School Schedule for CMHS

During the GSE Admissions Office's events for prospective students, I've had multiple applicants ask about the class and practicum/internship schedule for the Counseling & Mental Health Services program. While the program's course schedule can obviously change depending on when classes are offered, what professor you have, or what section you're enrolled in, I thought I'd give an overview of what my weekly schedule has been like for the past year. In the first year of the Counseling program at Penn, students are expected to spend approximately 8 hours a week at their practicum site (which usually translates to 1-2 days per week). In my first semester, I had classes three days a week and practicum one day a week. However, I only had class two days a week this semester, so I have been able to go to my practicum twice a week when possible. We take 4 courses in both the fall and spring, plus a Practicum Seminar, which is a small discussion-based class that focuses on learning clinical skills and applying class knowledge to our experiences in the field. All of our classes are 2 hours long, and we have each class once per week. While we are very busy students, I've found that the CMHS schedule allows students to also maintain part-time jobs, hobbies, social lives, self-care, and other necessary aspects of adult life.

I'm not positive what my schedule for the summer will look like, but I do know that CMHS students take two classes during Summer Session 1. If a student continues on to the second year of the program, he or she also takes two courses during Summer Session 2. Each class meets twice a week for 3 hours at a time. Although there is no internship or practicum requirement over the summer,  I will be starting my internship a little early to get settled and help my supervisor prepare for the school year.

The schedule for the second year may differ for my cohort, but I know that right now, most of the Professional Counseling (second year) students have their internship 3 days a week and classes 2 days a week. Because the internship requires 20 hours a week of work, it definitely seems like there may be less downtime in the second year of our program. Regardless, most of the students I've spoken to don't seem to have any issues balancing their classes, internships, and personal lives.

You can find more information about specific courses/class schedules on the Penn GSE website under the Counseling & Mental Health Services page. But if you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me at kdacey@gse.upenn.edu !