The Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University upholds the highest standards of the profession. While it is not eligible for consideration in the national rankings of counseling programs because it has no doctoral level program, it is widely regarded as one of the best master’s degree programs. Evidence to support that claim is multifaceted and includes accreditation decisions, awards received, faculty leadership and service, caliber and community involvement of graduate students, pass rate and scores on national licensing exams, reputation of graduates with employers and doctoral programs, and testimonials from other counselor educators.
History of the Program
Dr. Thomas Elmore began the program in the late 1960’s. It started as the Counselor Education Program and was embedded in the Department of Education. Though it had humble beginnings, the program soon grew, expanding to offer a 45-48 semester hour degree with various tracks in the 1980’s.
Since 2000, the program has continued to change and grow. The Vienna Theorists was first offered as an elective overseas course at the Flow House in Vienna, Austria in 2001. The Masters degrees in School Counseling and Community Counseling (which later became Clinical Mental Health Counseling) increased to 60 semester hour degrees in 2002. In 2003, the Counselor Education Program separated from the Department of Education to become the Department of Counseling.
Since becoming its own department, the department has added additional degree options. The MDiv/Counseling Dual Degree was approved in 2006 with the first dual degree students entering the department in 2008 after completing two years of coursework in the Divinity School. An Undergraduate minor as well as our Part-time Online Masters Degree were added to the department’s offerings in 2012.
The Department of Counseling would be nothing without the people who have directed and guided the department through the years. It has been influenced by notable counselor educators such as Thomas Elmore, Donna Henderson, John Anderson, Pamela Karr, Debbie Newsome, and Sam Gladding. Many of our current faculty members worked alongside and were educated by some of these faculty members and are now carrying the torch lit by these visionaries and others.
Accreditation Decisions
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Board of Directors has awarded the WFU School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Programs reaccreditation for eight years through October 2026. The WFU Program was one of the first to apply for reaccreditation under the new 2009 standards. The Department also successfully passed two strenuous reviews by accreditation entities NCATE, NCDPI and received good reviews from University Internal and External Review Boards. The External reviewer wrote in his report: “this counseling program is most likely the best master’s degree program in counseling in the United States.”
CACREP awarded the part-time, online delivery of the WFU School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health programs with accreditation through October 2026. The Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has also approved the part-time, online delivery of the WFU School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health programs.
Pass Rate and Scores on National Counselor Exam
Since 1996 when the WFU Counseling Program became CACREP accredited, well over 90% of the graduating students sitting for the exam have passed the National Counselor Exam.
Counseling Podcasts
The Counseling Department produces a regular podcast series to highlight the research of its faculty, and to talk about various aspects of the Counseling program. Take a listen to one episode below or visit our Podcast page to hear more.