The preferred application date to submit all application materials is February 1 of the year in which admission is desired. Admission is considered for fall and summer semesters only. In addition to the criteria established for general admission to graduate studies, applicants must have the following:  

• An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale 
• One letter of recommendation submitted directly to the Office of Admissions prior to admission. The letter should be addressed to the Director of Admissions. 
• Either hold a valid professional teaching certification at the appropriate level or provide evidence of competency in the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's required areas of teaching methods, teaching practices, classroom management, and psychology of the exceptional child by completing two specific education courses. 

International applicants must also have a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 OR TOEFL score of 95. This requirement is for non-United States citizens who are not native English speakers. Students from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are exempt from English proficiency verification. 

Students will have an interview with member(s) of the counseling faculty prior to admission. Students must complete a personal statement essay describing their decision to pursue counseling as a career prior to the scheduled interview (submit directly to the Department of Psychology and Counseling). Following the interview, faculty will offer provisional admission, probationary admission, or deny admission.

To become fully admitted, applicants must complete the following: Satisfactorily complete CP610 Counseling Orientation and Ethics during their first semester and submit two additional letters of recommendation directly to their advisor. 

Probationary Admission 

Probationary admission will be considered by the program admissions committee if the applicant has a 2.75 to 2.99 undergraduate GPA or if the applicant has achieved a GPA of 3.25 during the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Students admitted to the counseling program on probation must attain a 3.5 GPA for the first 9 hours of graduate work. Unless authorized by the advisor, probationary students must include the following courses in the first 9 hours of coursework: CP610 Counseling Orientation and Ethics, CP 612 Counseling Theories, and CP691 Research Methods and Program Evaluation in Counseling. A student earning any grade less than a "B" in any of the first nine hours, but still maintaining a 3.0 GPA, will be allowed to repeat the course one time and must earn a grade of "B" or better. 

Appeals Process

Applicants who are denied admission can appeal to the Counseling Program Admission Committee.

Required Courses

• CP610 Counseling Orientation and Ethics (3)
• CP611 Developmental Theories (3)
• CP612 Counseling Theories (3)
• CP613 Social and Cultural Aspects of Counseling (3)
• CP614 Counseling Skills (3)
• CP615 Career Development (3)
• CP616 Group Counseling (3)
• CP617 Assessment in Counseling (3)
• CP630 Foundations of School Counseling (3)
• CP631 Crisis Intervention and Consultation (3) 
• CP632 Applications of School Counseling (3)
• CP643 Psychodiagnostics and Treatment (3) 
• CP652 Introduction to Play Therapy (3) 
• CP658 Advanced Play Therapy (3) 
• CP661 Addictions Counseling (3) 
• CP680 Counseling Practicum (3) 
• CP682 Internship Elementary (3) 
• CP683 Internship Secondary (3) 
• CP684 Internship School Counseling (3) 
• CP691 Research Methods and Program Evaluation in Counseling (3)
• GR698 Master's Final Comprehensive Examination (0) 

Prerequisites:

• Teaching Certificate  

or if no teaching certificate:

• EX390 Psychology and Education of the Exceptional Child

• EX635 Psychology and Education of Students with Special Needs  

and 

• EA658 Instructional Strategies and Classroom Management 

or 

• SE635 Theory of Learning and Instructional Strategies