Independent Study

Students must have completed the Foundations of Biblical Counseling Certificate prior to March 2023. Please plan accordingly for the July 2022, October 2022, and January 2023 terms.

Only the following courses will be eligible for Independent Study:

• Counseling Problems and Procedures (CPP)
• Counseling and Physiology (CPH)
• Marriage Counseling (MCO)
• Theology and Secular Psychology (TSP)
• Counseling Observation-Emlet (OBS-E)
• Counseling Observation-Welch (OBS-W)

Any other courses toward the Topics in Biblical Counseling Certificate (Topics Certificate) and/or the Counseling Skills and Practice Certificate (Skills and Practice Certificate) need to be completed during the remaining July 2022, October 2022, and January 2023 terms. Please see here for the schedule and important dates.

Given the nature of the courses and assignments, the following courses will not be available for Independent Study:

• Counseling Children and Adolescents (CCA)
• Counseling Abusive Marriages (CAM)
• Protecting the Vulnerable (PTV)
• Case Study Seminar (CSS)

Eligible students must only have 2 or less courses remaining in order to complete the Topics Certificate and/or the Skills and Practice Certificate.

• For example: only 2 courses left to complete the Topics Certificate; or only 2 courses left to complete the Skills and Practice Certificate; or 1 course left for the Topics Certificate and 1 course left for the Skills and Practice Certificate.

In order to be considered for the Independent Study option, students will need to complete an application for eligibility (see below). This application will close October 7, 2022. We will review applications on a rolling basis and let students know if they are eligible for the Independent Study as decisions are made.

• Students will be given access on the March 2023 course access date (March 13, 2023), and have a total of 8 months to complete course assignments. November 18th, 2023, will be the very last day to turn in any assignments.
• Students can complete assignments at their own pace within the 8-month time period. All assignments will be graded, but if students would like to receive feedback on assignments, there will be 3 feedback dates to submit certain assignments by (June, September, and December). If those assignments are submitted by the feedback date, the course OI will provide feedback on those corresponding assignments. This may be helpful for students who want feedback before completing subsequent assignments.
• There will not be any discussion boards or live meetings for any Independent Study courses.
• All Independent Study courses will be Pass/Fail. If you are hoping to have any coursework count toward credit at an accredited educational institution, we recommend checking with that institution about whether they accept coursework for courses that are Pass/Fail.
• The course costs will remain the same. View costs here.

If you believe that you are eligible and would like to be considered for Independent Study, please complete the eligibility application.