You’ll challenge ideas, explore new approaches to therapy and build on your work‑based practice, with what you learn on the course and what you experience in the workplace helping to shape and strengthen your counselling practice.
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Overview
This one-year top-up degree is designed for students who already hold a foundation degree, HND, or equivalent qualification in education or a related field. It provides a direct route to a full honours degree, enabling you to deepen your understanding of psychological theory and apply it confidently to real‑world practice.
Building on your existing qualifications and experience, you’ll discover which emerging research and new therapeutic approaches can enhance your practice. You'll explore ethical considerations, issues of diversity and developing therapeutic approaches, such as ecotherapy. This work will expand your understanding of the contexts, challenges, and key debates shaping modern counselling practice.
Throughout the degree, you will advance your counselling knowledge and skills within a specialist area, develop a research proposal and undertake a negotiated work‑based learning project so you can explore your specific interests. Practical assessments include case discussions, work‑based reports and presentations, which will help you build confidence in your decision‑making during your future career.
Designed to fit around your life, teaching takes place one day per week at Iron Mill College in Exeter, allowing you to balance study with work and clinical practice. Whether you're already working in psychology or ready to take the next step in your professional journey, this course equips you with the knowledge and skills to grow as a confident, reflective, and compassionate counsellor.
Workplace learning
During the course, you’ll be expected to complete around 30 hours of work‑based learning and 20 hours of personal therapy, giving you valuable opportunities to deepen your self‑awareness and strengthen your professional practice. You will also continue your counselling work, completing a minimum of 50 counselling hours during your studies. These real‑world experiences directly enrich your learning, helping you bring authentic insights into your work‑based reports, case discussions and classroom conversations.
Course content
On this course you’ll develop your counselling knowledge and skills, before applying what you've learnt on placement.
We regularly review our courses to reflect the latest research and developments in the subject area, as well as feedback from students, employers and the wider sector. As a result, modules may change to ensure the course remains current and relevant.
All modules on this course are mandatory.
Careers
This top‑up degree is designed to accelerate your professional development and open doors to a wide range of rewarding roles within counselling and wider mental health fields. By building on your existing qualifications and practice experience, this course equips you with the enhanced theoretical knowledge, research skills and professional confidence to progress in your chosen career path.
Our graduates go on to work in diverse settings where skilled and compassionate counsellors are in high demand, including:
- NHS services and initiatives
- Educational settings
- Charitable and community organisations
- Private practice
Through the work‑based learning and placement elements of the course, you’ll also benefit from direct links with employers, real‑world experience and opportunities to grow your professional network. These connections help you gain insight into different areas of counselling, strengthen your employability and support you in shaping the next steps of your career.
Course highlights
Teaching and assessment
Teaching is a mix of interactive seminars, lectures, one-to-one tutorials and workshops. Your assessments will help prepare you for a career as a counsellor and include case studies where you apply counselling techniques. These experiences will prepare you for your placement hours.
Teaching and assessment contents
You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, experiential exercises, group work, action methods, discussion groups, modelling, audio-visual input, clinical skills, creative work and personal research.
In addition, individual meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled outside of class time on at least 3 occasions per academic year, with additional group tutorials occurring in class time if required.
The programme provides the opportunity to develop a specialism in a professional area of choice, and we also place emphasis on your own personal development throughout the programme. Your supervised placement practice will allow you to apply your learning and gain valuable experience and confidence.
Entry requirements
A Foundation Degree (FdA) Counselling award at Levels 4 and 5, meeting BACP supervised practice requirements of 100 hours minimum, or equivalent. Applicants not meeting this requirement will be individually assessed by the Programme Leader to determine their ability to study at level 6, and must provide evidence of a counselling qualification which:
- included at least 400 tutor contact hours
- had a training duration of at least 2 years
- had a supervised placement of at least 100 counselling hours
- covered theory, skills, professional issues and personal development
Students pursuing this route will be set an academic challenge to submit a case study and reflective statement of learning, which will be assessed against FdA level 5 learning outcomes and FHEQ level 5 descriptors. This will be assessed by the BA Course Leader, and applicants will also be asked to attend an interview
MBACP status (qualified counsellor and Registered member of the BACP)
Students entering the programme must be qualified counsellors and must enter the programme with current counselling practice in place. The practice will be assessed by the college placement coordinator once the course has started, for suitability as an approved placement.
An offer of a place on the course will depend upon the entry criteria described above and a successful interview.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
In 2026/27 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £9,790 per year.
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
In 2026/27 the standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £17,200 per year.
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Integrative Counselling BA (Hons) Top-up - 52B8
Contact
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Admissions at Iron Mill
admissions@ironmill.co.ukAdmissions Office
admissions@worc.ac.uk01905 855111More to explore
Iron Mill College
A specialist college with campuses in Exeter and Poole, established with the specific purpose of offering psychotherapy and psychological well-being courses
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