Professional Counseling Master's Program
Last Updated: 06/02/2008
Mission Statement:
The fundamental mission of the Master's in Professional Counseling specialty is to educate and train those counselors who will promote the optimal functioning of individuals, families, groups, and communities. Built upon a sound foundation of knowledge, skills, and dispositions inherent to counseling those from diverse backgrounds, program graduates will be able to translate research-validated practices into effective strategies for individuals, groups, and families. The course of study will support the acquisition of knowledge within an atmosphere that fosters professional and personal growth through self-reflection and constructive feedback.
About the Professional Counseling Master's PRogram:
The professional Counseling Specialty is designed to prepare students for entry level counseling positions in community mental health and human service agencies. This specialty is currently designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Utah, and is congruent with national standards for master's level licensure in most other jurisdictions across the country. Accordingly, the Professional Counseling Specialty requires a minimum of 60 credit hours, typically over three years, with the final year culminating in a 1000-hour field-based internship.
The faculty is committed to offering a manageable program of study, with course offerings that accommodate those balancing work and family. Consequently, most required courses meet once per week in the early evening. Moreover, we are dedicated to providing close, individualized attention to our students, selecting only 6-12 students per year. Because we limit our numbers, students regularly provide feedback that they are well-known among the faculty, receive close supervision, and appreciate the small class sizes. Students also comment on both the non-competitive, collegial atmosphere among their class peers and the close connections they are able to develop because of the smaller cohort size.
Students admitted to the Professional Counseling specialty have completed at least a bachelor's degree and have relevant experience and/or education in psychology. Please consult Information for Applicants for specific details on requirements for applying to the program. Please also consult the Program Booklet above, which is revised annually for our incoming students, providing details regarding the Professional Counseling program's objectives, curriculum, and internship requirements.
