Licensure and Credentialing Information

Depending on your professional goals, where you reside or plan to practice, and the licensure requirements within that state, there are different pathways towards licensure or credentialing that may be relevant for you.

Program-Specific Information

We strongly encourage prospective applicants who intend to pursue licensure or credentialing to review these Licensure and Credentialing Information documents for their respective programs of interest prior to applying to the program. This is in accordance with Lesley University’s participation in SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) and with federal regulations.

Counseling and Psychology

Download licensure information for Counseling and Psychology (PDF)
MA in Counseling Psychology: School Counseling (48-credit program)
MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (60-credit), including specializations in Holistic Studies, Professional Counseling, School and Community Counseling, and Trauma Studies.

Education

You can find a detailed guide to Certification and Licensure in Education here.
BA Education, Initial License: Download BA in education licensure information (PDF)
M.Ed., CAGS., Licensure-Only Certificate, Initial License: Download licensure information for M.Ed., CAGS, Initial License (PDF)
M.Ed., CAGS, Licensure-Only Certificate, Endorsement, Specialist, and Professional License: Download licensure information for M.Ed., CAGS, Licensure-Only, Endorsement, Specialist, and Professional License (PDF)

Expressive Therapies

Applicable to Students Beginning on or after July 2024: Download licensure information for Art, Dance/Movement, Drama, Expressive Arts and Music Therapy (PDF)

Applicable to Students who were enrolled in the program before July 2024: Download licensure information for Art, Dance/Movement, Drama, Expressive Arts and Music Therapy (PDF)

MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Art Therapy
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Dance/Movement Therapy
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Drama Therapy
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Expressive Arts Therapy
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Music Therapy

Social Work

Download licensure information for Social Work (PDF)
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
Master of Social Work (MSW)

Location Policy for Students in Licensure Programs

A determination of a student’s location is made at the time of the student’s application for admission. For students who apply to Lesley University’s on-campus programs, Massachusetts will be their location. For students who apply to Lesley University’s online and low-residency programs, the local address entered by students in their applications for admission will be their location. If students applying to online or low-residency programs do not enter a local address, the permanent address entered by students in their applications for admission will be their location. If an online or low-residency program student submits an address change form to the University’s registrar, the new address will be the student’s location.

International Students Who are Non-US Citizens or US Permanent Residents

Please note that there is not a specific post-graduation immigration status to allow someone to fulfill their post-graduation professional licensure work requirements. Review the Lesley Licensure & Credentialing Information and discuss the option of completing all or part of your post-graduation licensure requirements from outside of the US with your Lesley academic advisor before starting your Lesley graduate program.

In addition, students on the Lesley F-1 sponsorship through a Lesley-issued I-20, should also contact International Student Services at iss@lesley.edu to evaluate your eligibility for post-graduation work authorization. Since F-1 benefits are limited to per academic level, Lesley’s International Student Services will evaluate your previous US F-1 status history to determine your eligibility. In general, the F-1 student may be eligible to apply for twelve (12) months of optional practical training (OPT) work authorization if they have never used OPT in the past for a Master’s level educational program. If this is not possible or if the F-1 student needs more than 12 months to fulfill the licensure requirement, they may ask their US employer to sponsor them for the H-1B specialty work status. The H-1B sponsorship, however, has a cost for the employer and is subject to a limited annual cap for jobs in the for-profit sector. For these reasons, H-1B sponsorship is not guaranteed.
All other non-F-1 status students, check with your immigration attorney on the limitations of your US non-immigrant status. You may also contact iss@lesley.edu for an immigration attorney referral list.

Questions

For questions, please contact cert_off@lesley.edu.