The 60-hour clinical mental health counseling master’s degree prepares you for the National Counselor Examination and careers in community, clinical and mental health settings. Once you pass the NCE, you may apply for licensure in Illinois and many other states.
Preparing You For Success
You learn how to counsel diverse groups of clients to promote positive growth and development. Courses in the program enable you to practice while you learn, as each one includes hands-on experiences. During practicums and internships, you spend 750 hours in supervised settings tailored to your career interests.
By the time you graduate, your experiences include:
- The same academic core as the professional school counseling degree
- Flexibility to take courses in a specialty area of your choice
- Internships and practicums at places such as OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, UnityPoint Health-Methodist, Children’s Hospital of Illinois, Children’s Home in Peoria and Bradley’s Counseling Research and Training Clinic
- Networking and professional mentoring through Chi Sigma Iota honor society
- Scholarship opportunities for professional educators
Making Your Mark
The degree provides new opportunities to help people as a counselor in clinical mental health, substance abuse, rehabilitation, crisis, grief, marriage and family, or military veterans’ settings. Recent graduates are working in a variety of clinical mental health settings, hospitals and private practice. Graduates are also teaching in counseling programs after completing doctorates in counselor education.