DCOUN-MS - Clinical Mental Health Counseling, MS

Admission to a graduate program is evaluated by both the Graduate School and the department offering the program and both sets of standards and admission procedures must be met for admission to a degree program.

Application Packet Deadlines for Program Admission can be found at the Degree Program Requirement and Deadlines page.

Graduate School Admission

Admission Standards for Graduate School Admission can be found under the Requirements for Admission to the Graduate School on the Graduate School Admissions page.

Admission Procedure

There are two steps to apply for admission to a graduate program.

1. Primary application (https://www.applytexas.org/)

2. Supplemental program application (https://laserfiche.untdallas.edu/Forms/Graduate_Application) which allows uploading of the following supplemental admission requirements:  

• Letters of recommendation (3) from professional or academic references

• Essay – one-page, typewritten Writing Sample I. 

3.      An individual interview with UNT Dallas graduate Counseling faculty may be required at any of the levels of the holistic applicant review process described below in the Admission Standards section.  The purpose of the individual interview is:

• To assess personal qualities useful for graduate and eventual professional work as a counselor;

• To clarify questions and/or concerns that the committee may have about an applicant's admission materials; and,

• To determine whether the applicant's professional goals are in alignment with the objectives of the program.

The Counseling Admissions Committee will consider all applications through a holistic review process.  After reviewing the pool of applicants, the admissions committee will invite qualified applicants for the required (group) interview.  Applicants invited for the (group) interview will be given specific guidelines for the process. 

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all required documentation is received by UNT Dallas by the application deadline (not postmarked).

Dates and deadlines:  https://www.untdallas.edu/gradschool/degree-program-reqs.php

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Admission

Admission Standards

• Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester hours of work leading to the bachelor’s degree, or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work toward the bachelor’s degree, to be considered for admission to graduate studies at UNT Dallas. Applicants who have already completed a master’s degree must have at least a 3.4 GPA on the master’s degree or meet the undergraduate GPA standards.

• Letters of recommendation should be submitted by professional or academic references and should attest to the applicant's work experience or academic performance and potential.

• Successful applicants are invited to participate in a required, in-person group interview. Applicants invited to the group interview will additionally be required to complete Writing Sample II, an additional, in-person essay component.

• Admissions are based on a holistic process that first considers the GPA; then the second level review of letters of recommendations and Writing Sample I; and the third level review where the in-person group interview and Writing Sample II components are rated, evaluated and scored. If an applicant passes all three levels, then they are granted provisional admission.

• All students granted provisional admission to the master’s program are required to enroll in both COUN 5710 Counseling Theories and COUN 5680 Basic Counseling Skills. during the first term/semester of enrollment in graduate school and must receive a grade of B or higher. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in these two courses to be considered for full admission to the program. 

• In addition to earning a B or higher in COUN 5710 and COUN 5680, 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, basic counseling interpersonal skills required for counseling, and personal characteristics demonstrated in the program.

• After the progress review described above, 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, interpersonal skills, counseling skills, and personal characteristics to determine if progress is adequate, if remedial work is needed or if the student should be withdrawn from the program. 

NOTE:  Graduate students apply for and are accepted into specific programs. Students who wish to change from one program to another must meet all admission requirements for the new program.