Master of Science in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Specialization

We now use a third party system to assist in graduate applications called GradCAS.  The entire application packet is available to you online. All required material is completed and submitted via the application portal.

Contact Keely Hope at khope@ewu.edu or 509.359.2439 for questions regarding the counseling program.

The application deadline date is January 15.

The application requirements include official undergraduate transcripts (and graduate transcripts, if applicable), three references, cover letter and resumé,  and a personal statement.

Applicants must demonstrate successful completion of an undergraduate statistics course.

In your personal statement, please address the following in a one-page, single-spaced document:

• Significant life event or experience that contributed to your desire to be a counselor.
• What do you view as the single most important quality in a counselor, and what will you need to do to work on this quality?
• Evidence demonstrating your commitment to working with diverse communities

We recommend you write your answers to above questions prior to completing the online application.

Take your time and create a well thought out answer to these questions.

Yes. All students must successfully complete a statistics course.

You will need to share completion of this course on a transcript prior to admission.

You may apply without the course, however, you will need to take this course prior to enrolling.  This must be done prior to the first quarter of the program.

In your personal statement, please address the following in a one-page, single-spaced document:

• Significant life event or experience that contributed to your desire to be a counselor.
• What do you view as the single most important quality in a counselor, and what will you need to do to work on this quality?
• Evidence demonstrating your commitment to working with diverse communities.

We recommend you write your answers to the personal statement and the above questions prior to completing the online application. Your personal statement should be one page, single spaced, long.

Take your time and create a well thought out answer to these questions.

You will submit the name and email of the person who is providing you a recommendation in the application portal. The person will receive an email from the university/program and will do the recommendation electronically.

All you need is the person’s name, title, and email address.

Make sure to alert your reference to the change and that they will receive an email from us with the opportunity to upload the traditional letter of recommendation and fill out our form electronically.

Great question!

We are looking for a letter that supports you wholeheartedly.

We want to know your potential for graduate work, especially graduate work in counseling.

We want to know how effective you are in interacting with people.

We want to know about  your professionalism.

And lastly, we’d like your recommendations to reflect who you are as a person, your emotional maturity and your teach-ability.

Good question. Below you will find our application data.

No. It is no longer true.

All classes will be held on the main campus in Cheney. This includes internship classes and any seminar classes. Practicum and Internship sites could be in Spokane depending on where the student completes the clinical experience.

As with all things, though, there may be changes to this plan, but that will be on a case by case basis and typically due to a scheduling conflict of the instructor.

The program is designed as a full-time program.

While tuition costs may change from year to year, the cost of the program based on the 2022-2023 academic year for Washington residents is $30,437.44.

In state students, the cost is $13,718.52 per year.

Summer tuition is different. The program requires one summer where the student takes 8 credits. That cost is $3000.40.

The webpage to consult for tuition is https://www.ewu.edu/apply/graduate/tuition-aid/

Summer costs https://www.ewu.edu/summer/costs/

For out of state students, we highly recommend you establish residency in your first year.

If you are an out of state student, your first year will cost $29,045.40.

The Counseling core faculty are Keely Hope and Camille Frank.

Core faculty members are defined by CACREP as someone who has earned a PhD in Counselor Education and identifies professionally as a counselor as evidenced by membership in professional organizations and holds either a current license or certification in their specialty area.

The program is designed as a two-year program, with summer after the first academic year required and summer the second year optional depending on credit completion during the academic year.

This includes the 600-hour internship requirement over the course of one academic year.

The program will offer courses in a hybrid format beginning in fall 2022.  This means some of your required content toward the credit hours in class will be delivered online, asynchronously, via Canvas.

The MS Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling program will be offered using a combination of in-person and online (synchronous and asynchronous) modalities. Students will be expected to be present for courses on the Cheney campus on Mondays, with hybrid delivery of material occurring during the rest of the week.

The program is a two-year program, with summer after the first academic year required and summer the second year optional depending on credit completion during the academic year.

It is possible to work a part-time position during the course of the program with good time management skills.

Please note that while your commitment to campus is on Mondays, you are responsible for the asynchronous components on your own time.

In addition, your practicum will begin in Spring of your first year and require a commitment of 10 to 15 hours per week on site. Your internship will require 20 to 25 hours of time on site per week.

In total, the counseling program admits between 24 and 30 per year. Because our programs are nationally certified by CACREP, we maintain a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. We routinely have more academically qualified applicants than we can admit.

94 quarter credits. This is the equivalent of 62 semester credits.

Strong consideration is given to demonstrated academic excellence. We want students who will be competent in a graduate level course of study.  In addition, the faculty focuses on the applicant’s maturity, interpersonal skills, and prior experience in a helping role with others. Each applicant’s file is reviewed by each member of the Counseling faculty using a weighted scoring sheet that considers GPA, the strength of letters of recommendation, prior work experience, and professionalism of the applicant’s written personal statement.

Grammar, style, and content are evaluated as part of the personal statement. Faculty members then decide collectively on which students will be further considered for admission. Each applicant still in consideration is interviewed by the faculty. A final decision on members of the cohort is reached by mid to late February if possible.

The faculty are dedicated to trying to make decisions on admission as quickly as possible.

The application deadline is January 15.

Faculty then review completed applications within two weeks and make decisions on interviews.

Interview offers are made within 2-3 weeks of the application deadline.

Initial offers of admission are made within one week following the interviews.

It can take up to one month after interviews for all cohort spots to fill.

EWU does not adhere to the April 15th Resolution.

As such, we will ask for an admissions decision prior to that date.

If you ask for a delay in making your decision, your request will be discussed by the committee.

In cases of offers made, this means someone else did not receive an offer. We do ask that you decide as expeditiously as possible and if the answer is yes, to confirm your admission with Graduate Studies.

We do know that circumstances change, but we do ask that if a students accepts admission they plan to attend in fall.

No. While many of our students have a degree in psychology or a closely related field, each year, students are admitted with undergraduate degrees in such disciplines as communication, education, business, nursing, or social work. However, most of those would benefit from taking some psychology courses that prepare them for graduate work in the counseling field. If you have any questions about whether or not you need to take a course before admission, please contact Keely Hope at khope@ewu.edu, Program Director of Counseling.

Yes. Successful completion of a course in Statistics.

The course should cover through ANOVAs.

It is your responsibility to provide proof of successful completion of a statistics course before final admission is granted/start of the first term. Successful completion would be considered a passing grade.

If  your degree did not include this course, you will need to take one prior to your first quarter of graduate school.

We do not require a degree in psychology or any specific degree.

If you have questions regarding this, please contact Keely Hope at khope@ewu.edu, Program Director of Counseling.

Courses can be transferred from other CACREP programs only. The maximum number of credits that can be transferred into our program is 12 quarter credits or 9-semester credits, and this requires the approval of the faculty.

The courses that are transferred to EWU are based on the discretion of the faculty members.  Students are consulted in this process, but the final recommendation is based on faculty recommendation. Students will need to submit the syllabi of the courses they would like the faculty to consider. Transcripts are not enough. Review of syllabi is done after a student has been offered a position in the program, not prior.

Transferring credits may lessen the credit load for students per quarter but will not allow them to graduate faster as there is a 4 quarter internship requirement that spans the second year.

Very high, even in economically difficult times. Because of the strengths and reputation of the program, graduates routinely find full-time positions in their field within a few months of completing the program.

Students will graduate with a Master’s of Science in Counseling, with a Clinical Mental Health Specialization.

Graduates will have completed all education requirements to apply for the associate license in Washington.

As associate license, or LMHCA, is the first step of licensure in Washington. Having it denotes a person has completed all coursework and a university supervised internship. This person then must complete 3000 supervised hours while working toward a full license, or LMHC.

The process for applying for licensure in Washington is discussed during this program and students will receive guidance on how to do this when they graduate.

Of course.

One of the first assignments in this program is to investigate other state’s licensure requirements!
If you know where you want to live, this will begin the conversation of differences in licensure laws and education requirements in other states.

Most states do not have large differences in education, but some do require classes that are not standard to our program.  If this is the case, you may work with your advisor to locate a class that could cover the missing education requirements. Each student has elective credit to take so identifying a needed class would be a good use of those credits.

Some states also require longer internship requirements. This is information that we strive to address early on so that the student can negotiate that extra time at a site with internship site supervisors.

A degree with a specialization in clinical mental health counseling will not train you to be a school counselor.

Some schools employ licensed mental health counselors.

Some agencies or practices have clinicians that provide services in schools.