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Meet the Counseling Program faculty at the Information Open House Click for Dates and Details

Interview Days-CMHC Flagstaff, Phoenix, & Tucson

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Student Handbook & Access to Personal Counseling

CACREP Student Handbook Access to Personal Counseling

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Practicum and Internship Manuals and Forms for Masters Candidates

Financial Info

Future students

Visit the College of Education's future students page to get helpful links for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Want to see how the program helped students find success in their goals and aspirations? Here's a small taste!

After finding new home at NAU, cohort of mental health counseling students graduates

Programs of study

For a complete listing of all programs of study, please visit the Graduate College Programs of Study page.

Professional Licensure

This program was intentionally designed to lead to licensure or certification in the state of Arizona. For information regarding how the curricular requirements for this degree program align to licensure or certification requirements in other states, see https://nau.edu/compliance-and-authorization/professional-licensure-by-state/.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Master of Arts

This program prepares you, through highly experiential classroom instruction in evidence-based counsling approaches, fieldwork experience, and internships, to become an applied counseling/psychotherapy practitioner to serve with clients of all ages in behavioral health agencies, clinics, hospitals and eventually private practices. We offer this program at Northern Arizona University-Flagstaff as well as NAU -Phoenix and NAU-Tucson.

This program has been CACREP-Accredited for 20 consecutive years. The GRE is not required or applicants with a 3.0 GPA.

GRE Statement, effective August 2017: If you have a cumulative GPA of 3.0* or higher, you are NOT required to submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores for the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling or the MEd Counseling-School Counseling programs. If you have a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0, you are required to submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores on the aptitude portion (verbal and quantitative) of the GRE taken within the past six years. Scores, if applicable, must be received by application deadline for admission consideration.

This program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

This plan meets the coursework requirements for the Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) of the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners and for the national counselor certification of the National Board for Certified Counselors. Becoming an LAC and Nationally Certified Counselor are requirements toward the License as a Professional Counselor (LPC), which allows for independent practice. See the licensure requirements by state.

Degree Info Tab Open

To receive a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. (Many master’s degree programs require more than 30 units.)

You must additionally complete:
- All requirements for your specific academic plan(s). This may include a thesis.
- All graduate work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
- All work toward the master’s degree must be completed within six consecutive years. The six years begins with the semester and year of admission to the program.
Read the full policy.

In addition to University Requirements:

Complete individual plan requirements.

Minimum Units for Completion	60
Fieldwork Experience/Internship	Required
Progression Plan Link	View Program of Study
Licensure	This program may lead to licensure.

Purpose Statement

The Maser of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MA CMHC) prepares counseling professionals with the current knowledge, skills, and competencies to provide multiculturally competent, ethical, and evidence-based counseling services to clients from all demographics across the lifespan. The 60-credit hour MA CMHC degree program has been CACREP-accredited continuously since 1998, and as such, the program meets and exceeds current national counselor education training standards. The program prepares students to deliver counseling services within a wide variety of settings, including outpatient, inpatient, specialty based agencies (e.g., addiction, eating disorders, etc.) and within private practices. Students are trained to deliver psychotherapeutic services in individual, group, couple, and family contexts. The program is highly experiential and developmental. Several classes entail laboratory components that involve the recording and evaluation of dozens of mock sessions, which allow students to practice session management on their way to providing face-to-face supervised counseling sessions to clients from our NAU campuses and to their respective local communities. Upon successful completion of their practicum semester, students then complete the final phase of their degree - Internship - which takes place anywhere in the USA under the careful supervision of licensed behavioral health professionals. Graduates enter the field ready to begin practicing counseling in any state of their choice (some states require a few additional post-graduate jurisprudence exams, etc.) as Licensed Associate Counselors on their way to independent practice as Licensed Professional Counselors.

Student Learning Outcomes

Outcomes align with Standards from the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Professional orientation and ethical practice - studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professional functioning.
Social and cultural diversity - studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society.
Human growth and development - studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of persons at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts.
Career development - studies that provide an understanding of career development and related life factors.
Helping relationships - studies that provide an understanding of the counseling process in a multicultural society.
Group work - studies that provide both theoretical and experiential understandings of group purpose, development, dynamics, theories, methods, skills, and other group approaches in a multicultural society.
Assessment - studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society.
Research and program evaluation - studies that provide an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation.
Foundations, contextual dimensions and practice in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

See the full list of Student Learning Outcomes

Additional Admission Requirements

Admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

- NAU Graduate Online application is required for all programs. Details on admission requirements are included in the online application.
- Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A"), or the equivalent.
- Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College.
- Transcripts
- For details on graduate admission policies, please visit the Graduate Admissions Policy
- International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy
Individual program admission requirements include:

- GRE® revised General Test for applicants with a GPA lower than 3.0.

- 3 letters of recommendation

- Responses to specific essay questions

- IVP Fingerprint clearance card

- Candidate interview

- Prerequisite course:
  - EPS 525 or upper-divison undergraduate Statistics course complete within the past three years.

Master's Requirements

This Master’s degree requires 60 units distributed as follows:
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling Coursework: 48 units
- Clinical-Based Crisis Course: 3 units
- Post-practicum internship: 6 units
- Selection of a course, such as EPS 622, EPS 640, or another course with your advisor’s consent: 3 units
Take the following 60 units:
- EPS 615 (3 units)
- EPS 690 and EPS 599-Mental Health Care Systems (6 units)
- EPS 617 (3 units)
- EPS 592, EPS 601, EPS 620, EPS 660, EPS 661, EPS 669-Clinical-Based Crisis, EPS 681, EPS 688 (24 units)
- EPS 680 (3 units)
- EPS 590, EPS 670, EPS 692 (9 units)
- EPS 694, for the post-practicum internship (6 units)
- EPS 621 (3 units)
- EPS 622, EPS 625, EPS 640 or another course with your advisor's consent (3 units)

This plan meets the coursework requirements for the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) of the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners and for the national counselor certification of the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Additional Information

Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information click on the course or see your advisor.

PROGRAM FEE INFORMATION

Program fees are established by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). A program fee of $500 per semester has been approved for this program.

GRE®️ revised General Test – Applicants with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 are required to submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores on the aptitude portion (verbal and quantitative) of the GRE taken within the past six years. Applicants with a cumulative GPA higher than 3.0 have the option to submit GRE scores, if desired. GRE scores must be received by the application deadline for admission.

This 60-hour highly experiential CACREP-accredited program prepares you to become a successful applied counseling practitioner to work with clients of all ages in a variety of behavioral health settings. This program offered in its entirely at the Mountain Campus in Flagstaff, at the North Valley campus in Phoenix and in Tucson.

As a student in the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, you’ll take courses, do fieldwork, and participate in practica and internships that will prepare you to be a culturally sensitive/responsive, ethical, and evidence-based counseling practitioner.

The mission of the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited masters programs is to prepare professional counselors who meet national standards of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) as well as state counseling licensure or certification in their specialty area. Our programs are designed to be comprehensive in nature and to focus on the development of evidence-based counseling practice in a variety of settings and with clients from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Program and Student Learning Objectives for School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs

Programmatic Objectives:

Our Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling Programs regularly gather and “reflect input from all persons involved in the conduct of the program, including counselor education program faculty, current and former students, and personnel in cooperating agencies.”
We seek to recruit and retain students who represent the diverse population of the Southwestern U.S.

Student Learning Objectives: Successful completion of the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and the Master of Education in School Counseling prepares students to:

Become familiar with the requirements for being a professional counselor, including the relevant research and literature pertinent to the discipline.
Become familiar with and knowledgeable about the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels.
Develop a thorough understanding of knowledge and competencies related to issues and trends in a multicultural and pluralistic society, and to effectively demonstrate multicultural counseling competencies.
Demonstrate effective counseling skills.
Become familiar with studies in group dynamics and to development and related life factors, and to demonstrate effective career counseling skills.
Understand major theories of career development and related life factors, and to demonstrate effective career counseling skills.
Develop an understanding of assessment processes, and to demonstrate skills in individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation.
Become familiar with research, statistics, and program evaluation as they apply to the practice of counseling.
Develop a clear sense of professional identity in counseling, which includes professional ethics, legal responsibilities, professional preparation standards, participating in professional organizations, and obtaining necessary credentials.
Acquire knowledge about counseling supervision, and to experience peer, site supervisor and faculty supervision that allow students to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired to practice.
Experience continuous course-related and overall program-related feedback to enhance their professional development as they become professional counselors.
Acquire knowledge and skills related to the ways that counselors use a variety of technologies designed to assist students, clients, and the systems they work within.
Acquire knowledge related to the professional identity, roles, and functions of professional counselors.
Practice ongoing assessment of one's own skills, strengths, weaknesses, professional and personal development as related to counseling professional identity, counseling ethics, and the principles of ethics of client autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity.

Initially accredited by CACREP in November 1998, our program’s current accreditation runs through October 31, 2024. Students who wish to pursue licensure as a professional counselor have options to do so in a CACREP-accredited program or unaccredited program. If you wish to become better educated about these differences, we strongly encourage you to visit the FOR STUDENTS tab at http://www.cacrep.org.

2021-2022 Program Statistics:

Number of graduates in the past year: 33
Completion Rate: 96.6%
Licensure or certification examination pass rate: 93%
Job placement rate of students/graduates: 100%

This program meets the Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) coursework requirements of the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners and for national counselor certification of the National Board for Certified Counselors. LAC’s in Arizona most frequently evolve to become Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC’s), who are eligible to work independently.Successful completion of this degree gives you the potential to transfer your licensure to other states, depending on their licensure requirements.The vast majority of our graduates go on to become thriving licensed professional counselors who speak highly about their training experience at NAU.

We strongly believe that counselors are best trained and mentored via frequent live, face-to-face interactions with faculty who are leaders in the field of clinical mental health counseling, and via face-to-face structured quasi-counseling interactions with peers. Our courses are highly engaging and experiential. Students are required to demonstrate a wide range of counseling skills (e.g. assessing clients, developing a strong therapeutic alliance, responding to cultural dynamics in the counseling process, collaborating with clients about realistic goals, implementing treatment plans and collaborative evidence-based interventions, adjusting clinical work based on client feedback).We believe experiential engagement is the best way to foster development of such skills. Although we do offer a few online or hybrid courses in the program, the vast majority of coursework involves classroom formats that are conducive to not only cutting-edge knowledge competency development, but skill-competency development as well.

GRE ONLY if your undergraduate GPA was less than 3.0GRE Statement, effective August 2017: If you have a cumulative GPA of 3.0* or higher, you are NOT required to submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores for the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling or the MEd Counseling-School Counseling programs. If you have a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0, you are required to submit official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores on the aptitude portion (verbal and quantitative) of the GRE taken within the past six years. Scores, if applicable, must be received by application deadline for admission consideration.

2015-2017 Survey data: Site Supervisors, Employers and Recent Graduates
Where are our students getting their internships?
FAQ 2018-19

Licensed supervisors who work with our student-interns frequently state that NAU interns are ready to hit-the-ground-running when they begin internship, and rate our interns’ effectiveness very highly.

How do I apply, and when is the application due?

The entire application process is a one-stop process. Once you click on APPLY NOW, in above right margin, all elements of the application are handled within that link!

The primary application items we will evaluate include:

The graduate school application
GPA
Application essay questions
Three professional/academic recommendation forms
Interview
GRE General Test (ONLY if your undergraduate GPA was less than 3.0)

For credit transfer and GPA policies, please visit the Graduate College website for more information about these policies.*Please note: GPA can be evaluated over the course of the entire undergraduate degree, for the last 60-credit hours of the undergraduate degree, or can include graduate credit (if applicable) as well.

Application deadlines for Educational Psychology (EPS) programs

Program	Site	Application deadlines	Semester next cohort begins
PhD Combined Counseling/School Psychology	Flagstaff	December 1 (all applications) November 15 (for those wishing to be considered for the Presidential Fellowship)	Fall 2023
PsyD Clinical Psychology	North Valley (Phoenix)	May 15, 2023; applications received by April 15, 2023 are given priority	Fall 2023
EdS School Psychology	Flagstaff	January 1, 2023	Fall 2023
EdS School Psychology	North Valley (Phoenix)	January 1, 2023	Fall 2023
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling	Flagstaff	January 1, 2023	Fall 2023
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling	North Valley (Phoenix)	February 15, 2023	Fall 2023
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling	Tucson	February 15, 2023	Fall 2023
MEd Counseling - School Counseling	Flagstaff	January 1, 2023	Fall 2023
MEd Counseling - School Counseling	North Valley (Phoenix)	February 15, 2023	Fall 2023
MEd Counseling - School Counseling	Tucson	February 15, 2023	Fall 2023
MEd Counseling-Student Affairs	Flagstaff	January 1, 2023 (priority deadline) TBD (2nd deadline if available capacity)	Fall 2023
M.Ed. Human Relations	Online & All Campuses	Rolling Admission
Applied Human Behavior	Online; Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College, South Mountain Community College	Rolling Admission

Please note:

Completed application files are reviewed and admission decisions are made once each year.
Applications will be reviewed and admission notifications are sent to students within approximately 30 days of the deadline.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your application file is complete. Incomplete files will not be reviewed.
In Flagstaff, many students apply for graduate assistantships (GA roles). If a student secures a GA role during grad school, they typically earn a full-tuition waiver in exchange for working 20 hours per week. For additional information, please visit the Graduate College webpage.

Tuition costs are updated routinely by the university and posted here.The MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program has a program fee that is assessed over five semesters (fall and spring each year) at $500 per semester, totaling $2500, over the three years students are in the program. The program fee has been approved by ABOR for students at our Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson Campuses.The program fee covers administrative costs associated with this professional degree program. The program fee is implemented in lieu of course fees. As such, fees are more predictable for students. Program fees can be covered with financial aid. This fee allows us to better incorporate and support technology in the curriculum, provides students with current hands-on training with appropriate protocols and instruments, and allows faculty to make required site visits. This fee will strengthen our program, keep it nationally prominent and allow our students to be competitive in this rapidly changing and demanding field.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

What classes do I need to take - and in what order?

The MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a 60-credit hour program that most students pursue on a full-time basis. The vast majority of students who complete the program do so in about 2 years, although the program can take a bit longer for those who take fewer than 15 credits per term.
Some of your courses may have prerequisites you must meet before enrolling. Find more information in the academic catalog.

Programs of Study

Recommended Course Sequence

EPS Course Offerings by Semester