Counseling M.S. with School Counselor Certificate

Requirements

The graduate plan in Counseling with School Counselor Certificate leads to the Master of Science degree. Students seeking this degree must meet the academic requirements for the School Counselor Standard Certificate (EC-12).

The School Counselor standard certificate plan requires a minimum of 48 hours. To be eligible at the time of certification recommendation, students must have a Master’s Degree, a valid Texas Standard Teaching Certificate, a passing score on the state assessment and two years of successful full-time approved classroom teaching experience.

The opportunity to complete the academic requirements for the School Counselor standard certificate through the counseling plan is restricted to students admitted to the counseling program. Students who are not degree seeking, but seeking certification, may enroll in counseling courses with prior approval of the program coordinator. In each case, students must meet the stated course prerequisites and space must be available in the course.

This program in offered in both face-to-face and hybrid formats.

Admission Requirements

Students who meet the graduate admissions requirements to the College of Education (COE) (see Graduate Admissions Requirements) must meet additional requirements prior to applying for candidacy to the Counseling program. Counseling applications are available on the COE Web site at https://www.uhcl.edu/admissions/apply/graduate/how-to-apply. Each application for candidacy must include the following:

1. Completed application form
2. Brief essay (500 words maximum) stating the student’s career goals and reasons for the application
3. Documentation of completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or MAT if last 60 undergraduate hours GPA is less than 3.0
4. Official transcripts from all universities attended. The last 60 hours, including the full semester in which the 60th hour appears, will be used to calculate the grade point average (GPA)
5. Students seeking School Counselor Certification must have a GPA of 2.750 over the last 60 hours
6. Three professional recommendation forms
7. Applicant self-rating sheet
8. Current resume
9. TEA required documents:
   • Valid Standard Texas Teaching certificate
   • Texas Teacher Service Record
   • TEA Ethics training certificate
   • TEA admission fee receipt
   • Background Check Notification form
   • Documented training of Youth Mental Health/Substance Abuse/Youth Suicide Prevention
   • FERPA form

Applicants who submit properly completed applications by the published deadlines may be invited to participate in a structured interview. The admissions process is conducted during the fall and spring semesters of each year. Application forms and instructions may be obtained in the COE Office of Academic Advising. Questions about the content of the application packet and process should be directed to the COE Office of Academic Advising. Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that their packets containing the completed application forms, essays, supporting transcripts, documented GRE or MAT scores (if necessary), recommendation forms, self-rating sheet, and TEA documents are received by the COE Office of Academic Advising on or before the deadline: September 1 for spring entry and March 1 for fall entry. If the application deadline falls on a weekend or a university holiday, applications will be accepted before the close of business on the following work day. Faxes and late applications will not be accepted.

Selected applicants will be contacted via the email address provided on their application to schedule an interview with the admissions committee. If admitted to the counseling program, students must attend a mandatory orientation.

Incomplete applications will not be considered for admission.

Check prerequisites before enrolling in any course.

Grades for all courses must be B- or higher.