The new Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology in Chinese (MCPC) program at Sofia University creates an opportunity for students in China to learn the art and science of becoming effective mental health providers. This two-year Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology degree integrates Western clinical theory and current approaches to individual, couples, and family therapy. In addition, given Sofia University’s illustrious history as a leading transpersonal institution, this holistic clinical program uniquely considers the whole person and explores the capacity for growth and transformation. After completing the MCPC degree, students will display confidence in identifying and assessing for the full spectrum of clinical considerations, including ethics, diagnosis, and treatment while serving clients and ultimately supporting their local community.
索菲亚大学全新的 MCPC 课程为中国学生提供了学习如何成为高效心理健康从业者的机会。本课程为期两年，授予心理咨询硕士（Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology）学位，融合西方临床理论与当代个体、伴侣及家庭治疗方法。作为全球领先的跨个人心理学学府，索菲亚大学的这一临床课程独具特色，不仅关注人的整体发展，还深度探索成长与转化的潜能。完成 MCPC 学位后，学生将具备专业自信，能够全面评估并应对伦理、诊断及治疗等临床核心要素，在服务来访者的同时，为当地社区提供有力支持。
Fall Start Date: | September 29, 2025 |
|---|---|
Winter Start Date: | January 12, 2026 |
Spring Start Date: | April 6, 2026 |
Program Length: | 2 Years |
Total Number of Units: | 42 |
Tuition Cost: | $59,670 |
Estimated Total Cost: | $4,025 |
Format: | Primarily online learning, with one MANDATORY in-person seminar each year |
Key Program Highlights:
Forge a professional pathway as an informed, holistic mental health provider.
We are enthusiastic to support your interest in serving others as a mental health professional through our transformative clinical education. As an academic institution that has always valued a whole-person approach to learning, the Master’s in Counseling Psychology in China (MCPC) at Sofia University engages students through intellectual, emotional, and creative work to ensure an educational experience that is as personally meaningful as it is professionally rigorous. Students will commit to a journey of psychological exploration, assimilating clinical theory and skills to support clients while equally practicing critical self-reflection to support greater self-awareness and personal growth.
打造专业成长之路，成为兼具深度与广度的心理健康服务者。
我们致力于帮助您实现投身心理健康领域的理想，并通过变革性的临床教育支持您的成长。作为倡导全人教育的学术机构，索菲亚大学中国心理咨询硕士项目（MCPC）融合理性思维、情感体验与创造力培养，确保学习过程既富有个人意义，又严格符合专业标准。
在这里，学生将踏上一场深度心理探索之旅，不仅系统掌握临床理论与实践技能，为来访者提供专业支持，同时通过批判性自我反思，深化自我觉察，促进个人成长。
Foundational Clinical Education
Foundational clinical education reflecting multiple domains of competency, including practical skills, ethics, diversity, and evidence-based practice.
Diverse Theoretical Approaches
Learn and apply a range of clinical and transpersonal theories, principles, and practices.
Experiential & In Person Learning
Engage in meaningful self-reflection and group work, including creative expression assignments and contemplative practices. MANDATORY attendance and participation in two (2) in-person seminars in China. The MCPC seminar is held once per year for three (3) days.
Expand Professional Identity
Develop in your role as a mental health provider through personal reflection, interpersonal exchange with classmates, and connection with experienced clinical faculty.
Flexible Career Pathways
Choose your preferred path as a psychology professional, focusing on either a clinical practicum experience or a research-based thesis.
Advanced Clinical Expertise
Integrate advanced clinical skills into your practice, including assessment and diagnosis, clinical documentation, trauma and crisis, addiction, career development, and suicidality.
Career Outcomes:
- Recognized Certifications to Meet Industry Requirements: Upon completion, outstanding students will earn a master’s degree in counselling psychology and receive a supervised internship certificate signed by a well-known psychological supervisor in China, fulfilling key industry requirements for both academic background and clinical training hours.
- Strong Practical Support through Internship Bases: The university has established internship partnerships with top universities and Class-A hospitals, offering students structured opportunities to accumulate supervised and counseling hours, enhancing their professional readiness.
- Aligned with Industry Trends, with Strong Market Demand: Compared to developed countries, China’s psychological services sector is still emerging, with a significant shortage of qualified professionals. Demand is growing rapidly, especially among middle to upper income families in major cities. This presents a promising career outlook for future practitioners.
- Flexible Career Paths with Opportunities for Personal Growth: In addition to full-time roles, psychological counseling can be pursued as a part-time career or personal interest, offering flexibility, personal development, and additional income, ideal for individuals with existing careers.
Overview of Sofia University’s Counseling Psychology Program
Learn about the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology (MACP & MCPC – Global College) program at Sofia University in this informative video featuring Program Chair, Jennifer Crane and Faculty member Adrian Eraslan. They discuss the program’s structure, its cohort-style learning, and the supportive environment that fosters both personal growth and professional development. The program emphasizes a transpersonal approach to counseling, integrating hands-on training and evidence-based practices to prepare students for meaningful careers in mental health. With a focus on collaboration and community, students gain the skills, confidence, and perspective needed to make a real difference in the lives of others. Whether you are looking to advance your career or deepen your personal understanding, this program offers a holistic and transformative experience.
Learning Outcomes:
Here’s what you can expect to walk away from this program with…
Summarize, compare, and evaluate a broad range of theories, perspectives, methods, and research findings, including those of systems theory and transpersonal psychology, used in the field of counseling psychology.
Apply counseling psychology theories, perspectives, methods, and research findings to important human problems and case examples.
Communicate and collaborate effectively as a mental health provider, integrating a transpersonal stance into potential service within a variety of mental health settings and with a diverse set of clients and colleagues.
Reflect upon their own whole-person development, including growth in mind, body, self-development, creativity, and community, and identify opportunities for continuing personal and professional development.
Apply the ethical and professional values of a mental health provider across mental health settings and interactions.
MCPC 课程学习成果
理论掌握与评估 —— 总结、比较并评估心理咨询领域中的多种理论、视角、方法及研究成果，包括系统理论与超个人心理学的应用。
理论实践应用 —— 将心理咨询理论、方法及研究成果运用于重要的人类问题及具体案例分析中。
专业沟通与协作 —— 作为心理健康服务者，具备有效的沟通与协作能力，并在多元心理健康环境中整合超个人心理学视角，为不同背景的来访者及同事提供服务。
全人发展与自我反思 —— 关注自身在心智、身体、自我发展、创造力及社区参与等方面的成长，并识别持续个人与职业发展的机会。
伦理与专业实践 —— 在各类心理健康环境与专业互动中，践行心理健康服务者的伦理规范与职业价值观。
The MCPC curriculum is a two-year, full-time online educational experience with in-person learning opportunities that instills clinical competence in the counseling profession while supporting students’ personal growth, professional development, and potential for transformation. The first quarter introduces students to systemic therapy, a foundational approach to serving any client in the context of their upbringing and community, as well as providing a rich introduction to the transpersonal stance honoring an expansive, multidimensional range of human experience. Following this foundation, students will engage with psychological theories of human development from birth through elderhood, as well as the implications of self-development throughout one’s lifetime. Moving into clinical applications, students next begin to learn and practice individual and group counseling skills, account for ethical considerations, and explore assessment of client experience based on diagnostic criteria of mental distress and disorder. In the second year, students expand upon their cultural awareness and enhance their ability to integrate contemplative practices into therapeutic work. The etiology and presentation of trauma is then addressed, deepening students’ ability to manage a range of client issues and assess for underlying, unprocessed wounding of varying degrees. Students will learn how to engage in research and connect with current mental health trends, and they will sharpen their scholarly writing while practicing clinical documentation. The implementation of psychological assessment and testing through formal instruments will be addressed, and students will enhance their counseling skills with children, in work with couples and partnerships, and with clients in need of support for career development. As part of the program, there is MANDATORY attendance and participation in two (2) in-person seminars in China. The MCPC seminar is held once per year for three (3) days and is required given the experiential nature of this program. To complete the program, synthesizing their personal growth, professional development, and areas of transformation, students will engage in a final capstone project involving either a formal thesis or a documented fieldwork experience in their community.
MCPC课程是为期两年的全日制教育项目，旨在培养学生在心理咨询领域的临床能力，同时促进他们的个人成长、职业发展和转变潜力。在第一学期，学生将学习系统性治疗方法，这一方法关注客户的成长背景和社区环境，为任何客户提供服务的基础。同时，学生将接触到超个人视角，尊重人类经历的广泛性和多维性。随后，学生将深入学习人类从出生到老年期的发展心理学理论，并探讨个人发展对个体一生的影响。进入临床应用阶段后，学生将学习并实践个人和团体咨询技巧，关注伦理问题，并根据精神困扰和障碍的诊断标准评估客户的体验。第二年，学生将进一步提升文化意识，并加强将冥想实践与治疗工作相结合的能力。课程将深入探讨创伤的病因和表现，增强学生识别并处理客户未被处理的创伤问题的能力。同时，学生将学习如何进行研究并与当前心理健康趋势保持联系，提升学术写作能力并实践临床文档工作。课程还将涵盖心理评估和测试的实施，学生将提升与儿童、夫妻、合作伙伴以及需要职业发展支持的客户的咨询技能。作为该项目的一部分，必须参加并参与两（2）次在中国举办的线下研讨会。MCPC 研讨会每年举办一次，每次时长三（3）天，鉴于该项目的体验性质，此项为必修内容。为完成学业，学生将综合个人成长、职业发展和转变经历，参与最终的顶点项目，完成一篇正式论文或在社区中进行的实地工作经验的记录。
Curriculum:
To receive a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology in Chinese (MCPC) degree, students must successfully complete a minimum of 42 units. The following are specific degree requirements:
要获得超个人心理学硕士学位，学生必须成功完成至少 42 个学分,成绩平均为3.0 或更高。以下是具体的学位要求：
30 units in Required Courses (Foundational & Core) completed with B or higher grades. 30 必修课程学分,成绩为B 或更高。
- 2 in-person seminars in China (2 units each, 4 units total) ) 中国两次线下研讨会（每次2学分，共4学分）
For the Research Pathway (12 units) 研究方向（12学分）:
10 units of electives (including 4 units from the in-person seminars) ) 选修课程共10学分（其中包括线下研讨会的4学分）
2 units of capstone courses 2学分的顶点课程
Capstone Project: Final Research Thesis 顶点项目：最终研究论文
For the Practicum Pathway (12 units) 实习方向（12学分):
4 units of electives (completed through the in-person seminars) 选修课程4学分（通过线下研讨会完成）
8 units of practicum courses 实习课程8学分
Capstone Project: Practicum Fieldwork Experience 顶点项目：实习现场工作经验
- Introduction to Transpersonal Counseling 超个人咨询导论
- Human Development Across the Lifespan 人类一生的发展
- Self Development Across the Lifespan 本我一生的发展
- Theories of Personality: Cross-Cultural Perspectives 人格理论： 跨文化视角
- Introduction to Systemic Therapy: Counseling Individuals & Families 系统疗法入门： 个人与家庭咨询
- MCPC Seminar in China 1 中国MCPC研讨会
- MCPC Seminar in China 2 中国MCPC研讨会
- Psychopathology: Depression, Anxiety, & Suicidality 精神病理学： 抑郁症、焦虑症和自杀倾向
- Assessment & Testing in Counseling 咨询中的评估与测试
- Counseling Principles and Practices 咨询原则与实践
- Ethics & Legal Practices in Counseling Psychology 道德和法律在咨询心理学中的实践
- Group Counseling: Theory & Practice 团体咨询：理论和实践
- Scholarly Research & Writing 学术研究&写作
- Trauma and Crisis 创伤与危机
- Counseling Skills I: Children & Adolescents 咨询技巧I： 儿童与青少年
- Counseling Skills II: Couples and Committed Partnerships 咨询技巧II： 夫妻和承诺的伙伴关系
- Introduction to Practicum: Clinical Training Preparation 实习导论：临床培训准备
- Practicum 1 实习 1
- Advanced Clinical Supervision 高级实训督导
- Thesis 1: Introductory Phase 论文1: 导论
- Thesis 2: Working Phase & Completion 论文2:完成写作
Elective Courses (10.0 units Research Pathway OR 4.0 units Practicum Pathway)
- Indigenous Psychotherapy Methods
- Career Counseling
- Mind-Body Integration Techniques
- Mindfulness-based CBT
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-focused Brief Therapy
- Addiction: Social Implications and Recovery
- Meditation & Mindfulness in Counseling
- Breathwork in Counseling
**Subject to change 课程内容可能根据实际情况进行调整
To graduate from Sofia University with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology in Chinese, a student must:
1) Complete all course requirements successfully
2) Complete a minimum of 42 units
3) Complete the capstone for their selected path:
(a) Research Pathway
or
(b) Practicum Pathway
4) Pay all tuition and fees
5) Adhere to Sofia University’s policies and procedures
e) Total units for the degree: 42 units
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
The MACPC program requires applicants to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Associate degrees are currently not eligible unless otherwise specified.
- Applicants who graduated from Chinese institutions must provide a CHSI verification report. For degrees obtained before 2002, a photocopy of the diploma and a graduation certificate may be accepted as proof.
- Applicants with foreign degrees must submit official academic transcripts
While a background in psychology is helpful for success in the program, it is not required. Applicants with unrelated majors may be required to complete 3–6 credits of prerequisite coursework. If you have prior exposure to psychology through coursework, internships, self-study, or certifications, you may submit supporting materials to demonstrate foundational knowledge.
There is no minimum work experience required, and psychology-related work is not mandatory. Applicants from any background including those new to the field or transitioning from other industries are welcome to apply. The admissions team will focus on your motivation and readiness to study counseling psychology.
- If you choose the online bilingual study mode, English test scores are not required.
- If you plan to study in person in the U.S. under an F-1 visa, you will need to submit language test scores during the visa application process.
English proficiency is not mandatory for the MACPC interview, but strong English skills may be considered a plus.
Yes, the MACPC program operates on a rolling admissions basis across four academic terms: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. For specific application deadlines, please contact the admissions team.
Applicants should submit their materials via email to: china.office@sofia.edu. The review process typically takes about five business days.
Yes, these materials are required as part of a complete application package.
Interviews are usually conducted online and last approximately 15–20 minutes. During the session, you’ll have a chance to speak directly with program faculty, ask questions about the curriculum, and share your motivation and educational goals. The interview is designed to be a two-way conversation for mutual understanding.
Interview results are generally released within three business days. Successful applicants will receive an official offer letter, which must be reviewed and confirmed within the specified timeframe. Failure to confirm within the deadline may be regarded as a withdrawal of the offer.
The MACPC program does not have a rigid two-year structure. Students typically take two courses per term, but the program offers flexibility to accommodate different personal and professional situations. Students may choose to take only one course per term to better balance academic, work, and personal commitments.
The program is delivered in a hybrid format (online + in-person options), with bilingual instruction available in both Chinese and English to ensure accessibility and quality.
Tuition does not include textbooks or learning materials, students are responsible for purchasing these separately. However, all practicum and experiential learning components included in the curriculum are covered by the tuition.
Yes, Sofia University offers scholarships for eligible students. Please contact the China Admissions Office for specific opportunities and requirements.
Yes, the degree from Sofia University can be certified by the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Service Center for Overseas Study. The university is listed on the official MOE registry of recognized foreign institutions.
Yes, the degree issued to MACPC students is equivalent to the one granted to domestic on-campus students in the U.S. It holds equal academic and legal validity and is backed by multiple accreditations:
- Sofia University is officially recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) and listed on its Study Abroad Supervision Information Network
- It is also accredited by the U.S. Department of Education and the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), one of the six regional accrediting bodies in the U.S.
Yes. The MACPC program is taught by a distinguished global faculty that includes international scholars and experienced industry professionals. This diverse faculty brings international perspective and hands-on professional experience, offering students a global and applied understanding of counseling psychology.
