Academic Program

School Counseling

Master's Degree

The Counseling Program trains professional counselors to provide service to historically under-served populations in school and community settings. Through its unique ecological counseling focus, the counseling program continues its long history of leadership within the community and the profession.

The Counseling Program offers a Master of Arts degree in Mental Health Counseling and a Master of Education degree in School Counseling. These CACREP-accredited master's degree programs are designed around a set of core classes selected to be consistent with national accreditation standards for master's programs in counseling, with state licensing requirements for counselors, and with university requirements for graduate programs. In addition to this common core, each of the two degree options requires specialized coursework and extensive field-based internship training that prepares the student for professional practice. An assigned faculty advisor assists each student in choosing elective coursework and in planning field-based practica and internship experiences. Prior to graduation, all master's degree students must successfully complete a nationally standardized comprehensive examination which assesses mastery of core counseling knowledge and skills. School counseling students also prepare and submit a professional portfolio which documents their educational accomplishments. Mental Health Counseling (M.A., 90 quarter credit hours): The Master of Arts degree in Mental Health Counseling is designed to train mental health counselors for employment in community agency and private practice settings. Graduates of this program meet the training requirements established by the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapy Board for licensure as a professional counselor (PC). School Counseling (M.Ed., 72 quarter credit hours): The Master of Education degree in School Counseling is designed to train school counselors for employment in public and private school settings. Graduates of this program meet training requirements established by the Ohio Board of Education for licensure as a school counselor.

Admission Requirements

You may apply for admission to graduate study on-line by visiting the University of Cincinnati Graduate School Website.

You should also visit the Counseling Program website or instructions and forms necessary to apply for admission to the Counseling Program. Admission decisions may not be made on the basis of race, age, sex, color, religion, sex orientation or handicap except in those disciplines in which the handicap will place the student, other students, faculty, or staff in physical danger (University Graduate Handbook, p. 20). The Counseling Program explicitly values diversity in the student body's background and interests.

To be considered for admission to graduate study in counseling, the applicant must meet the following basic requirements. Admission to the Counseling Program is highly competitive. Meeting these basic requirements does not guarantee admission.

  • The applicant must hold a Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. A variety of majors may be considered appropriate background for training in counseling. Successful applicants typically have a background in education and/or the social sciences.
  • The applicant must show evidence of academic skill documented by submission of transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work. While the minimum qualifying grade point average is 2.8, successful masters applicants generally have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.2 or higher.
  • The applicant must show openness to personal exploration and professional development and evidence of skill in helping relationships documented by three letters of reference from qualified persons, a personal goals statement, and by behavior during admissions interviews. For master's degree applicants, considerable latitude will be given in terms of what constitutes experience in helping relationships and who is considered a qualified source of recommendation.
  • Persons for whom English is not their native language must show evidence of proficiency by virtue of their score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (Minimum TOEFL score: 620).
  • Master's applicants must submit general scores (i.e. Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical) from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Listed below are important stages that mark the progression leading to a Master's Degree in Counseling:

  • Application for admission
  • Financial aid application
  • Notification of acceptance
  • Program planning
  • Completion of course work including core, skills-based clinical, specialization, and residency requirements

These must be completed within seven calendar years of first enrollment as a matriculated student in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services.

Program Requirements

Graduation Requirements

The student must be registered for a minimum of one credit hour in the academic year in which she or he intends to graduate. In addition, the student must notify the Counseling program coordinator one quarter prior to the quarter of intended graduation. If the student registers and does not graduate, she or he must reapply for graduation.

Financial Aid

The University of Cincinnati participates in a full range of state and federal financial aid programs. For example, graduate students may qualify for assistance under the federal Work-Study, Guaranteed Student Loan, or National Direct Student Loan programs. The University also sponsors work-study, loan, and budgeting programs. Some teaching, research, or program-assistance graduate assistantships are available. Finally, many deserving graduate students may qualify for tuition remission scholarships that can ease the burden especially for out-of-state students.

Graduate Assistantship (GA): A Graduate Assistantship is a financial award and stipend for full-time graduate students. GA's usually carry teaching and/or research responsibilities, requiring an average of 20 hours of service per week. These assistantships carry stipends ranging from $3500 to $11,000, plus a tuition and coverage of general fees. GA awards are available for the academic year only. Most GA's are available from programs or services outside the Counseling Program.

University Graduate Scholarship (UGS): A University Graduate Scholarship is a university-funded, tuition-only scholarship which covers a portion of instructional fees for full-time graduate students. These awards do not cover the general fees that are assessed each quarter. UGS monies are available for the academic calendar year and also for the summer session.

In order to be eligible for financial assistance, all international students must demonstrate basic proficiency in English. The University of Cincinnati conducts a testing program to determine such proficiency. International student recipients of financial aid who, after testing, are deemed lacking in English proficiency, must improve their abilities and achieve a passing score on the proficiency test to become eligible for financial aid beyond that academic year.

For additional information on these financial assistance awards and other sources of assistance, one may refer to the Graduate Awards Manual, available upon request from the Graduate Office of Education. In addition, the Program Secretary may be of personal assistance in the application process.

Degree Requirements

Students take the national Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Exam (CPCE) for their program ending comprehensive exam. Students are responsible for knowing the program's comprehensive exam dates. The university dates for completion of these experiences must be adhered to in order to graduate in the quarter requested.