Integrative Counselling BA (Hons) Top-up Degree

Key features

• An innovative, fascinating and up-to-date programme which will allow students to develop an impressive professional portfolio of skills to take into employment and enhance their career.
• Participants can develop their counselling knowledge and skills in a specialist area, design a research proposal on a chosen area and undertake a negotiated work based learning project of their choice.
• Encourages a wider view of integrative counselling in the 21st century, including the exciting developments in the present and future of the profession.
• Includes experiential and theoretical learning in a unique classroom setting, with outstanding individual support from our highly experienced teaching team.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

To be eligible for this course you must:

Possess a Foundation Degree (FdA) Counselling award at Levels 4 and 5, meeting BACP supervised practice requirements of 100 hours minimum, or equivalent. Applicants not meeting this requirement will be individually assessed by the Programme Leader to determine their ability to study at level 6, and must provide evidence of a counselling qualification which:

• included at least 400 tutor contact hours
• had a training duration of at least 2 years
• had a supervised placement of at least 100 counselling hours
• covered theory, skills, professional issues and personal development

Students pursuing this route will be set an academic challenge to submit a case study and reflective statement of learning, which will be assessed against FdA level 5 learning outcomes and FHEQ level 5 descriptors. This will be assessed by the BA Course Leader, and applicants will also be asked to attend an interview

MBACP status (qualified counsellor and Registered member of the BACP)

Students entering the programme must be qualified counsellors and must enter the programme with current counselling practice in place. The practice will be assessed by the college placement coordinator once the course has started, for suitability as an approved placement. 

Admissions/selection criteria

An offer of a place on the course will depend upon the entry criteria described above and a successful interview.

Interview

The interview is an important part of the selection process, and applicants will need to demonstrate the criteria listed below in order to be offered a place. Interviews consist of participation in a group interview and also at an individual interview. The interviews are held by Registered Lecturers associated with the course of study.

Applicants successful at interview will have the professional and personal qualities for counselling training, as well as a good understanding of the expectations and commitments of the training. Strong relational and communication skills are essential, along with maturity, self-awareness and self-reflective ability, and the ability to engage with the academic requirements of the programme. Applicants will need to show the confidence and enthusiasm required to successfully negotiate a work based learning opportunity, and a clear idea of the area of specialism they wish to develop. Applicants also need to be at the right time in their own lives to be able to engage fully with this highly demanding training.

Other information

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) / Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL):

Entering the BA programme though RPEL:

We recognise that many counsellors trained on programmes that were not validated at Level 5, and therefore are not able to meet the entry criteria for our BA (Hons) Degree in Integrative Counselling. The RPEL assessment process is intended to provide an opportunity for qualified and experienced counsellors to apply for a place on the programme, when the standard Level 5 entry requirement cannot be met. Please note that Iron Mill College Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling graduates will be eligible to apply for this course.

Further RPL information:

Applicants can claim academic credit for relevant previous study or learning experiences ("prior learning"). If you can demonstrate that you have already achieved learning which is equivalent to one or more modules, or to a whole year or level of study, relating to the course you wish to apply for at the University of Worcester, then you may make a claim for recognition of that prior learning. This applies to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Claims are not automatic; they have to be assessed by the University. Claims should be agreed at the point of entry to a programme, and are normally discussed and assessed alongside the application process. If your claim is successful it means that you do not have to take the modules for which credit has been awarded, or you may be able to enter directly to a higher level of study or into the second or third year of a course.

There are three forms of recognition of prior learning:

• Credit transfer - recognition of credit or qualification at HE level (4 or above) awarded by a UK higher education degree-awarding body in accordance with the relevant higher education qualifications framework;
• Recognition of prior certificated learning - (such as professional development awards or employment-based awards) which is a higher education level but which has not led to the award of credits or qualifications positioned on the relevant higher education qualifications framework;
• Recognition of prior experiential or informal learning.

Details of how to apply for RPL, and the relevant forms, can be found on the University of Worcester's applications web page.

Students will be required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate via the University following acceptance of a place on the course.

Applying through UCAS

Integrative Counselling BA: 52B8

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.