Yeshiva University Counseling Programs
Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology delivers counseling degrees at Yeshiva University through two distinct master’s programs. The 60-credit MA in Mental Health Counseling prepares you for licensure as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York State. The program is over 15 years old and was one of the first such programs in New York. The curriculum combines theoretical foundations with practical applications of psychological counseling. You must complete a minimum of 600 supervised field placement hours before graduation.
The school also offers a 60-credit MS in Marriage and Family Therapy, which qualifies graduates for licensure as LMFT in New York State. This program requires 300 client contact hours of supervised fieldwork before graduation. Both programs respond to the field’s growing needs. Mental Health Counseling is expected to grow at a rate of 25% from 2019 to 2029 and will outpace typical career growth by three times.
You can choose from multiple delivery formats for your studies. The traditional on-campus option meets at the Bronx campus during designated times. The live virtual classroom format allows you to complete coursework entirely on Zoom without commuting. Ferkauf launched an “Anytime Online” program that provides flexible asynchronous learning for about 75% of coursework recently, with five clinical instruction courses requiring live virtual meetings.
Faculty members are practicing clinicians with extensive experience in their fields. The programs maintain partnerships with community mental health centers, hospitals and agencies throughout New York City. These offer diverse clinical experiences in populations and settings of all types. Psychology majors at Stern College and Yeshiva College can complete both their BA in Psychology and MA in Mental Health Counseling in just 5 years instead of the traditional path.
What counseling programs does offer?
Ferkauf offers three distinct yeshiva university degrees in counseling and psychology. The school operates a PsyD in School-Clinical Child Psychology Program that combines school and clinical psychology training, beyond the master’s programs.
The Mental Health Counseling curriculum spans 60 credits across two years. Year I courses have Basic Principles of Counseling, Developmental Psychology, and Ethics & Issues in Professional Practice during the fall semester. You’ll also take Counseling Skills Development. Spring coursework covers Assessment and Appraisal of Individuals, Couples, Families and Groups. You’ll study Psychopathology: Child, Adolescent & Adult and Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Counseling. A Counseling Practicum that has a detailed exam requirement wraps up the year.
Year II advances your training. You’ll take courses like Advanced Issues in Mental Health Counseling and Principles in Group Counseling. Statistics, Research and Program Evaluation round out the fall. The spring semester brings Lifestyle & Career Development Counseling and Concepts and Techniques in Mental Health Counseling. Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling completes the coursework. MHC Internship I and II run throughout the second year.
The masters in marriage and family counseling needs 51 core credits. Required courses span Theoretical Foundations of Marriage and Family Therapy and Couples and Family Counseling. You’ll study Family Law and Couples in Crisis. Students complete Counseling with Children and Adolescents and Assessment & Appraisal of Individuals, Couples, Families & Groups. Principles in Group Therapy is also required.
The PsyD program needs approximately 3,500 hours of externship and internship experiences in educational and mental health settings throughout the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. Students receive dual exposure to Cognitive Behavioral and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Required didactic courses and year-long practica provide this training. The American Psychological Association grants the program ten-year accreditation as a Combined Clinical-School Psychology Program.
Internships/Practicum at Yeshiva
Hands-on clinical training is the foundation of graduate preparation for counseling degrees of all types at Yeshiva University. The Mental Health Counseling program mandates 600 supervised field placement hours before graduation. You bear responsibility to locate and secure your placement site, though the Program Director and MHC Faculty provide assistance throughout this process. A directory listing past graduate placement sites is available on the website and includes locations where Ferkauf maintains formal affiliations.
Your field placement must include supervision from a licensed mental health professional—a Psychologist, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, or Licensed Clinical Social Worker—who commits to provide at least one hour of clinical supervision weekly. The New York Metropolitan area offers abundant opportunities for mental health professions. You can pursue sites beyond the directory listings.
The PsyD in Clinical Psychology extends training across multiple years at prestigious New York area facilities. Students complete three years of practicum experiences at varied sites and couple them with four years of training at the Parnes Clinic, the university’s on-site clinical facility. The program has achieved a 97% match success rate to APPIC internship sites in the last decade. Graduates get licensure in their practicing states at an equally impressive 97% rate.
The externship sequence requires three separate placements during your second, third, and fourth years. Each externship spans 10-12 months at no less than two full workdays weekly and accumulates approximately 500-600 hours per placement. You complete 1,500-1,800 total hours under psychologist supervision before advancing to your pre-doctoral internship.
The culminating full-time pre-doctoral internship occurs after coursework completion. You accumulate between 1,500-1,750 hours working a minimum of 35 hours weekly for 10-12 months. New York State licensure regulations credit only 1,750 maximum pre-doctoral internship hours, even if you complete additional time.
What sets Yeshiva University apart?
Several factors distinguish counseling degrees at Yeshiva University within the competitive landscape of graduate psychology education. The university holds national rankings in multiple specialties, including #127 in Clinical Psychology, #180 in Psychology, and #77 in Social Work. Faculty members bring expertise from active clinical practice and share real-life experience that goes beyond theoretical knowledge. This network advantage is especially valuable in New York City, where alumni occupy positions in business, medicine, and non-profit sectors.
Employment outcomes reflect the program’s effectiveness and connections. 90% of Mental Health Counseling graduates secure their first positions by graduation. Within six months of completing their degrees, 95% find employment. These results come from partnerships Ferkauf maintains with the Yeshiva University Counseling Center and extensive field placement networks.
The Advanced Certificate in Pastoral Counseling stands out as a distinctive offering. Yeshiva University developed this program through partnership with the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). The New York State Education Department gave it official registration. As one of the first initiatives serving the Orthodox community, it provides rabbis in training with 18 graduate-level credits in mental health counseling, psychopathology, crisis intervention, and loss and bereavement.
The curriculum approach emphasizes diversity, social justice, and equity values. Students train with individuals from various backgrounds and learn from leading mental health professionals. The New York State Education Department approved the program as a licensure-qualifying program that meets requirements for LMHC credentialing.
Next steps
Applications for the Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy programs require submission by February 15 for fall admission. You must submit a $500 tuition deposit by April 15 after acceptance to secure your place in the incoming class. The online Mental Health Counseling format accepts applications on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Contact the admissions team at ferkaufmasters@yu.edu or 646.592.4380 for on-campus and live virtual cohorts. The online format requires reaching out to Jozette Kauffman at jozette.kauffman@yu.edu or 646.592.6687. Information sessions occur via Zoom on scheduled dates and let you explore program details before applying.
Current undergraduates pursuing the BA/MA pathway must notify the Pathways coordinator at pathways@yu.edu and submit applications by December 1 of junior year. This accelerated track requires approval from your undergraduate Psychology Department Chair by the end of sophomore year.
MA students gain guaranteed interviews when applying to Ferkauf’s doctoral programs after degree completion. All graduate credits earned at Ferkauf transfer to doctoral programs, though the doctoral sequence still requires five years due to lock-step coursework requirements. Limited scholarship funds become available after your first year, around $2,000 annually.