BA in Psych at UMPI Advice

[back2school89]

Hello all! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post and give me any words of wisdom/advice you may have.

I am in my early 30s and after working in the labor industry for the past decade have decided to go back to school. I previously attended community college and a state university but did not complete any degrees other than a few certificates.

Ultimate goal is to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I have already looked up requirements in my state and come up with a rough game plan.

So far it is to transfer credits over to UMPI, get their B.A in Psychology. As far as schools for a Masters go, I have not done much research yet but Liberty University's M.A in Clinical Mental Health Counseling looked promising.

I tried searching the transfer course equivalencies and one of my schools was not listed as well as courses missing from the one that was. I will go ahead and list what I have. I am assuming courses need to have a grade of C or higher to transfer (please correct me if I am wrong, I was not the most studious back in the day and and def have some C-'s and Ds )

Western Washington University 2008-2011
ANTH 102 Intro to Human Origins                                                         / 5 credits
PE 201 Perspectives of Human Lifestyle and Wellness                           / 3
PHIL 102 Intro to Logic                                                                        / 3 
PHIL 113 Intro to Philosophy of Religion                                               / 3 
C/AM 200 Intro to Canadian Studies                                                     / 5
CLST 260 Ancient Greek Literature                                                       / 4
LING 201 Intro to Linguistic Science                                                     / 5 
ENG 101 Writing and Critical Inquiry                                                      / 5
LBRL 122 The Western Tradition II: Medieval and Early Modern Europe / 5 
LING 204 Sociolinguistics                                                                      / 4
SOC 260 The Family in Society                                                             / 5
EGEO 201 Human Geography                                                              / 4
ESCI 101 Environmental Studies: A Scientific Approach                        / 3 
PHIL 114 Intro: Knowledge and Reality                                                / 3
BIO 101 Introduction to Biology w/Lab                                                / 4
EUS 210 Nomads of Eurasia                                                                 / 5
MATH 112 Functions & Algebraic Methods                                            / 5
COMM 101 Fundamentals of Speech                                                    / 4
                                                                                                           75
Bellevue College 2012-2014
PE 137 Sports Conditioning                                                                / 2
PE 267 Applied Kinesiology                                                                 / 4
HLTH 262 Personal Fitness Trainer First Aid and Athletic Training          / 5
PE 110 Life Fitness Training I                                                              / 2
PE 211 Fitness Assessment                                                                / 2
PE 236 Anatomical Kinesiology                                                           / 4
NUTR 100 Personal Nutrition                                                              / 5
PE 228 Life Fitness Internship                                                             / 1
ENGL 235 Technical Writing                                                                / 5 
GEOG 106 Intro to Hazards/Disasters                                                 / 5
PROG 109 Intro to Web Development                                               / 5
PROG 110 Intro to Programming                                                       / 5
                                                                                                         45

As far as priorities, doing this in the shortest amount of time and for the cheapest as possible. I picked UMPI for this reason, please let me know if there is a cheaper way to go.

I used to speak French close to fluently and could probably test out of that requirement as I don't have a language credit.

I have a phone call tomorrow with one of the 'reps' but from what I am assuming based on reading the forum, they will not be of any help.

Who can I contact directly at UMPI to get an idea of which classes I will need to take to obtain the degree? I have read that once you are enrolled, transferring credits over is not the easiest so I would like to get any remaining classes done that I could transfer over and save time.


I will have the option to fully devote my time to this or work part time / school part time if that flows better. Any advice here would be much appreciated. I am hoping this is doable in 2 sessions, do you think that is too tall of an order or within the realm of possibilities?

If anyone has taken the same career path, any recommendations for Masters in Clinical Psychology would be appreciated as well, do they even have competency based Masters programs?

I apologize if any of the answers were buried somewhere in the forums, did my best to use the search function but couldn't find a Final Degree Plan for this one so decided I would start my own thread.

Thanks for the read and any replies!

[rachel83az]

For French, you can take the French CLEP exam. It's free through ModernStates.org. If you can't take the CLEP exam, you'd need to complete Sophia's Spanish I instead because the ACTFL exams are currently not ACE recommended.

UMPI degree plans, including for the new Psych degree, can be found on the wiki: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

I would suggest starting a spreadsheet and using https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents to try to fit what you already have into the GEC requirements. Also, use the link on that page to see what non-YourPace classes at UMPI will fit the GEC requirements. For instance, by viewing the GEC page, it looks like your ANTH 102 class will fill GEC 5A.

Assume the rest (such as your fitness courses) will go into electives.

[dfrecore]

Contrary to popular opinion, you do not need a degree in Psych to get a MA in Clinical Counseling. Since you already have 95cr (semester-based), not a single one of which is Psych, I would just get a BLS in Management so you can use every credit possible.

Also, Western Washington University is quarter-based, so each course will be 2/3 of the credit listed (3qcr=2cr, 4qcr=2.67cr, 5qcr=3.33cr).

And, UMPI will take C-, so you should add those courses to your post. That way we'll have the entire list.

[bjcheung77]

@back2school89, Welcome to the board, you're in the Pacific Northwest!  That's a very good introduction, I see you've skipped the template and addendum but answered most of the info required there.  I still suggest reviewing the template/addendum and answering everything that's missing if possible so we can get a better overview of what you've got.  Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

There are so many options and it really depends on your variables, such as your budget, commitments, study habits and your end goal (or if similar positions are acceptable to you).  I was also thinking along the lines of doing a quick UMPI BLS with a psych minor, then laddering up to Kairos University for their MA Counseling (licensure).  Link: https://kairos.edu/academics/programs/ma...ounseling/

It really depends on your current scenario, if you're looking for a doctorate, I would go UMPI BLS with psych minor, Walden MS Psych, and then do the Kairos Doctorate Professional Counseling. As again, with more details on what you are looking at more closely as the end goal and what you bring to the table, the better we can advise you forward. Link: Doctor of Professional Counseling - Kairos University

[Jonathan Whatley]

Note that Kairos does not hold CACREP counseling accrediation, which could be an impediment to licensure in some states. There are many CACREP programs principally online including Liberty's. Kairos's marriage and family therapy master's does holds COAMFTE accreditation.

[allvia]

It is free to apply to UMPI. This is a new degree offering through UMPI' YourPace program. I would recommend you apply, send in your transcripts and see where you stand once the evaluation is done. It takes a few weeks for the evaluation, so I wouldn't wait on it based on your interest in expediting a bachelor. Report back what you learn and we can help you fill in what you can from Sophia (and other sources).

[back2school89]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I will take sometime tonight to write out my situation again via the addendum template.

Apologies I missed that the first time.

Once again really appreciate everyone's help.

[back2school89]

Attempt #2  

Your Location: Washington State, United States.
Your Age: 33
What kind of degree do you want?: B.A in Psych, to Masters in Counseling and eventually becoming a LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor). 
Budget: Have 5k saved and know I will be taking out loans for the rest, applying for aid, scholarships etc. Cheapest Possible.
Commitments: Can either commit full time or work part time and do school part time depending on how much longer it would make the whole thing take. Anyone who has experienced one or the other care to chime in? Does it help to work for a couple days to break the schooling up?
Dedicated time to study: See above^^^ Single, no family, pets etc. 
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I am hoping Bachelors <1 year and so far looks like any CACREP Masters in counseling will be ~2 years. If anyone knows of a competency based CACREP Masters in Counseling that can be completed faster please let me know. Also BA does not need to be in Pysch or at UMPI if there is a faster, cheaper way to get any BA so I can get into a Masters Program sooner.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Will apply for loans, aid etc. Also considering working at UPS part time for their 5k per year tuition reimbursement, I believe there are a few other places that offer this.

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 128 (quarter system) so x (2/3) = ~85 Semester System Equivalent? Please correct me here if wrong.

Western Washington University: 83 (quarter system) , ~55 (Semester System).
ANTH 102 Introduction to Human Origins, 5, B
PE 201 Perspectives of Human Lifestyle and Wellness, 3 B-
PHIL 102 Intro to Logic, 3 , B
PHIL 113 Intro to Philosophy of Religion , 3, B
C/AM 200 Intro to Canadian Studies , 5 , C
CLST 260 Ancient Greek Literature , 4 , C+
LING 201 Intro to Linguistic Science , 5 , B
ENG 101 Writing and Critical Inquiry , 5 , B-
HIST 113 Intro to Western Civilization 1713-Present , 4 , C-
LBRL 122 The Western Tradition II: Medieval and Early Modern Europe , 5 , C+
CLST 350 Greek Mythology , 4 , C-
LING 204 Sociolinguistics , 4 , B+
SOC 260 The Family in Society , 5 , C+
EGEO 201 Human Geography , 4 , C+
ESCI 101 Environmental Studies: A Scientific Approach , 3 , B
PHIL 114 Intro: Knowledge and Reality , 3 , C
BIOL 101 Introduction to Biology w/Lab , 4 , B
EUS 210 Nomads of Eurasia , 5 , B-
MATH 112 Functions & Algebraic Methods , 5 , C
COMM 101 Fundamentals of Speech , 4 , C 

Bellevue College: 45 (quarter system) ~30 (semester system).
PE 137 Sports Conditioning , 2 , A
PE 267 Applied Kinesiology , 4 , B
HLTH 262 Personal Fitness Trainer First Aid and Athletic Training , 5 , A
PE 110 Life Fitness Training I  , 2 , A
PE 211 Fitness Assessment , 2 , A-
PE 236 Anatomical Kinesiology , 4 , B-
NUTR 100 Personal Nutrition  , 5 , B+
PE 228 Life Fitness Internship , 1 , A
ENGL 235 Technical Writing , 5 , B+
GEOG 106 Intro to Hazards/Disasters , 5 , A-
PROG 109 Intro to Web Development , 5 , A
PROG 110 Intro to Programming , 5 , A

That about sums it up. My only other question is a few of the previous classes I took were online and they were pretty easy. Otherwise as for in person classes, I didn't really go to class that much which is reflected in some of my grades. How are the courses and workload compared to that of a regular institution? I am older now and wont really have any distractions (partying, socializing , extracurriculars, just being in your 20s and navigating life), is this doable for a person of average intelligence?

Hopefully I provided enough info for 2nd go around. Thank you for your help in advance.

[bjcheung77]

Note that Kairos does not hold CACREP counseling accrediation, which could be an impediment to licensure in some states. There are many CACREP programs principally online including Liberty's. Kairos's marriage and family therapy master's does holds COAMFTE accreditation.

WA State doesn't require the programmatic/secondary accreditation, it's a good to have but not needed. To be on the safe side, search for programs in your state to see or even search both the CACREP, COAMFTE for programs that are entirely online and check their requirements. I would also contact your state licensing to be extra safe and verify they do not need CACREP program to become licensed, you can also check with the institutions that peak your interest.

Here's a web page with more details: https://www.counselingwashington.com/Fin...ification/
Click the Licensing Requirements Link: https://doh.wa.gov/licenses-permits-and-...nformation

[dfrecore]

For the UMPI BLS/Mgmt, I'd guess that you need the following:

Sophia
Ethics
Spanish I
Am Govt
Psych (I think)
Sociology (I think)

UMPI
English Comp 2
Hands-on art

You are short credits because of the conversion, so you need some things that will fit in the GEC, even though you have some things covered, which is why I suggested Psych and Soc.

Then you'd need to complete 6 courses in the major and the 2 above, plus 2 UL courses in something (I think there's a certain number of UL you need to do).

For the UMPI BA in Psych, you still need those things, and then Stats, 3 SDC pscyh courses, and then you'll have 12 courses to take at UMPI, including the practicum, which may be difficult to do.