Trauma Certificate Admission Requirements

Requirements for Wheaton M.A. Applicants, Current Wheaton M.A. Students, and Wheaton Graduate Alumni

Students applying to or enrolled in one of these three programs can be dual enrolled with the Trauma Certificate: M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), and M.A. in Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership (HDL).

• M.A. Applicants to the CMHC, MFT, or HDL programs can apply to the Trauma Certificate within their M.A. application.
• Current M.A. Students and Graduate Alumni: Please write to your graduate admissions counselor, graduate.admissions@wheaton.edu, or call 800.888.0141 for information.

Requirements for Non-Wheaton Applicants

1. Summer and Fall entry only.
   • Deadlines: July 1 for Fall. March 15 for Summer.
2. Bachelor's and master's degrees from regionally accredited institutions.
3. GPA 3.0 minimum.
4. Applicants must have completed a graduate degree in mental health or a related discipline.
   • Examples of mental-health and related disciplines: Clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, humanitarian and disaster leadership, social work, emergency management, international development, public health, pastoral counseling, ministry, spiritual care, and biblical and theological studies.
5. Official Transcripts for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
   
   • E-transcripts preferred. Address them to nancy.crane@wheaton.edu.
   • Mail paper copies to Graduate Admissions, Attn: Nancy Crane, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187.
   • Applicants who have earned more than 25% of one or both of their degrees from institutions outside of the degree-conferring school will be required to supply official transcripts for those transfer credits in the event they are not explicitly listed with course names and grades on the degree transcript. Graduate Admissions will reserve the right to request additional transcripts as may be needed to meet departmental requirements or demonstrate proof of program-specific prerequisites.
6. Application Form. Includes one essay and affirmations of the Statement of Faith and Community Covenant.
7. Professional Recommendation.
   • A person with whom you have had a supervisor-employee relationship, which can be in a non-paid context.
   • Recommender can upload an optional letter on the online recommendation page.
   • Recommendation from relatives not accepted.
8. Resumé. Chronological. Include ministry/volunteer experience.
9. Application Fee. USD $30, non-refundable.

Additional Requirements for International Students

International students, and permanent residents of the US whose native language is not English, are required to take either the TOEFL iBT Test, IELTS Academic Test, or Duolingo English test with the minimal scores indicated below:

• TOEFL iBT Test: 80 with at least 18 in each category
• IELTS Academic Test: 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each category
• Duolingo English Test: 105

Applicants who wish to waive their English proficiency test, please refer to the English proficiency page for details.

An International Transcript Verification Report is needed for students who completed degrees outside of the United States.

Please note that this program does not offer an F1 visa. International students can only do the online format. If interested in residential study, please apply for other MA degrees.

Please review Graduate International Admissions for full information.