Aliento Program Benefits
- Students graduate with the foundational skills to become culturally responsive therapists in working with Latinx communities
- The program offers practicum sites that provide services in Spanish, with Spanish supervision
- The program includes experiential language development courses to enhance students' Spanish skills
- The program allows students to simultaneously fulfill both the LMFT and LPCC academic requirements for licensure
- General classes are offered on afternoons and weeknights at Pepperdine University's West Los Angeles, Calabasas, and Irvine Graduate Campuses. Latinx-specific classes are offered on the Irvine Graduate Campus.
- The program is open to students whose bachelor's degrees are in fields other than psychology. Before enrolling in the Latinx emphasis, students must complete several prerequisites.
- Up to 6 units of general courses from an accredited institution may be transferred into the program if equivalent courses were completed at the graduate level in the past seven years with a grade of "B" or better
- A master's thesis is not required; however, students are required to complete community service projects while in the program. In addition, most courses include a formal paper or project and a final examination.
- The program meets prerequisite requirements for application to the doctoral program at Pepperdine University, although completion of the degree does not guarantee admission to the doctoral program.
- Financial aid, career services, and housing assistance are available.