Admission requirements and program policies

The admissions criteria for students applying to the grad track pathway is consistent with the admission processes and procedures for all applicants to our graduate program. Applicants are required to have completed at least 75 credit hours of their bachelor’s degree.

Applicants to the grad track pathway will submit:

• An application designed for grad track pathway applicants;
• A signed copy of the Conditional Admission and Advisor Course Approval Form (available from the Toulouse Graduate School);
• A current copy of their unofficial transcript;
• A self-statement of purpose as to why they are interested in the grad track pathway, as well as addressing the rehabilitation counseling program required self-statement questions;
• A resume of their work experience;
• Two letters of recommendation (one academically-related and one employment-related); and
• Completion of an interview with two faculty members from our department.

Successful applicants will meet the definition of “Exceptional Undergraduate Student.” They will be those students who:

1. Are in their junior year of the rehabilitation studies program and have completed 90 credit hours;
2. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the time of their application; and
3. Whose resume, self-statement, letters of recommendation and demonstration of interpersonal and professional skills during the interview are considered to be of high quality by the faculty in the department.

As is the process for graduate program applicants, faculty will conduct a holistic review of each applicant to the grad track pathway. The holistic review is guided by a rubric created for graduate program applicants that provides an assessment of each applicant’s:

1. Academic/intellectual merit (e.g., assessment of GPA, quality of letters of recommendation, quality of written self-statement);
2. Employment experience (e.g., employment-related letters of recommendation, work experience in the field), interview (demonstration of communication skills, professionalism, appropriate self-awareness, interpersonal skills and appropriate self-disclosure); and
3. Broader impact (e.g., potential to contribute to profession, discipline and/or society, and potential to advance diversity by broadening global understanding and/or diverse points of view).

Faculty who conduct the interview, review and rank the applicant’s application as being in the top 5% (excellent), 10% (very good), 25% (good), 50% (average) or less than 50% (below average) and then present the application to the admission committee in the department. Only applicants to the grad track pathway program who rank in the top 5-10% and have the approval of the undergraduate and graduate coordinators, as well as the student’s academic advisor and the majority of faculty present at the meeting in which applications are reviewed, will be accepted into the grad track pathway. Applications will be accepted until July 15 for the Fall semester grad track pathway classes and November 30 for the Spring semester grad track pathway courses.

Successful applicants are conditionally admitted to the grad track pathway after completing 90 credit hours in their undergraduate degree program. Acceptance to the grad track pathway does not imply the student has been fully admitted into the graduate school, however, and the student must first complete his or her bachelor’s degree before acceptance into the graduate program. Applicants will be provided with a document that explains the application process and will state that, if accepted into the grad track pathway, the student understands that he or she is only conditionally accepted into the graduate program and must maintain a 3.2 GPA and be in good standing in the program before being accepted into the graduate program. Students whose GPA falls to between a 3.2 and 2.8 will be required to submit a new application to the graduate program (including a new statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, resume and interview) as well as submit current GRE scores in order to be reconsidered for the graduate program.

Program requirements

• RHAB 5700 - Ethical and Professional Foundations in Rehabilitation Counseling (replaces RHAB 4100 - Rehabilitation Service Delivery Systems )
• RHAB 5732 - Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery (replaces RHAB 4300 - Introduction to Psychiatric Rehabilitation )
• RHAB 5735 - Alcohol and Other Substance Use Counseling Models (replaces ADDS 4275 - Alcohol, Drugs and Disability )
• RHAB 5770 - Rehabilitation Research and Program Evaluation (replaces RHAB 4500 - Assessment in Rehabilitation ) 

Courses available for credit as an upper level elective: 

• RHAB 5715 - Disability Issues in Human Development (3 credit hours)
• RHAB 5718 - Transition Issues in Rehabilitation (3 credit hours)

All remaining courses for Rehabilitation Studies, BS  must be completed.