Professional counselors help adults and children address personal challenges, improve relationships and build coping skills. The University of Central Missouri’s Master of Science in Counseling degree will prepare you for a career that allows you to improve the lives of individuals in a variety of settings.
UCM’s master’s degree in Counseling builds on your bachelor’s degree to provide you with advanced preparation and qualifications for a career as a licensed professional counselor working one-on-one, with couples, families or groups, or as a certified school counselor. Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), our Counseling master’s program helps you develop an area of professional specialization and broadens your career options.
Click here to learn about available on-campus counseling options.
Get your Master of Science in Counseling at one of UCM’s two campuses
Take classes for your master’s degree in Counseling at either our Warrensburg or Lee’s Summit campuses – or both. Either way, you can take advantage of UCM’s flexible program options while learning from our experienced faculty, who have years of teaching and professional counseling experience.
Vision Statement
The Counseling Program at the University of Central Missouri aspires to prepare individuals for exemplary practice as Professional Counselors in school and clinical mental health settings.
Mission Statement
The Counseling program at UCM prepares professional counselors at the Master and Education Specialist levels who:
ContactDr. Lucy Phillips Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership Program Information - Counseling, MS Michael Hough Counseling Center Counseling Program 2021-2022 Annual Evaluation Report |
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CACREP-accredited degree program
99% post-grad employment rate
Association for Play Therapy recognition
State-of-the art counseling clinics
Attend in Warrensburg or Lee’s Summit
School & clinical mental health tracks
If you focus on clinical mental health counseling at UCM, you’ll learn to help clients address mental health challenges, relationship issues and substance abuse problems.
The school counseling pathway can lead to certification through DESE to work as a school counselor and assist students in grades K–12 overcome learning obstacles, build social and emotional skills and achieve academic goals.
Both of UCM’s Counseling master’s degree pathways prepare you to work in individual or group counseling settings. The topics you’ll study may include:
In the UCM Counseling master’s degree program, you’ll get practice and build confidence in your counseling skills throughout grad school. We’ve built experiential learning into your coursework, giving you ample opportunities to hone your counseling skills. Some of these include:
Our Master of Science in Counseling will prepare you for a career in one of two distinct career tracks. Prepare for a career as a professional counselor in clinical mental health or a school counselor who works with students.
Clinical mental health counselors work in public and private community/clinical counseling centers, businesses, educational institutions, private practices, hospitals and employee assistance programs and non-profit agencies.
School Counselors work in elementary, middle and high school settings and address students’ emotional, social and academic, or career concerns. They oversee school counseling programs, provide individual and group counseling, provide counseling class lessons and career counseling, and consult with teachers, parents and guardians.
Explore jobs with a Counseling degree
Use the interactive tool below to learn more about salary potential, job growth and career opportunities for counselors.
The University of Central Missouri offers scholarships such as these for graduate students earning a Counseling degree:
As one of LendEDU’s top-ranked universities for low student debt, we also offer a variety of other resources to help you finance your Counseling master’s degree. You may also qualify for one of the scholarships offered by the College of Education.
Use the UCM Scholarship Finder to learn more about program-specific scholarships.
Take your degree further.
Build on your master’s degree in Counseling to advance your career with a doctoral degree from UCM.
Make yourself more marketable.
A UCM graduate certificate provides additional credentials and specialized knowledge that can help you advance your career:
Explore programs related to counseling.
If you’re interested in a master’s degree in Counseling but not sure which direction is best for you, consider these other UCM graduate programs:
UCM is the longest continuously CAEP accredited public institution in Missouri
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs has accredited the Counseling Program (Masters degrees for School and Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentrations) for an eight-year period with conditions through October 31, 2026.
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