Counselling FdA

Apply now

Develop your career by combining this part-time counselling course with practical placements or paid work. Earn an academic qualification that also delivers practical skills and the option to top-up to a full honours degree.

Contact the partner college

Overview

This Foundation Degree is taught at East Durham College. You can then 'top-up' to a BA (Hons) Counselling at the University of Sunderland.

The course has a strong practical focus and our teaching will help you reflect on your workplace experiences.

When you successfully complete this course you will be awarded a Foundation Degree in Counselling that is accredited by the University of Sunderland.

Please contact East Durham College to apply for this course.

Why us?

The course ties into the growing demand for counsellors to work in the health sector, voluntary and community sector and in private practice

Opportunity to ‘top up’ this course to a full BA (Hons) degree with an extra year of study

Course structure

During your first year, you will be required to undertake some form of voluntary work so that you can practise the skills that you are learning on the course.

In the second year, you will undertake a placement with a counselling agency, and we will support you as you arrange it.

This is a highly practical course, which combines academic study and work-based learning. The elements of the course which are taught in the college include lectures, discussions, case studies and workshops.

Your progress will be assessed with evaluations of work experience, reports and presentations. Throughout the course you'll have one-to-one support from academic staff.

Year 1 (Higher Education Certificate Level 1) (national level 4):

Personal Development (20 credits)
Counselling Skills Practice and Development (20 credits)
Professional Issues (20 credits)
Core Model of Counselling (varies depending upon the college: humanistic / cognitive behavioural / person-centred and cognitive behavioural) (30 credits)
Comparative Models of Counselling (30 credits)

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Final year (Foundation Degree) (national level 5):

Personal Development 2 (20 credits)
Supervised Counselling Practice (40 credits)
Counselling Research (20 credits)
Contemporary Issues in Counselling (40 credits)

Entry requirements

We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.

The typical entry requirement is a Level 3 Certificate in Counselling.

Students would normally be in voluntary or paid work as a Counsellor or undertaking (or about to undertake) paid or voluntary work in a setting which will allow you to practice counselling skills.

You may be required to attend an interview. Please contact the college for more information.

East Durham College
Gabrielle Maddison
gabrielle.maddison@eastdurham.ac.uk
Tel: 0191 518 2000

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The tuition fees for this course are £5,500 per 120 credits if you are from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.

There is a course requirement stipulating that all students need to acquire student membership of the BACP at own cost prior to beginning counselling practice in a placement.

Prospective students are advised to consult the BACP for the latest information on student membership which currently stands at £82.

Possible additional costs:

In the second year of the course, students must undertake a placement with a counselling agency. If the counselling placement provider cannot supply an appropriate supervisor, it is the responsibility of the student to identify a suitable supervisor and also pay for any fees charged for this service.

Please note that this course is not available to international students.

If you need support or have any queries about applying for your finances for this partner college programme, or want to get in touch with our Partnership Liaison team, you can find out more in our Help and Advice article.

Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Student in the Sunderland Futures department

Career ready

A Foundation Degree equips you to move into a broad range of careers or to pursue an honours degree with one more year of study.

Further study

There is a natural progression from this Foundation Degree to the Counselling (Top-Up) course at the University of Sunderland for a full BA (Hons) Counselling.

Career options

There is a growing demand for counsellors to work in the health sector, voluntary and community sector and in private practice. This is because of better awareness of the benefits of talking therapies by policymakers, health professionals and the general public.

Counselling careers include educational counselling (where you help deal with difficulties in learning and social adjustment), forensic counselling (where you become an expert in psychological issues associated with criminal behaviours), and clinical counselling (where you deal with mental and physical health problems).

In addition, skills in counselling are useful in many different careers including personnel, social work, public services, marketing and advertising.

Related courses

BA (Hons) Counselling (Top-Up)

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing.

Page last updated: 07 November 2022

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

Sign up to receive emails about your subject area.

I am currently serving or have previously served in the armed forces, including reserves.

Keep me up to date relating to my interest in the University of Sunderland via:

Email

You may unsubscribe at any time.

Using Your Personal Information
The University of Sunderland is collecting this data in order for you to receive information on your chosen subject(s). Your information will be stored securely in our Customer Relationship Management system which is provided by a 3rd party and used only for the administration and provision of this information. Should you choose to opt in to further communications we will also use your information to facilitate other useful marketing information based on your preferences. Further information on how your data is stored and used can be found in our Privacy notice - marketing.