Violence, Loss and Trauma Counseling, Graduate Certificate

Advanced Studies in Violence, Loss, and Trauma Counseling (VoLT)

The Violence, Loss, and Trauma (VoLT) program offers advanced training in trauma-responsive counseling and behavioral health practice. The program examines the psychological, relational, and systemic impacts of violence, trauma exposure, crisis, and loss across the lifespan while preparing professionals to assess, conceptualize, and respond to complex trauma across a range of professional settings.

The VoLT program is designed to integrate clinical trauma treatment with ecological, community, and systems-oriented perspectives on violence, recovery, and resilience. The curriculum integrates theory, research, and culturally responsive approaches to traumatic stress, crisis response, interpersonal and systemic violence, traumatic grief, and trauma-informed systems of care. Coursework emphasizes both clinical intervention and broader ecological perspectives on trauma, including the impact of trauma within families, schools, communities, and high-risk occupational settings. The program is designed for graduate students and post-graduate professionals in counseling, psychology, social work, and other closely related behavioral health disciplines who seek specialized preparation in crisis intervention and trauma-responsive practice.

The VoLT curriculum may be access through one of two pathways:

1. Certificate Track, which requires formal admission and leads to the conferral of a Graduate Certificate upon completion of all program requirements.
2. Non-Certificate Track, which allows eligible graduate students and post-graduate professionals to enroll in individual VoLT courses without pursuing the full certificate, subject to prerequisites and space availability. Completion of coursework through the Non-Certificate Track does not confer eligibility for the VoLT Graduate Certificate unless the student has been formally admitted to the Certificate Track and completes all certificate requirements.

Career applications include trauma-informed clinical practice, crisis and disaster response, violence prevention and intervention, victim advocacy, behavioral health consultation, trauma-informed school and community initiatives, specialized services for populations with elevated trauma exposure, and behavioral health roles that intersect with with legal, correctional, and restorative justice systems.

Admission Requirements

Certificate Track

In addition to meeting the Marshall University graduate admission requirements, applicants seeking admission to the VoLT Certificate Track must demonstrate academic preparation and professional interest in trauma-focused behavioral health practice. Applications/applicants may be subject to review for ethical and professional fitness for the program.

Application Materials

Applicants must submit the following materials:

• Graduate Certificate Application.
• Curriculum vitae (CV) or professional résumé
• Statement of Purpose articulating professional background, interest in trauma-focused work, and how earning the VoLT Certificate will contribute to their professional goals
• Two letters of recommendation from professional or academic references

Academic Preparation

Applicants must demonstrate readiness for graduate-level study through one of the following:

• Current graduate students: Completion of at least 9 credit hours of graduate-level coursework with a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale in counseling, psychology, social work, or another closely related behavioral health discipline, or
• Post-graduate professionals: A completed graduate degree with a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale in counseling, psychology, social work, or another closely related behavioral health discipline

Prerequisite Coursework for Admission

Applicants must provide documentation of the following prerequisite coursework with a grade of B or higher:

• Professional Orientation (e.g., COUN 600 or equivalent)
• Social and Cultural Foundations (e.g., COUN 574 or equivalent)
• Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling (e.g., COUN 675 or equivalent)

Additional prerequisites are required for specific VoLT courses.

Application Deadlines

Admission to the VoLT Certificate Track is competitive and occurs during designated admission cycles.  

Applications are reviewed twice per academic year for Fall and Spring admission.  Priority consideration deadlines are:

• February 15th for Fall admission
• September 15th for Spring admission

Admission may be granted on a full, provisional, or conditional basis in accordance with University, departmental, and program-specific policies. If space remains after priority review, additional completed applications may be considered:

• May 1 for Fall admission
• November 1 for Spring admission

The VoLT program does not admit new students to the Certificate Track for the Summer semester.

Non-Certificate Track

Current Marshall University graduate students enrolled in in counseling, psychology, social work, or another closely related behavioral health discipline may enroll in VoLT courses without certificate admission, beginning in any semester, provided all course-specific prerequisites are met. 

Post-graduate professionals and graduate students enrolled outside of Marshall University who wish to enroll in VoLT courses through the Non-Certificate Track must apply for and be accepted as at-large (non-degree-seeking) graduate students at Marshall University.

Completion of coursework through the Non-Certificate Track does not confer admission to, nor standing within, the Certificate Track. It also does not confer eligibility for the VoLT certificate unless the student has been formally admitted to the Certificate Track and completes all Certificate Requirements.

Students enrolling in VoLT courses through the Non-Certificate Track must meet program-wide and course-specific prerequisites but are not required to apply for the Certificate Track. Students in the Non-Certificate Track may apply for the Certificate Track at any time, provided all Admission Requirements are met and subject to application deadlines.

Graduation / Certificate Requirements

To be awarded the Graduate Certificate in Violence, Loss, and Trauma Counseling, students must:

• Have been formally admitted to the Certificate Track of the VoLT program
• Successfully complete (with a grade of B or higher) at least 18 graduate credit hours as specified in the VoLT program curriculum, including all required core courses and at least two electives
• Maintain a minimum VoLT program GPA of 3.5 and a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale
• Earn a C for no more than three credit hours (one course) towards the certificate and no grades below C
• Complete all certificate requirements within seven years
• Remain in good academic and professional standing throughout the certificate program

Successful completion of all required coursework serves as the comprehensive assessment for the VoLT Graduate Certificate. No separate comprehensive examination or thesis is required.

The comprehensive assessment for the certificate is embedded within required coursework and evaluated through signature assignments designed to assess competencies in trauma-responsive assessment, case conceptualization, and intervention planning. A score of 80% or higher is required on all signature assignments.

Program Requirements

General Requirements

All Marshall University graduate academic policies apply to students enrolled in VoLT coursework. Students enrolled in the VoLT program, regardless of Track, are expected to adhere to the  Marshall University Student Code of Conduct as well as the ethical standards of their respective behavioral health profession(s). 

Additionally:

• Students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress, professional conduct, and compliance with program policies throughout their enrollment. 
• Failure to meet academic or professional expectations may result in academic probation, dismissal from the Certificate Track, or administrative withdrawal from the program. 
• Students in the Certificate Track who fail to enroll for a semester without an approved Leave of Absence (LOA) are considered withdrawn from the Certificate Track and would need to reapply for future enrollment.
• A Certificate-Track student whose VoLT GPA falls below 3.5 and/or whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 on a 4-point scale will be placed on academic probation within the VoLT program. At that point, they will have one semester to bring their GPA back into acceptable range. If that does not occur, the student will be dismissed from the Certificate Track.
• VoLT courses in which a student has earned a D or F must be retaken, resulting in a B or higher, before the student can progress to other VoLT courses. For Certificate-Track students, earning a D or F in a VoLT course will result in dismissal from the Certificate Track.  
• Students who do not follow the University procedure for withdrawal from a course will earn a grade of F for the course. For Certificate-Track students, this would result in dismissal from the Certificate Track.
• Students who withdraw from two VoLT courses at any time during the program, regardless of Track, will be placed on academic probation within the VoLT program.  
• Students who withdraw from three VoLT courses at any time during the program, regardless of Track, will be dismissed from the VoLT program and will be ineligible to enroll for any additional VoLT courses.
• Dismissal from the Certificate Track does not prohibit continued enrollment in VoLT courses. As long as all other Program Requirements are met, students who have been dismissed from the Certificate Track are welcome to continue taking VoLT courses but are permanently ineligible to receive the VoLT certificate, regardless of credits completed.
• Students who are dismissed from the VoLT program are ineligible to reapply.

The VoLT Program Coordinator and the Counseling Department reserve the right to administratively withdraw any VoLT student for failure to meet academic, professional, ethical, and/or dispositional expectations, in accordance with University and departmental policies.

Course Requirements

Completion of the VoLT certificate requires a minimum of 18 credit hours of graduate coursework within the VoLT curriculum. Students complete three required core courses (9 credit hours) and three elective courses (9 credit hours). Students in the Non-Certificate Track are not obligated nor limited to a set number of credit hours; they can enroll in individual VoLT courses without pursuing the full certificate, subject to program requirements, individual course prerequisites, and space availability.

Students will begin with COUN 683, which serves as the foundational course and "gateway" prerequisite for more advanced VoLT coursework.

The VoLT curriculum is designed to provide progressive training in trauma-responsive practice, integrating foundational trauma theory, advanced clinical assessment and treatment, and ecological and systems-oriented approaches to violence, crisis, and recovery.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Required Core Courses
COUN 683	Fdns of Trauma/Crisis for Coun	3
COUN 684	Adv Assess and Treat of Trauma	3
COUN 654	Ecology of Violence & Trauma	3
Elective Courses
Students will select three courses from the following: 1		9
COUN 555	Crisis Intervention
COUN 685	First Resp & Military Trauma
COUN 686	Trauma and Suffering
COUN 687	Tr Rest Jus Sch Comm
Total Credit Hours		18

¹

Additional VoLT-designated courses may be approved as electives as the curriculum expands.

Course prerequisites are listed in individual course descriptions.

Plan of Study

The Violence, Loss, and Trauma (VoLT) program is designed as a progressive sequence of coursework that moves from foundational trauma and crisis competencies to advanced clinical assessment and treatment and, finally, to specialized applications of trauma-responsive practice across ecological, occupational, and community contexts.

Students will begin with COUN 683 - Foundations of Trauma and Crisis for Counselors, which provides the theoretical and clinical foundation for subsequent coursework in trauma assessment, treatment, and systems-based applications.

Course sequencing may vary depending on course availability, prerequisite completion, and the student's pacing of their program.

COUN 683 Fdns of Trauma/Crisis for Coun (required prerequisite for all other VoLT courses)

COUN 684 Adv Assess and Treat of Trauma

COUN 654 Ecology of Violence & Trauma

COUN 555 Crisis Intervention

COUN 685 First Resp & Military Trauma

COUN 686 Trauma and Suffering

COUN 687 Tr Rest Jus Sch Comm

Additional elective courses may be incorporated into the Plan of Study as the VoLT curriculum expands.