SSND In the News – 2011
July 22, 2011 – Mount Mary College to Offer Art Therapy Profession's First Professional Doctorate Program
Mount Mary College in Milwaukee has expanded its art therapy program to include a professional doctorate degree, announced President Eileen Schwalbach, Ph.D. Approval for the doctorate in art therapy was received April 25, 2011 from the North Central region’s Higher Learning Commission (HLC). With an emphasis on professional competencies, the advanced degree program incorporates more than a traditional research degree and is the first of its kind in the U.S. It is also Mount Mary’s first doctorate program.
The cohort-based, low-residency program will begin July 22, 2011 with a 10-day colloquium for intensive study. The program is open to women and men who possess a master’s degree in art therapy, are board certified, and have at least three years experience practicing as an art therapist. Applications are currently being accepted.
According to President Eileen Schwalbach, Ph.D., the creation of the doctorate reflects the vision of the college and Art Therapy Department to continually offer new and innovative programs. “As national leaders in the art therapy profession, our faculty has a keen pulse on what the future will require in both skills and research,” Schwalbach stated. “Their foresight and innovation in developing this first-of-a-kind doctoral program will impact the profession of art therapy for years to come,” she added.
Mount Mary began offering a master in science in art therapy in 1990 and is Wisconsin’s only fully accredited graduate degree approved by the American Art Therapy Association. According to Dr. Bruce Moon, Chair of the Art Therapy Department, the doctorate is a natural extension of the master’s program and is designed to transform the profession of art therapy by integrating artistic, scientific and social activist identity. “Previously art therapy professionals interested in a doctorate would have to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, organizational psychology or a related discipline,” stated Moon. “Our doctoral program focuses research solely in art therapy for the first time in the history of the profession,” he added.
Dr. Lynn Kapitan, the director of the new doctorate, noted that the program provides art therapy professionals with a balanced learning community by combining structured hands-on and online learning with clinical and teaching experience, artistic endeavors, and applied research. “With its emphasis on applied leadership, we expect that our doctoral students will do nothing less than transform the profession,” she said. The doctorate in art therapy will require 40 credits/hours, including a four-credit capstone applied research project.
More details about MMC's art therapy department are available at www.mtmary.edu/arttherapy/
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