UT Tyler Psychology and Counseling

Master of Arts in School Counseling - ONLINE

The Master of Arts in School Counseling program at UT Tyler prepares proficient, creative, and highly competent school counselors to: (a) assume an active role in counseling, consulting, and leadership, (b) promote academic excellence and equal learning opportunities for all students, and (c) base their work on a fundamental understanding of comprehensive developmental school counseling programs, including methods of planning, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Program graduates are prepared as systemic thinkers who demonstrate competence in fundamental counseling skills, work from a theoretical counseling perspective, and are considered competent in the use of current research in the practice of professional school counseling.

The program curriculum is designed to align with the Texas School Counselor standards and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) guidelines. This degree meets the requirements for counselor certification set forth by the Texas State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC).

The School Counseling program is a cohort program that begins each Summer. There is no Fall or Spring entry into the program.

The courses are a mix of synchronous, semi-synchronous, and asynchronous, depending on the subject and the professor.

For additional information, email us.

Online Master of Arts in School Counseling

• Complete coursework online
• Graduate in 24 months
• M.A. = 48 hour program
• TExES passing rates among the best in Texas with 99% pass rate for school counseling students, putting our graduates among the best prepared in Texas
• Currently employed Texas full-time, K-12 teachers are eligible for $200 the first graduate semester by applying for the Teachers in Excellence Scholarship

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the UT Tyler Master of Arts in School Counseling program, a prospective student must submit all undergraduate and graduate official transcripts, a completed department information sheet, a Statement of Purpose essay (described on the Department Information Sheet), Statement on Educational Practice, three completed professional reference forms, and an admission screening survey.

International Applicants: If the applicant's bachelor's degree is from a non-US institution, it must be evaluated by a service on this list. Also, a total TOEFL iBT score of 79 with a speaking subsection score of 26 or higher is necessary for admission.

Transcripts

Submit complete official transcripts reflecting the reception of a bachelor's degree and any other undergraduate and graduate coursework.  Applicants must have an overall OR last 60-hour GPA of 2.75 or better to be considered for admission to this program.  Students should request official academic transcripts be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Any request by the student for acceptance of graduate transfer credit should contact us.

Application Submission Process

Deadlines:

We will begin accepting applications for the May 2025 cohort in September 2024.  Applications will be accepted until February 15, 2025. All application materials must be submitted and received no later than March 3, 2025 to be considered for the May 2025 cohort. Applications submitted after February 15, 2025 will not be considered and you will need to reapply to be considered for the 2026 cohort.  Application fees are non-refundable.

All applications will be reviewed beginning March 3, 2025 and offers of admission will be sent by March 28, 2025.

Admissions to this program is a competitive process.  Information from all of the submitted materials will be holistically evaluated to make admission decisions.

There are three portions of the application process:

First:

• Complete the online application after September 1, 2024.
• Send all official academic transcripts to the Office of Graduate Admissions at the address below.  You must have an overall OR last 60-hour GPA of 2.75 or better to be considered for admission to this program.

Email transcripts or send through mail to:

The Office of Graduate Admissions, HPR 248
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd
Tyler Texas 75799

Then:

After your application has been processed by the graduate admissions office and you have receive your ID through email:

• Complete the Department Information Sheet, Statement of Purpose and Statement of Educational Practice.  Both essays are required fields. Please do not complete the Department Information Sheet until you are also ready to also submit the Statement of Purpose and Statement of Educational Practice. Please be aware that admission into this program is a competitive process; therefore, you should be thorough in your responses.  The prompts for the essays are as follows: 
  • • Statement of Purpose:  "Describe your future educational and career goals and explain how the school counseling program at UT Tyler would fit into these goals. How does the school counseling program correspond to your particular plans, needs, and previous background and experiences?"
    • Statement on Educational Practice: A personal statement describing your background and classroom experiences that demonstrate your commitment and ability to work with students from all backgrounds and needs.
• Complete the reference request form.  Please select three professional references.

Finally:

• Complete the admission screening survey.

Note: All applicants may be subject to a background and fingerprint check from a university-approved vendor at applicants' expense.

Note: This program does not offer provisional admission. You must be fully admitted to begin coursework.

Criminal History Acknowledgement:

As required by Texas HB1508, applicants need to be aware of the following.

1. In order to receive a school counseling certification, you must pass a criminal history background check.
2. If you have been convicted of an offense that is considered not appropriate for a school counselor, you could be ineligible to earn this certification from the state of Texas.
3. You have a right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the Texas Education Agency.  The Texas Education Agency currently charges a $50 fee for this criminal history evaluation.

Out-of-State Information

If you are an out-of-state applicant, please be aware of the following:

• Out-of-state tuition is substantially higher than in-state tuition. See the graduate calculator to determine your tuition.
• The State of Texas requires that the internship be done in Texas or at a Department of Defense school in order to receive Texas certification. This means that you could still participate in our program and earn your master's degree, but unless you complete your internship in Texas, you would not be able to be certified in Texas.
• We make no claims that our program meets the standards of any state other than Texas; you must research your own state's regulations in regards to certification in that state.

Program Courses

Course Number	Course Title
COUN 5312	Counseling Theories and Applications
COUN 5313	Family Therapy
COUN 5314	Applied School Counseling
COUN 5324	Cultural Diversity and Advocacy
COUN 5330	Counseling Children & Adolescents
COUN 5334	Foundations and Ethics of School Counseling
COUN 5335	Career Counseling and Assessment
COUN 5340	Research and Program Evaluation
COUN 5344	Advanced Principles of School Counseling
COUN 5348	Mental Health in Schools
COUN 5368	Assessment Techniques in Counseling
COUN 5386	Supervised Internship in School Counseling I
COUN 5387	Supervised Internship in School Counseling II
COUN 5393	Practicum
PSYC 5320	Advanced Human Growth and Development
PSYC 5345	Group Counseling and Therapy

 

Additional Information

• Graduate Course Descriptions

For assistance, please see the links below to access the appropriate department

• Apply for financial aid
• For assistance with your bill (regarding fees or non-tuition related charges) contact the Cashiers Office, cashiers@uttyler.edu
• For assistance with your bill (online program tuition-related charges) contact Kris Marquis

For additional information, email SCgraduate@uttyler.edu.

M.A. in School Counseling Flyer

Career Outlook: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that job opportunities for educational, vocational and school counselors will increase by 12% through 2022. Requirements for schools to employ a school counselor and increasing demands in counselor responsibilities are behind much of this growth. For more, visit Occupational Outlook Handbook - School and Career Counselors.

Salary Information: See Bureau of Labor Statistics for detailed salary information on these careers. Another great resource is the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Meet a University of Texas at Tyler Graduate Student

Guide Tomorrow's Students as a Professional School Counselor

Master's in School Counseling: Creative Learning. Highly Impactful.

• Participate in a program that instills a fundamental understanding of counseling skills and teaches students to apply them creatively and in impactful ways that respect all people.
• Complete a supervised practicum in a school setting to gain valuable hands-on experience counseling students.
• Learn to apply current educational and psychological research findings in school counseling.
• Become a student member of the American Counseling Association to network with other professional counselors and keep current with the latest developments in the counseling field.

School Counseling Faculty: Experienced Counselors. Talented Teachers.

• Study with professors who use iChat, Illuminate and other interactive media to engage students and enliven online learning.
• Learn from professors who are experienced counselors and dedicated to mentoring students in their educational and career choices.
• Participate in online courses taught by professors who are respected experts and researchers in the counseling field and frequent presenters at professional conferences.

More about the UT Tyler master's in school counseling program of study
Learn about UT Tyler's school counseling faculty
Learn more from the Department of Psychology and Counseling

Contacts

For Program Related Questions and Advising:

Dr. Sarah Sass  - ssass@uttyler.edu
Dr. Staci Zolkoski - szolkoski@uttyler.edu

For Admission Information:

903.566.7361
SCgraduate@uttyler.edu

For complaints about this certification educator preparation program, please follow the policy outlined in the Certification Program's Complaint Policy.