Master's in Counseling Program

All application materials are considered in making admissions decisions. In exceptional circumstances, students may be admitted with a GPA below 3.0.

No, the GRE is optional.

Aside from any financial aid you may receive through completing the FAFSA and working with the Financial Aid Office, the program has 2 Graduate Assistantships available. These positions are $5,000 for the academic year, and they require approximately 5 hours of work/week.

First year classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays, and second year classes are Mondays and Wednesdays. For clinical mental health counseling track students, classes generally are scheduled between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For school counseling track students, classes start no earlier than 4 p.m. and end by around 8 p.m. A downloadable sample schedule is available here. Once you begin your clinical training, you can expect to be at your training site on some or all of the other days.

There will be occasional program activities that are outside of scheduled class times, and you will be provided these dates well ahead of time to make necessary accommodations.

The Marian University counseling program is an in-person, on-campus program, which we think is the best way to learn how to be a counselor. Most classes will be entirely in-person, while others will utilize a hybrid model, with some in-person time and some online time. While some classes in the school counseling program are offered online, it is rare for mental health counseling classes to be offered completely online.

Yes, and most of our students do have some kind of employment while they are in the program. It is important to know, however, that work schedules that are flexible or nontraditional (e.g. weekend and/or overnight hours) may be necessary. Because your clinical training will be mostly or entirely during normal work hours, a traditional full-time 9-5 job is likely not possible once you are on your practicum (10 hours/week) and internship (20-25 hours/week).

We have partnerships in Indy and the surrounding areas with a wide array of service providers new training sites are being regularly developed. Hospitals, community mental health centers, counseling centers, practices are all possibilities.

A few of the partnerships we have include:
Cancer Support Community Central Indiana
Damar
Butler University Counseling Center
Families First
IUPUI Counseling Center
Fairbanks
InWell
St. Vincent Stress Center

We provide students with a list of approved sites about a month after starting the program. You are welcome to reach out to other sites that you are interested in, but they must be reviewed and approved by program faculty or the director. 

Faculty provide you with the tools and the support to keep track of your hours for licensure and help you through the process. Students are eligible to be considered for licensure in Indiana as soon as their diplomas are conferred, which is usually the end of August/beginning of September.