University of North Texas at Dallas

Programs

 

Career potential

A UNT master's degree with a major in counseling provides you with the education needed to work as a counseling professional in a school or university, community agency, church, private practice, business or industry. You may focus your studies on elementary or secondary school counseling, college and university counseling or community counseling. The counseling faculty has observed a shortage of elementary and secondary school counselors. Many college, university and community counseling jobs are competitive.

Job search and career planning information is available to students enrolled at UNT Dallas. You can learn about resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation, and you can obtain information about jobs and employers.

 

Admission Procedures

1. Application and acceptance to the UNT Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.
2. All admission to the Counseling Program is provisional, procedures for provisional admission are as follows:
1. All required admission materials must be filed in the program office by May15 preceding the fall term/semester, October 15 preceding the spring term/semester or February 15 preceding the summer term/semester.
2. Submission of a completed Application for Admission to Master’s Program in Counseling form, three completed Reference Evaluation Forms, a one-page, typewritten Writing Sample.
3. Each applicant is required to participate in an orientation and interview

Admission Standards

• All students granted provisional admission to the master’s program are required to enroll in COUN 5710 during the first term/semester of enrollment in graduate school and must receive a grade of B or higher. Concurrent enrollment in COUN 5680 and 5710 is encouraged. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in these two courses to be considered for full admission to the program.
• Admission to the counseling program is provisional until the student’s progress is evaluated by the counseling faculty upon completion of COUN 5680. The student’s progress is evaluated on the basis of the demonstration of adequate subject matter knowledge and the personal and interpersonal skills required for counseling.
• After the progress review, the counseling faculty either recommends that the student continue the program or reserves the right to withdraw the student from the program.
• Following this initial evaluation, the student will be routinely evaluated on the criteria of knowledge, personal and interpersonal skills and counseling skills to determine if progress is adequate, if remedial work is needed or if the student should be withdrawn from the program.

 

Financial assistance

UNT offers financial aid to help students pay for their education, including loans, internships or co-ops, and part-time employment. Students may call the financial aid adviser at UNT Dallas at (972) 780-3600 or the financial aid office on the Denton campus at (940) 565-2302 or (800) 655-3537.

A number of libraries and corporations in the Dallas-Fort Worth region offer internship or co-op experiences for students.

Taking courses at UNT Dallas permits students to work either part or full time while pursuing their degrees.

 

Master of Education in Counseling

UNT Dallas offers a master of education (MEd) in counseling.  The degree requires a minimum of 48 semester credit hours.  To complete the counseling program, you must finish the courses required for your chosen track.  The MEd degree requires the successful completion of internship, COUN 5720/5721, and a final exit interview.

All areas (36 hours)

COUN 5470 Career Development and Information Resources
COUN 5480 Biopsychosocial Assessment and Wellness in Counseling
COUN 5660 Advanced Counseling Skills
COUN 5680 Basic Counseling Skills
COUN 5690 Practicum in Counseling
COUN 5710 Counseling Theories
COUN 5720 Internship in Counseling I
COUN 5721 Internship in Counseling II
COUN 5740 Group Counseling Theories and Procedures
COUN 5790 Counseling Culturally Diverse Clients
DFEC 5123 Human Development Across the Life Span
EDER 5210 Educational Statistics

Community counseling — adolescent or adult (12 hours)

COUN 5300 Counseling in the Community Agency
COUN 5730 Appraisal in Adult Counseling or COUN 5760 Appraisal in Child and Adolescent Counseling
Electives: Two courses selected in consultation with the student's adviser (6 hours)
Students pursuing community counseling — child must take three courses at the Denton campus: COUN 5700 Introduction to Play Therapy, a play therapy elective course, and COUN 5690 Practicum in Counseling.

College and university counseling (12 hours)

COUN 5730 Appraisal in Adult Counseling
COUN 5750 College Student Development Theory
EDHE 5120 Student Development Programming Administration
Elective: One course selected in consultation with the student's adviser (3 hours)

Secondary school counseling (12 hours)

COUN 5600 Counseling in Secondary Schools
COUN 5760 Appraisal in Child and Adolescent Counseling
Electives: Two courses selected in consultation with the student's adviser (6 hours)

Elementary school counseling (12 hours)

COUN 5700 Introduction to Play Therapy*
COUN 5760 Appraisal in Child and Adolescent Counseling
COUN 5770 Counseling in the Elementary School*
Elective: One course selected in consultation with the student's adviser (3 hours)*
*These courses and COUN 5690 for students in this track are available at the Denton campus only.

To work as a counselor in Texas public schools, you must be certified. The elementary and secondary school counseling tracks meet those educational requirements. Upon completing the degree requirements, you also must have two years of teaching experience in an accredited school and must pass the Texas Examination of Educator Standards (TExES: Counselor) to become certified.

To work in Texas as a counselor in settings other than public schools or religious settings, you must be a licensed professional counselor (LPC). All tracks meet those educational requirements. After finishing the degree requirements, you also must complete 3,000 hours of supervised experience and pass the Texas licensure exam.

 

Certificates in counseling

The certificate program offers opportunities in advanced training beyond the master's degree in specialized areas other than school counselor certification, including certification in adolescent, adult, community or couple and family counseling. For admission, the certificate program requires a master's degree in counseling with a 3.5 grade point average from a CACREP-accredited program or equivalent. Or, you may complete deficiency course work that achieves equivalency before beginning the certificate program. Program requirements include completing 12 credit hours of specified course work in one of the four certificate options with a minimum 3.5 grade point average. All course work must be completed within four years of the first course taken. Only one course with a grade of C or lower may be retaken for a higher grade.

For a list of required courses, call (817) 267-3731, ext. 2910 or (940) 565-2910.

 

Charting the path to your degree or certification

Before attending UNT Dallas, you must be accepted to the UNT Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the counseling master's degree program.

For complete admission requirements, call the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies at (888) UNT-GRAD or the counseling program office at (817) 267-3731, ext. 2910, or (940) 565-2910.

All courses needed to complete tracks of study in Community Counseling — Adolescent or Adult, College and University Counseling, and Secondary School Counseling are offered at UNT Dallas.

Most courses need to complete tracks of study in Community Counseling — Child or in Elementary School Counseling are offered at the Dallas Campus; courses involving play therapy must be completed at the Denton campus.

All courses needed to complete the specified Graduate Academic Certificates are offered at UNT Dallas.

 

Library resources

The virtual library at the UNT Dallas Campus provides electronic access to several thousand periodicals, more than 400 electronic databases and a collection of thousands of books in digital format that will continue to grow. A core print collection of frequently used reference books is available on site.

An on-site staff of two professional librarians and several student assistants provides reference service. Additional reference service is available from librarians on the Denton campus. An online virtual reference desk chat room is available to students needing information from the Denton campus library system. The reference desk chat room allows users to interact directly with librarians in real time. Students may also work with Denton campus librarians via e-mail and telephone. Document delivery services from the UNT library system in Denton are provided for non-electronic resources.

UNT Dallas Campus

UNT Dallas offers junior-, senior- and graduate-level courses leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The Dallas Campus also offers programs leading to certifications and endorsements, and courses for career advancement. Courses and programs offered are of the same high quality as those offered at UNT in Denton and are taught by faculty from both the Dallas and Denton campuses. Dallas Campus students earn their degree from the University of North Texas.

UNT Dallas features the region’s first virtual library, state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs with Internet access and other services to help students achieve success.

The Dallas Campus is conveniently located at 7300 Houston School Road, three blocks north of Interstate 20, and is accessible by public transportation.

Since its opening in January 2000, enrollment at UNT Dallas has increased every semester. When enrollment equals 1,000 full-time equivalent students, UNT can begin the process to open UNT Dallas — the first public university within the Dallas city limits.

 

About UNT

The University of North Texas is a student-centered public research university and the flagship of the UNT System. One of Texas' largest universities, UNT offers 96 bachelor's, 111 master's and 50 doctoral degree programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. UNT's 33,500 students Discover the Power of Ideas.

UNT offers private-school quality at an affordable cost. More transfer students enroll at UNT than at any other college or university in Texas.

UNT is repeatedly listed as one of America’s top 100 colleges for Hispanic students. UNT has been named one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 11 consecutive years.

With 5.8 million in cataloged holdings, UNT’s library system has been designated a major research library by the U.S. Department of Education.

 

For more information on this program

Dallas Graduate Services
E-mail: dallasgraduateservices@unt.edu
Phone: (972) 780-3621
Fax: (972) 780-3636

Dr. Steven Farmer, Ph.D., Program Coordinator
Email: steven.farmer@unt.edu
Phone: (972) 780-3071Fax:
(972) 780-3636

 

The University of North Texas at Dallas

7300 Houston School Rd.
Dallas, Texas 75241
[map]

(972) 780-3600
(888) 937-9291 (TTY)
(972) 780-3636 (Fax)

untdallas@unt.edu

Business hours are:
Mon-Thurs 9 am to 7 pm
Friday 9 am to 6 pm

Toulouse School of Graduate Studies (940)565-2636 or toll free (888) UNT-GRAD