Admission requirements

Admission to the master’s degree programs in counseling is competitive because available facilities do not permit admission of all qualified applicants.

Admission to the master’s program in counseling is a three-stage process.

First, the student must be admitted to the Toulouse Graduate School. The general requirements for admission are specified in the College of Education section in this catalog. Second, applicants must submit a satisfactory GPA and scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to the Toulouse Graduate School prior to admission to the counseling program. Third, applicants must submit to the counseling program a counseling program application, three letters of recommendation (completed on special forms provided by the program), a writing sample, submission of GRE scores and any other program-specific admission materials. Contact the academic program for information concerning acceptable admission test scores.

All required admission materials must be filed in the program office by March 15 preceding the fall term/semester or October 15 preceding the spring term/semester, for which the applicant wishes to begin the program. Shortly after the application deadline, each applicant is required to participate in an orientation and interview session.

Individuals selected to proceed beyond orientation and interviews will be offered provisional admission pending the Counseling Program’s receipt of a satisfactory Criminal History Background Check (CHBC).

All students granted provisional admission to the master’s program are required to enroll in COUN 5710  during the first term/semester of enrollment in graduate school and must receive a grade of B or higher. Concurrent enrollment in COUN 5680  and COUN 5710  is encouraged. Students must complete COUN 5680  and COUN 5710  with grades of B or higher and submit first semester orientation tasks to be considered for full admission to the program.

Admission to the counseling program is provisional until the student’s progress is evaluated by the counseling faculty upon completion of COUN 5680  and COUN 5710 . The student’s progress is evaluated on the basis of academic performance, professional development and personal development required for success as a professional counselor. After the initial progress review, the counseling faculty either recommends that the student continue the program or reserves the right to withdraw the student from the program.

Following this initial evaluation, the student will be routinely evaluated on the criteria of academic performance, professional development and personal development to determine if progress is adequate, if remedial work is needed or if the student should be withdrawn from the program.

Program requirements

The MS degree requires a minimum of 60 semester hours, including completion of all MS requirements and a passing score on the written comprehensive examination administered during student enrollment in COUN 5720 or COUN 5721. All degree programs must be planned in consultation with the student’s advisor, and students must earn grades of A or B on all degree plan course work. Students are required to file a degree plan during their first term/semester of graduate study. The master’s degree program requires an internship, COUN 5720 /COUN 5721 , in lieu of a thesis. The internship should be the last enrollment in the master’s program. Placement for the internship is selected in cooperation with the supervisor and must be approved by the program.

All degree program areas listed below meet the educational requirements for licensure as a professional counselor in Texas. The K-12 school counseling program areas meet the educational requirements for certification as a public school counselor in Texas. Students who wish to become licensed professional counselors or certified school counselors in Texas are required to have specified supervised experiences. Counseling program area heads should be consulted for details. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track listed below meets the educational requirements for licensure as a professional counselor in Texas. All students who wish to become licensed professional counselors in Texas are required to have specified supervised experiences. The K-12 school counseling track meets the educational requirements for certification as a public school counselor in Texas. In addition, for the School Counseling Certification, the State of Texas requires 1) two years of teaching experience in a public or an accredited private school and 2) passing grade on the TExES Counselor Exam. Students enrolled in the K-12 school counseling track who wish to become licensed professional counselors in Texas must complete one additional 3-hour course beyond the 60-hour degree: COUN 5490 . All students who wish to become licensed professional counselors in Texas are required to have specified supervised experiences. Counseling program area heads should be consulted for details.