have psychology backgrounds. The doctoral programs often require a resume to view the professional psychology experiences that students have.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attendance at William James College depends on the level of the program. Undergrads in the bachelor’s program pay $500 per credit hour and fees of $200 each semester. The graduate programs charge fees that range from $660 per credit hour in the criminal justice program to $1,233 per credit hour in the organizational psychology program. Organizational psychology majors in the online program pay $1,033 per credit hour. Both graduate and doctoral students pay an extra $480 each semester in fees. All of the doctoral programs charge the same tuition rate of $1,475 per credit hour.
Through the FAFSA, students can get the loans offered by the government, which include subsidized options for undergrads and unsubsidized programs for graduate and doctoral students. Advanced students can also apply for PLUS loans. The Federal Work-Study program provides students with an on-campus job and allows them to work for the college. Graduate students may qualify for an assistantship, which asks them to work for one of their professors and help them teach at least one of their classes each semester. Students receive a minimum of $1,000 for their work. More than 10 scholarships are available for graduate students, and the college awards undergrads scholarships based on their FAFSA information. With scholarships and other programs, psychology and counseling majors at William James College can more easily afford the total cost of attendance.