The Master of Science in Counseling degree is appropriate for those individuals who wish to pursue licensure as a Professional Counselor.  The coursework requirements are designed to meet the requirements for licensing in the State of Georgia.  In addition, the license as a professional counselor requires postgraduate counseling experience and supervision, as well as successfully  completing the licensing exam.

The Master of Science in Counseling degree is designed to prepare students to function as a counselor in a variety of community settings, including but not limited to:

• mental health centers
• community agencies
• hospitals
• residential treatment centers
• corrections
• helping or human service oriented program
• private practice

Counseling is an applied profession that employs skills, instrumentation, and techniques to facilitate the progress of each person being served. The counselor is prepared to:

• work individually with clients on educational, vocational, social, emotional or personal problems
• work with groups of clients on educational, vocational, social, emotional or personal problems
• consult with other professionals and administrators concerning the clients' developmental needs
• participate in psychological assessment programs, including the interpretation of test results
• provide information and understanding to clients in the areas of educational, social, or vocational planning
• conduct and facilitate local research efforts.

Because of the nature of Professional Counseling and Psychotherapy, Counselor Educators have an ethical responsibility to screen from the field those students who for one reason or another appear unable to perform the responsibilities of a counselor. To that end, evaluation of a student's performance is continuous and involves consideration of the student's academic performance as well as the student's performance in laboratory, practica, and internship classes.

A student may be dropped from a course and/or a program if the welfare of the student's clientele, prospective clientele, or the functioning of a school or agency is, in the judgment of the Counseling Program faculty, in jeopardy as a result of the student's behavior or performance. In addition, the student must complete the Introduction to Counseling course with a grade of "B" or better. A grade other than "A", "B ", or "B" requires repetition of the Introductory course. When repetition of the Introductory course is necessary, no other counseling or education course work may be taken concurrently.

The course in interpersonal and helping skills and the course in group counseling (the laboratory courses) also require a grade of "B" or better for continuation in the program. A grade lower that "B" in any of the laboratory course work requires repetition of the course or courses. As with the introductory course, no other counseling or education course work may be taken concurrently while repeating a laboratory course.