Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS)

Mental Health Counseling (30 credit hour minimum)

The CAGS in Mental Health Counseling is designed for students who are practicing counselors and do not possess a 60 credit master’s degree in counseling or related field and need a CAGS to apply for licensure in Massachusetts as a Mental Health Counselor (CMR 262).

View CAGS Mental Health Counseling Program of Studies

Admission Requirements for CAGS in Mental Health Counseling

  • A master’ degree in counseling, which has included an applied counseling internship with clinical supervision.
  • 3.25 cumulative average in the master’s program.
  • Three letters of recommendation at least one of which should be from a supervisor who has knowledge of the applicant’s counseling activities.
  • Successful experience in a counseling capacity demonstrated by at least one year of full time employment as a counselor.
  • Final applicants will be required to interview with a faculty member.  Admissions Day is held on the third Friday of March and the third Friday of November each year.
  • A completed application including a five-hundred word personal statement that presents a synthesized, integrated, and self-reflective description of the applicant's career goals as they relate to mental health counseling.

Students accepted in the CAGS in Mental Health Counseling will meet with a faculty advisor and design a program based on the current requirements for licensure in Massachusetts. The program will compliment previous Master's level coursework but must include research, a practicum, an internship and a comprehensive examination. The program must be a minimum of thirty graduate credits.

Application Deadlines

Students must submit a completed application with supporting materials by October 1st for the spring semester and February 1st for the summer and fall semesters.  All newly accepted students are required to attend a new student orientation session.  Students who do not attend a session in the semester that they are accepted for admission will have a registration hold put on their account.  Upcoming dates have been scheduled as follows:  Spring 2012 - Thursday, May 10, 2012, and Tuesday, May 15, 2012, both from 5-6:30 p.m.; and Fall 2012 - Tuesday, December 11, 2012, Thursday, December 13, 2012, and Tuesday, January 15, 2013, all from 5-6:30 p.m.

Download Application for Admission (pdf)

For additional information, contact either:

College of Graduate Studies
Maxwell Library
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater, MA 02325
gradschool@bridgew.edu
(508) 531-1300

Counselor Education
Kelly Gym, Rm 104
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater, MA 02325
(508) 531-2836

Last Modified: December 9, 2011