Bloomfield College Partners with Newark's Pillar College

By Alicia Cook

Bloomfield College and Pillar College, two of the founding members of the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC), have partnered on the matriculation process of Bloomfield College students seeking a master’s degree in counseling, with specializations in marriage, couple, and family counseling.

“This agreement marks an exciting day for Bloomfield College students,” said Richard A. Levao, President of Bloomfield College. “Through this signed agreement, we’re making the process of transitioning to graduate school practically seamless, and, in the process, supporting our students’ desire to reach the pinnacle of their desired professions, ensuring a promising future ahead.”

The collaborative arrangement allows Bloomfield College students who have achieved a bachelor of arts with a major in one of the social or behavioral sciences to “fast-track” the admissions process with Pillar College.

Benefits of this partnership include:

• streamlined application process – including waiver of transcript processing fees
• enhanced financial aid for those who matriculate within 24 months of graduating from Bloomfield College
• waiver of certain prerequisites

Interested Bloomfield College students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Other requirements include submission of a formal application to Pillar College, an essay, and two letters of recommendation.

“We are excited to establish our first partnership with Bloomfield College, offering its qualified students the ability to obtain an MA in Counseling in two years, as well as the potential to obtain their Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) credentials,” said Pillar College President, Dr. David Schroeder. “We hope this is just the first of many collaborative arrangements between the two schools, which share not only geographic proximity, but a highly motivated student body that’s representative of New Jersey’s diverse population.”

This agreement between Newark’s Pillar College, a Christian-based institution of higher learning offering accredited degrees at the associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s levels, and Bloomfield College, brings NCLC closer to reaching its goal of increasing the percentage of Newark residents who hold degrees, certificates, and other high quality credentials to 25% by the year 2025.

“Bloomfield College’s student body has much in common with Pillar’s demographic, especially our mission to support and nurture first-generation college students,” said Dr. Tracy M. Duncan, Chair of Pillar’s master in counseling program. “The signed agreement supports academic, professional, and personal development by removing many of the barriers that are typically part of the graduate admissions process.”

For more information about the cooperative arrangement, contact Academic Affairs at 973-748-9000 ext. 1101.