1. UNT Dallas
  2. School of Behavioral Health and Human Services
  3. Graduate Programs
  4. School Counseling Admissions Documents

School Counseling Admissions Documents

 

Some forms and resources are shared with the School of Education.

  1. Complete your Graduate School Application for admission online at www.applytexas.org

  2. An Application to the UNT Dallas school counseling program.

    • Current Students  Click here to complete the application. 

    • New Students - If you are a new student with the University and do not have a UNTD Student ID login, you will have to set up a Dynamic Forms user account (select Create New Account from login window). 

  3. Submit the following additional application materials through this link https://laserfiche.untdallas.edu/Forms/Graduate_Application

    • Official transcripts of all college/university coursework sent directly from the respective registrars of the institution(s) to Graduate Studies.
    • Official GRE scores from the Educational Testing Service (allow 3 to 4 weeks for the test to be received by the Graduate School)
    • A grade point average of 2.8 overall (undergraduate) or 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework is required. You must also submit official GRE scores (verbal and quantitative) with the writing section (no older than five years).
    • Reference Form Three confidential reference evaluation forms completed from individuals who can validate an applicant’s potential for graduate study in counseling, as well as appropriateness for the counseling profession. (One reference must be from a current or former employer/supervisor. One must be from a former professor or a Certified School Counselor . A third must be from someone other than a family member. References must be mailed directly to the program from the individual completing the reference form. Applicants should give each person submitting a reference a stamped envelope addressed to:
      University of North Texas at Dallas College of Human Services School Counseling Program
      7300 University Hills Blvd, Dallas, TX 75241  
    • Writing Sample: Satisfactory response to the following essay questions in no more than two typewritten, double spaced pages total.
    • A pre-admission on-campus-screening interview. During the interview, applicants will respond to a set of structured questions.
    • District Teacher Service Record verifying two (2) creditable years teaching experience is required before becoming certified as a school counselor.
    • A copy of your Teaching Certification.

Obtaining a copy of your teaching certificate from the TEA website

A teaching certificate from the Texas Education Agency/State Board of Educator Certification is public information. To be eligible for UNT Dallas’s School Counseling Program, the student must have a valid teaching certificate and be able to document two years teaching experience. Obtaining a copy of teaching certification from the TEA website will alleviate any confusion for the student or professor regarding the student’s qualifications to proceed in the school counseling program. Please see the program coordinator with any questions.

All required admissions materials must be filed in the program office4 by the priotiy dates of April 1st preceding the Fall term/Semester,  or Oct 1st for the preceding spring semester.

Admissions Standards

  • Applicants must submit the official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores on the verbal, quantitative, and writing sections to the graduate school for admission to the program. 

  • Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester hours of work prior to receiving the bachelor's degree, or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work, to be considered for unconditional 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 or meet the undergraduate GPA standards.
  • Applicants must hold at least a bachelor's degree.
  • Applicants for the school counseling track must have at least two (2) years creditable teaching experience in K-12 public or private schools in order to be certified as a school counselor by the state of Texas.  Students must submit their teacher service record indicating two years of creditable teaching experience and a copy of their Teaching Certificate or a copy of the Letter of Acknowledgement of School Counseling Requirements for the State of Texas if they do not have 2 years of teaching experience.
  • Students will be routinely evaluated on the criteria of knowledge, personal and interpersonal skills and counseling skills to determine if progress is adequate, if remedial work is needed or if the student should be withdrawn from the program. 
  • TEA requires that applicants for a Texas certification must be fingerprinted under TEC Chapter 22, Subchapter through their contracted DPS vendor unless the applicant currently resides outside Texas, and is unable to utilize a Texas location of the vendor.  For further information click: TEA Fingerprinting
  • Students are required to complete a background check prior to their enrollment in Practicum.
  • This degree requires a passing score on the comprehensive examination administered during the student’s internship.

Admission Process

Applicants seeking admission to the School Counseling Program should be aware that Texas State Boards for certification as well as credentialing boards of other states and professional organizations, run criminal history checks on all applicants for licensure or certification.  In Texas, certification is required to counsel in the public school; licensure is required to counsel outside the public school or religious setting.  The applicant with a criminal background who seeks professional credentials should\d contact the appropriate Board prior to enrollment in the Program to determine eligibility for certification and/or licensure.

  1. Once a student receives the written letter of acceptance from the School Counseling Program. The student will return the signed letter of acceptance to the Master of Education in School Counseling statement.

  2. Attend School Counseling and Graduate Program Orientation.
  3. The student will sign the “Understanding and Acknowledgement” form that is found at the end of the School Counseling Master Handbook. A signed copy of the document will be placed on file in the Counseling Program Clinic office by the end of the first semester of enrollment in the School Counseling Program.
  4. The student and their school counseling program advisor will develop a degree plan form. The signed degree plan will be put on file in the School Counseling Program office by the end of the first semester of enrollment in the School Counseling Program.

NOTE: For items 1 – 4 above, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the required documents are on file by the deadline. Failure to the meet this requirement can result in the student being dropped from further School Counseling Program coursework.