Online MS in Psychology: Life Coaching Emphasis
Online MS in Psychology: Life Coaching Emphasis
journey today.
A life coach is a guide who empowers clients to overcome obstacles, achieve goals, navigate transitions and reach their true potential in life. If you’re passionate about helping others overcome personal and professional obstacles, you can focus your career on psychology with the Master of Science in Psychology with an Emphasis in Life Coaching from Grand Canyon University. This degree is offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to individuals who desire to enhance their opportunities for professional growth or further academic exploration in the field.
Help others lead full, productive lives by immersing yourself in the principles and theories of mindset coaching while examining fundamental coaching skills that can immediately be put to work in your practice. You will explore models and techniques for creating a coaching alliance and developing a coaching plan. This MS in Psychology will also teach you how to work productively with individuals, businesses and other organizations, emphasizing guidance, accountability and professional ethics from a Christian perspective.
Throughout this master’s program, you’ll have opportunities to explore best practices in individual, business and organizational coaching with an eye toward empowering others to create lasting change. You’ll dive into psychology research, examining emerging trends and considering theoretical and applied aspects of experimental design. As a private Christian university, GCU offers faith-integrated coursework by exploring personal growth coaching from the Christian perspective.
Pursue Your Psychology Degree Online With a Focus on Life Coaching
This psychology master’s, offered online, provides a flexible learning path for modern learners. You can earn your MS while continuing to meet your current professional responsibilities by accessing coursework from almost anywhere. Benefit from lively discussions with peers who present a range of perspectives and enjoy lectures from knowledgeable faculty.
This Degree Is Offered Online
You will delve into the details of coaching models and techniques, examining the formation of coaching alliances and the development of coaching plans. You will be taught how to differentiate between coaching, mentoring and consulting. The program examines key factors such as organizational climate, emotional intelligence, ethical issues pertaining to executive coaching and the interpretation of scientific assessments.
Some of the course topics you will cover in this MS program include:
Ethical and contemporary issues in psychology
Fundamentals of coaching
Individual, business and organizational coaching
Facilitation and assessment
Develop Techniques for Assessing and Helping Others
The master’s in psychology follows a comprehensive curriculum designed to inspire you to become an innovative thinker, effective communicator and transformative leader. The goal of helping others is central to this master’s degree program, which introduces you to research-based theories, principles and methods of psychology. With a firm foundation of scientific knowledge, you may assess individuals, develop actionable recommendations and implement effective coaching plans. Enjoy opportunities for personal and professional growth as you explore cognitive processes, thought patterns, behaviors and motivators.
The degree program concludes with a professional capstone project, where you will examine and present original research ideas and reflect upon various occupations in the life coaching subfield.
Life coaches can also work across a range of settings. Some specialize in working with organizations where they can provide consulting services to employers, coaching services to managers and mentoring to the company’s employees. Others work for wellness organizations or mental health clinics, while others may be self-employed entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur who runs their own coaching practice may work out of a home office, conducting sessions virtually, from an office space or the clients’ private homes.2
To further enhance career qualifications, graduates of this emphasis may choose to pursue additional certifications or a doctoral degree.1
There is a range of career possibilities for future life coaches. A life coach may specialize in a particular area of coaching, such as:2
Career
Health and wellness
Relationships
Personal finance
Spirituality
When you enroll in this MS in Psychology, you can feel confident that you’re furthering your education with purpose. As an institutionally accredited university, GCU prioritizes academic quality, with the goal of graduating professionals who are prepared to effect positive change in the lives of others. GCU has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1968. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences shares the university’s commitment to upholding the principles and standards established by our accrediting bodies.
Frequently Asked Questions
If helping others better their lives through coaching sounds like the perfect job for you, read through our frequently asked questions to learn more about this program.
There are no specific prerequisite courses required for this psychology master’s at GCU. However, applicants to the program are expected to hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. To develop an academic plan and timeline for completing the program, fill out the form on this page and speak with a knowledgeable university counselor.
There is no single pathway toward becoming a life coach. However, psychology degrees provide aspiring life coaches with knowledge in exploring the areas of a person’s life that are likely to contribute to their current situation. You should plan to focus your studies on the area of coaching that you are interested in. A master’s in psychology with a focus on coaching can teach the psychological framework and coaching principles you’ll use as a professional life coach.
If you’ve thought about becoming a mental health counselor but prefer the idea of coaching people, then a career as a life coach could be worth it for you. You might find this work to be meaningful, as you’ll be helping others work toward personal or professional goals. You may also coach clients through relationship problems or other interpersonal conflict, which can enhance their quality of life. If your goal is to serve others, then you can certainly accomplish that as a life coach.
Like all career choices, the process of becoming a life coach may have some challenges. To prepare to help others achieve personal growth, you must be willing to work toward personal growth yourself. However, you may find other aspects of the career pathway to be easier to achieve. Ultimately, if you have innate empathy, active listening skills and are committed to ongoing learning and personal development, you may find this career path to be personally rewarding.
Lead Transformative Change in Others
Prepare to empower clients with personal growth and mindset coaching.
1 Indeed Editorial Team. (2024, Aug. 18). Learn About Being a Life Coach. Indeed. Retrieved Oct. 18, 2024.
2 Bouchrika, I., PhD. (2024, May 24). What is Life Coaching: Types, Benefits, and Steps to Becoming a Life Coach in 2024. Research.com. Retrieved Oct. 18, 2024.