MA/MS Accreditation Vs. Reputation

[SJinPNW]

Hi everyone,

New here, been browsing for a few months. I'm currently exploring MA Counseling options, mostly in WA State, and on the recommendation of what I've seen and heard, I'm focusing my efforts on CACREP-accredited programs.

What's catching me off guard, though, is that the non-accredited programs are the ones that have a better standing in the professional/academic community here, while the accredited programs don't seem to be as generally well regarded. Has anyone else found this to be the case when looking at and deciding on programs?

Thank you!

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[Justanothergrad]

This is partly due to many of the ways in which accreditation is given. So, for instance, in a CACREP accreditation they require that the program staff are full time to that program. This means that housing a MA-level training program in the same department as a doctoral program in counseling psychology would prohibit accreditation because those faculty are not full time masters level trainers. It may strike you that it is a bit absurd that the same staff who train doctoral trainees are not able to train masters-level individuals for the purposes of accreditation.