Program Curriculum

This 60 credit, three year full-time (or four year part-time) graduate program is offered primarily online and consists of 51 credits of common core courses related to professional orientation, human development, counseling, assessment, differential diagnosis, treatment planning, and research. Nine additional credits of courses related to specializations such as counseling military/veterans and their families, counseling children and adolescents, or a general clinical mental health counseling specialization track are also required. Within the common core curriculum is a practicum and internship requirement that is conducted in the student's local area with face-to-face supervision in a site approved by the university faculty.

Cohort Model 

The CMHC program uses a cohort model to help establish a learning community amongst the students. The CMHC program will accept a maximum of 25 students for each fall, spring, and summer semester. Students  can choose to enter the full-time (three courses each semester including summers) or part-time cohort (two courses each semester including summers).  

While students can change from  part-time to full-time status or vice versa, classes are not offered every semester; therefore, changing the status may impact the student’s program of study.  All students entering the program with a GPA below a 3.0 will automatically be placed in the part-time cohort.  If there is any doubt that the full-time cohort may be too much given a student’s additional personal and professional responsibilities, it is highly recommended that the student enters the part-time cohort in order to be successful in the program, maintain other personal and professional responsibilities, and attend to one’s own self-care needs.  

Minimum Program Requirements

Students must successfully complete and earn a minimum overall 3.0 GPA in 60 credits of coursework (51 core credits and 9 elective credits) to include:  a 100 hour practicum and 600 hours of internship.  Students must also  meet all competency standards throughout the curriculum as well as receive positive evaluations from site supervisors and program faculty during practicum and internship experiences.  Finally, all matriculated students will be required to take a comprehensive final exam prior to graduation.  

Coursework:
Shared Core (51 credits)

For full descriptions of the courses listed below, visit our course descriptions website

• CMHC605: Clinical Mental Health Counseling as a Profession 
• CMHC610: Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
• CMHC615: Assessment & Testing in Mental Health Counseling 
• CMHC620: Lifespan Development: Implications for Counseling 
• CMHC625: Skills and Techniques in Mental Health Counseling 
• CMHC630: Research and Evaluation 
• CMHC635: Multicultural Counseling
• CMHC640: Career Development and Counseling 
• CMHC645: Addiction Counseling 
• CMHC650: Psychopathology and Differential Diagnosis 
• CMHC655: Advanced Counseling Skills 
• CMHC660: Family and Couples Therapy 
• CMHC665: Group Counseling 
• CMHC685: Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Counseling 
• CMHC690:  Practicum (100 clock hours-3 credits) 
• CMHC695:  Internship I (300 clock hours - 3 credits)
• CMHC696:  Internship II (300 clock hours – 3 credits)

Child and Adolescent Counseling Track

• CMHC662: Child and Adolescent Counseling (offered every summer )
• CMHC664: Creative Therapies for Children and Adolescents (offered every summer)
• CMHC670: Trauma and Crisis Counseling (offered every spring)

Military/Veteran Track

• CMHC675: Issues facing Military Veterans (offered every summer)
• CMHC680: Reintegration and Recovery for Veterans and their Families (offered every summer)
• CMHC670: Trauma and Crisis Counseling

Generalized Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialization

• 1 course from the Military/ Veteran Specialization
• 1 course from the Children/Adolescent Specialization
• CMHC670: Trauma and Crisis Counseling