Clinical Mental Health Counseling, MS

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(60 hour degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling)

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Advisor - Dr. Yu-fen Lin
(P) 972.338.1378
Email: Yu-fen.Lin@untdallas.edu

The Counseling Program offers a Master of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. This 60-hour track prepares graduates to counsel in clinical mental health settings such as mental health centers, private counseling agencies, drug abuse treatment centers, centers for counseling older adults, child protective services, child counseling clinics, family counseling centers, pastoral counseling settings, private practice, and business and industry. Students completing the entire sequence of course work will meet the educational requirements for the Texas State License in Professional Counseling. However, to obtain a License in Professional Counseling, the State of Texas stipulates additional requirements such as passing the national counseling exam and obtaining 3,000 clock hours of supervised clinical experience after the Masters degree has been obtained. Consult the Texas Department of Health website for details at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/counselor/default.shtm.

Admission Procedures

1. Submit the following to the UNT Dallas Office of Graduate Admissions:

a. Graduate School Application for Admission (apply online at www.applytexas.org)

b. Official copies of all college transcripts

c. Official GRE scores from the Educational Testing Service (allow three to four weeks for the test to be received by the Graduate School)

2. Submit additional admission materials to the Department of Counseling and Human Services. All admission to the Counseling Program is provisional, procedures for provisional admission are as follows:

a. All required admission materials must be filed in the program office by May 15 preceding the Fall term/semester, or October 15 preceding the Spring term/semester.

b. Submission of a completed Application for Admission to Master’s Program in Counseling form, three completed Reference Evaluation Forms, a one-page, type-written Writing Sample. See UNT Dallas Office of Graduate Admissions website for specifics.

c. Each applicant is required to participate in an orientation and interview.

Admission Standards

Applicants must submit the official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores on the verbal, quantitative, and writing sections to the graduate school for admission to the program. Conditional admission may be granted pending submission of GRE scores prior to registration for the second term of enrollment.
Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester hours of work prior to receiving the bachelor’s degree, or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work, to be considered for unconditional admission to graduate studies at UNT Dallas. Applicants who have already completed a master’s degree must have at least a 3.4 GPA on the master’s or meet the undergraduate GPA standards.
Applicants must hold at least a bachelor’s degree.
All students granted provisional admission to the master’s program are required to enroll in COUN 5710D during the first term/semester of enrollment in graduate school and must receive a grade of B or higher. Concurrent enrollment in COUN 5680D and COUN 5710D is encouraged. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in these two courses 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 5680D. The student’s progress is evaluated on the basis of the demonstration of adequate subject matter knowledge and the personal and interpersonal skills required for counseling.
After the 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 knowledge, personal and interpersonal skills and counseling skills to determine if progress is adequate, if remedial work is needed or if the student should be withdrawn from the program.
This degree requires a passing score on the comprehensive examination administered during the student’s internship.

Required Courses for MS in Counseling

(60 hour degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling)

*The MS degree requires a minimum of 60 semester hours including successful completion of internship, COUN 5720D/COUN 5721D, and passing a comprehensive examination. .

Required	Taken In Any Order Within #	Program Course Number - Course Title
1^stsemester		COUN 5710D - Counseling Theories
1^stsemester		COUN 5680D - Basic Counseling Skills.
	#2	EPSY 5050D - Educational Research and Evaluation (prereq. To 5760D /5730D )
	#2	COUN 5670D - Developmental Processes and Strategies
	#3	COUN 5765D - Appraisal in Counseling
	#3	COUN 5100D - Counseling Ethics and Professional Orientation
	#4	COUN 5790D - Counseling Culturally Diverse Clients
		COUN 5200D - Counseling Adolescents or COUN 5700D - Introduction to Play Therapy
Sem. Before 5690		COUN 5660D - Advanced Counseling Skills (prereq. to COUN 5740D)
		COUN 5470D - Career Development and Information Resources
		COUN 5740D - Group Counseling Theories and Procedures COUN 5480D - Biopsychosocial Assessment and Wellness in Counseling COUN 5610D - Drug and Addiction Education for Counselors COUN 5490D - Crisis Intervention Counseling COUN 5500D - Human Sexuality in Counseling
Sem. Before 5720		COUN 5690D - Practicum in Counseling
Sem. Before 5721		COUN 5720D - Internship in Counseling I
		COUN 5300D - Systems, Leadership, and Program Development in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Last sem. of prog		COUN 5721D - Internship in Counseling II
		COUN 5580D - Family Counselingor COUN 5640D - Group Play Therapy or COUN 5610D - Drug and Addiction Education for Counselors