Licensed Professional Counselor Completion Plan - Certification Only

Individuals who have already earned a master’s degree in counseling, but who do not yet meet educational requirements for a license in professional counseling in Texas may apply for the UNT Dallas Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Completion Plan option. For this option, students need to review the Texas Department of Health website at https://www.bhec.texas.gov/texas-state-board-of-examiners-of-professional-counselors/applying-for-a-license/index.html to determine which courses they need to complete in order to meet educational requirements. Typically, individuals need to take courses that will complete 60 graduate hours in counseling. For example, if their Master’s Degree in Counseling was 48 hours, then they would need 12 additional graduate hours. In this case, individuals would need to take 4 courses, one of which must be COUN 5720 Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. If individuals need clinical courses, COUN 5720 Internship, and/or more than nine (9) credit hours, then it is preferred that the individual have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. However, others will be considered.

After completing educational requirements, the State of Texas also requires LPC applicants to fulfill additional requirements including, but not limited to, passing the National Counseling Exam and obtaining 3,000 clock hours of supervised clinical experience. Applicants with a criminal background should contact the Texas Board of Licensed Professional Counselors for a Criminal History Evaluation before beginning the UNT Dallas LPC completion plan. The website is at https://www.bhec.texas.gov/texas-state-board-of-examiners-of-professional-counselors/applying-for-a-license/index.html. Individuals seeking licensure in other states are urged to contact the relevant state(s) because their requirements may differ.

To apply for the UNT Dallas LPC Completion Plan, contact the counseling program coordinator.

Admissions Criteria

1. Hold a master’s in counseling degree from an accredited institution of higher education that at the time was accredited or otherwise approved by an accrediting organization recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
2. Complete Graduate School Application through Apply Texas at https://goapplytexas.org/.
3. Send official transcripts from all schools previously attended to the Graduate School.
4. Complete the Graduate School General Application form (https://laserfiche.untdallas.edu/Forms/Graduate_Application).
5. Attend an interview with the UNT Dallas counseling program faculty. The LPC Completion Plan Form may be finalized during this time.
6. Complete and submit an official UNT Dallas LPC Completion Plan Worksheet.

Admission Standards

Applicants may be required to complete at least 12 hours of coursework in the Program, including possible repetition of advanced clinical coursework. Applicants must complete COUN 5720 Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and additional course work based on an audit of the transcript.