The Education Specialist degree in Counselor Education is a unique, flexible program intended for four groups of students.

• Individuals who possess a master’s degree in mental health or community counseling that is “too short” (less than 60 credits) for licensure as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor or “LCPC” in the State of Montana.
• Individuals who are licensed as School Counselors and wish to be eligible for licensure as an LCPC in Montana.
• Individuals who are licensed as LCPC’s and wish to qualify for licensure as a School Counselor.
• Individuals who hold a master’s degree in a closely related area (e.g., Social Work) and wish to qualify for licensure as a School Counselor.

The Ed.S. degree is not CACREP-accredited. CACREP, our national accrediting body does not review or approve Ed.S. degrees. However, Ed.S. graduates can state that their degree closely mirrors national accreditation standards. Those who possess a master's degree in a different field are best served by applying to the Department's master's degree programs.

Program Requirements

Formal programs of study for the specialist degree in Counselor Education are designed in cooperation with assigned advisor. General program requirements are listed below:

• Regardless of the number of credits in the student’s previous master’s degree, the Ed.S. requires an additional 18 semester credits of study. The total number of credits, including the previous master’s degree, must total at least 64.
• Students must complete a program of study that closely mirrors one of our nationally accredited master’s degrees in School or Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
• The Ed.S. requires a supervised internship in the specialty area in which the student wishes to qualify for licensure. Supervised internship must total 5 credits (600 supervised hours). Attendance at Internship class (COUN 585) is mandatory.
• Students must complete a final project of 1-4 credits. This might be a literature review, a pilot study, a project such as a new program in a school or evaluating a mental health treatment approach, for example.

EdS Application Requirements

Required Materials

• Current résumé (CV)
• 3 Letters of recommendation
• Official academic transcripts from ALL higher-education institutions of previous study
• OPTIONAL: Official GRE scores 
  • Doctoral applicants must have a minimum GRE verbal score of 153 and math score of 146 (500 verbal, 500 math converted score prior to 9/1/2011)
  • In the event of a lower GRE score, on rare occasions a combination of other factors may allow for provisional acceptance
• Personal statement
  
  • Tell us more about you, your motivations for pursuing a doctoral degree in counselor education, the qualities you would bring to the profession, what you hope to do with the degree

Application Information

The application submission deadline for the Counselor Education Specialist program is January 15th

Graduate student applicants must apply online. Contact the Graduate School (406-243-2572) with further questions regarding the online application process. If admitted, students may begin their graduate program in either Summer Session or Fall Semester. 

English Language Requirements: 
Applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery) scores. If the TOEFL score is below 580 (paper-based test), 237 (computer-based test) or 92 (internet-based test), the IELTS score is below 7.0 or the MELAB score is below 82, applicants may be admitted provisionally into a graduate program or as a graduate non-degree student and will be required to complete English as a Second Language (ESL) courses before participating in Counselor Education courses.

Contact Us

Department of Counseling
counselored@mso.umt.edu
406-243-4850