After submitting your applytexas.org application and your transcripts, your next step is to complete the department application and submit reference contact information (the link should have been automatically sent to you about 48 hours after submitting your applytexas.org application).

• After submitting the department application, the reference form will be automatically sent to the email address you list 

If you have not received the aforementioned automated email, please click the following link to complete the department application. Be sure to select the correct program's link:

Department application for M.Ed. Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program

Department Application for M.Ed. Counseling and Development – School Counseling

Department Application for M.Ed. Counseling and Development – Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling

Please be sure that all transcripts from all previous universities you have attended are submitted to Lamar University Online Admissions – P.O. Box 10017, Beaumont, Texas 77710 or electronically to luadmtran@lamar.edu – we will not be able to complete your department review until all transcripts are received.

You can check the status of your university application and transcripts. Specific questions about transcripts can be directed to online admissions at luonlineadmissions@lamar.edu

Please be sure to adhere to deadlines.

If you have completed at least one course in the program within the past six years, or if you were recently admitted and postponed your start date this academic year, you are considered a returning student. All returning students who have been out of the program for at least one semester (I.e. a full Spring or Fall semester) or students who have sat out and are returning in a new semester are required to re-apply to the program through applytexas.org. 

Because you are a returning student, you do not need to complete the department application process that is referred to in automated emails you may receive after submitting your applytexas.org application, unless specifically requested by the admissions committee via email.

The admissions committee will conduct a review of your academic progress in the program; you may be asked to provide additional information if you are below good academic standing. You will be notified by email with an admissions decision or a request for additional information.

It typically takes students at least 2.5-3 years to complete any of our 60-hour counseling master’s programs.

Tuition for the online programs is set at $900 per course. Tuition for our 60-hour programs costs $18,000 and our 18-hour program is $5,400. Tuition rates are subject to change.

Deadlines and start dates can be found on our Calendar of Critical Dates.

Department application documents are due 10 business days after the applytexas.org deadline listed for the start date you have chosen – no exceptions.

Incomplete applications can move to the additional start dates in a semester. For example: if you apply for the first start date offered in Spring, but do not complete the application requirements, your application will move to the second start date consideration that semester.

If the application requirements are not completed by the final start date in the semester you have applied for, you will be required to re-submit the applytexas.org application to be considered for future semester start dates.

Please note that starting the program on the third five-week start date in Fall and Spring or the second five-week start date in Summer means that the first class is not financial aid eligible because you are required to complete at least two courses in a semester to receive aid. If you need to change your start date, please contact gradadmissionsedu@lamar.edu  for options.

Applicants for the M.Ed. Counseling and Development – School Counseling program (only):

Important Service Record Request Information:

If your GPA, essay responses and principal reference meet the requirements for admission, we will e-mail instructions to upload a copy of your teaching certificate, official service record(s) and details about the campus where you will be conducting practicum/internship activities. We recommend that you request a copy of your service record(s) with an authorized signature from your Human Resources department now, as some districts require several weeks to process this request. If you have taught in more than one district, you should collect service records for each district. Your current district may have copies of your previous service records.

You must provide service records to document a minimum of two years of teaching experience. If your district lists the “position held” as the grade level/subject, or an abbreviation that does not obviously indicate that the position is a classroom teacher, you should request a revised service record or a signed statement from the HR office on district letterhead indicating that your position for the years in question was a classroom teacher.

Instructions for submitting the service record and other required documents will be e-mailed to you after your LU email address is activated and generated. Please do not email your service record. The purpose of this email is only to give advance notice that the service record will be required. Prepare to have your signed service record available to submit at least three weeks before your first course begins.

More information can be found about the Certificate in Mental Health (18 Hours).

To apply for this program, you will need to complete the university application at applytexas.org and select “Mental Health Counseling Certificate – Online” as your major. After this is completed, you should receive an email in 2-3 business days with your LU ID number, which will be needed to complete the department application.

Once you apply, our department will email you the department application requirements. If you do not receive the department application within five business days after completing the applytexas.org application, please contact gradadmissionsedu@lamar.edu to request it. 

Please note that each course is a five-week, online course with upcoming start dates and deadlines. Also, keep in mind that starting the program in the third five-week term in Fall and Spring or the second five-week term in Summer means that the first class is not financial aid eligible.

The department application and two letters of recommendation are due by the applytexas.org deadline listed on the link above. If you are approved to begin the program, you will be sent an acceptance acknowledgment to sign and return for your admission to be processed.

FAQs:

Cost of the program? 

• Each course is $900 x 6 courses = $5400 = total cost of the 18-hour program.

Can the department review my transcript to determine if this program will help me to pursue LPC licensure?

• No. It is the your responsibility to view state requirements and compare it to the courses you have already taken to determine what additional courses are needed.
• The following is a link to the Texas Administrative Code’s section on Academic Requirements for Texas LPCs: 
• https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=22&pt=30&ch=681&sch=E&rl=Y
• See §681.83 Academic Course Content
• If you are a non-Texas resident, you can search for your state’s requirements online.  

The additional courses I need are not offered in the course listing for the Certificate in Mental Health Counseling, can I take other courses?

• No. The courses in the Certificate in Mental Health Counseling cannot be altered. If you enroll in the program, you are expected to complete the full 18-hour program of study.
• Field experience (practicum/internship) is not offered in this program.

At this time, we are unable to accept transfer credits to our online counseling programs.

Please visit our Accreditation Frequently Asked Questions page.

“Decision Made” refers to the university's decision to permit or deny you admission based on submission of your GPA/transcripts. However, you are not fully accepted to your program of choice until your department application and professional reference documents are processed and scored – i.e. department review – “Review (AP Program)”. Once the department’s admissions committee makes a decision based on the review of your department application and other admission requirements, you will be notified via email.

You should receive a confirmation email for each of the department application requirements (essay and reference form) when they are received by us; if you receive those confirmation emails, you can disregard any reminders you may receive and you do not need to follow up to request the status of your application; we will review your application as quickly and efficiently as possible and you will receive an email with a decision. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please send an email to gradadmissionsedu@lamar.edu with your reference’s email address and you will receive a reply with additional instructions. Please allow 24-48 business hours for a response.

Lamar University’s Department of Counseling is housed in the College of Education and Human Development, which is why the degree we offer is a Master of Education. Counseling licensure boards/organizations do not typically stipulate the area of the master’s degree beyond the requirement that it is a master’s level degree in counseling; see the Texas Administrative Code for reference.

Out-of-state applicants are generally eligible for our online counseling programs. Any known issues with program delivery by state is listed on our website. Please check your state.

Our online programs are highly structured, and you are not permitted to take courses outside of the course rotation schedule for your program.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling – Course Schedule

Counseling and Development – School Counseling – Course Schedule

Counseling and Development – Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling – Course Schedule

Courses are offered in a five-week format and you will take one course per five-week term when you begin the program. After about midway through the program, you will take advanced rotation courses, which are in 12- and 15-week formats, and you will be permitted to simultaneously take up to two courses at the appropriate time (i.e. when you are enrolled in a 15-week internship course, you will take another course at the same time).

Clinical Mental Health Counseling – Course Schedule

Counseling and Development – School Counseling – Course Schedule

Counseling and Development – Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling – Course Schedule

In each course, you will participate in discussion board posts, watch either live or a recorded lecture and complete weekly writing assignments. Some courses have tests/quizzes, too. 

Textbooks are available in a digital/online format, or you can order hardcopy textbooks as well. Textbook information is usually made available in the first day of class in the Blackboard course.

We require two years of teaching experience for Texas residents only at the time the application is submitted.

It is the responsibility of the out-of-state applicant to confirm the requirements for certification and/or licensure in their home state. As an out-of-state student, you are not eligible to take the Texas certification exam or to apply for School Counseling Certification in Texas. 

Some states require you to become certified in the state you complete the master’s program; you would not be able to do so in Texas because Texas requires practicum and internship hours to be completed at a TEA-approved campus in Texas. Please follow up with your state’s board of education to confirm requirements.

Residency is an intensive skills-training course that is taken twice in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and once in the Counseling and Development programs. This is a five-week online course, however, during one of those weeks, you will be required to travel to our campus in Beaumont, Texas, for the face-to-face requirement of the course.

More residency information is available.

Practicum and internship are field experience courses where you will gain hours of supervised experience as a graduate level counseling intern at a program approved site. Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling students take one practicum course and two internship courses. School Counseling students take one practicum and one internship course.

More practicum/internship information is available.

Get more information about field experience.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling:

You are encouraged to begin researching local community mental health resources for sites that offer graduate student counseling intern placements as early as possible. If you are seeking Licensed Professional Counseling licensure, examples of acceptable sites are local community counseling agencies, hospitals and addiction treatment centers.

School Counseling:

If you are a Texas resident seeking school counseling certification, your practicum and internship hours must be completed at a Texas Education Agency-approved campus in order to meet state certification requirements. You are encouraged to meet with your campus principal, or other administrators early in the program, to prepare for any necessary agreements/documentation required for completion of field experience hours by your campus.

Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling:

You are encouraged to begin researching local resources for sites that offer graduate student counseling intern placements as early as possible.

If you are seeking Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy licensure, your practicum and internship hours must be completed at a site that specifically serves families and couples to meet state graduate field experience requirements for LMFT licensure.

If you are seeking LPC licensure, examples of acceptable sites are local community counseling agencies, hospitals and addiction treatment centers.

Once you are ready to take your practicum and internship courses toward the end of the program, you will submit information about your chosen site for approval. You can also work with your assigned Faculty Advisor once enrolled if you want to ask questions about sites early in your coursework.

You will receive orientation information via email once you are registered and enrolled in all of your courses by your Student Services Advisors. Questions about registration can be sent to luacademic@lamar.edu a week prior to your start date.

After receiving your acceptance letter from University Admissions, you can access your Lamar University email by going to lamar.edu and in the top left-hand corner, click “LU Connect." From there, click “Students” and then “LU Email” and follow the instructions to login. 

You may also find this page helpful.

Please consult your program’s course schedule (below). If you still have questions or need assistance with understanding the schedule, please contact your faculty advisor.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling – Course Schedule

Counseling and Development – School Counseling – Course Schedule

Your faculty advisor is your "go-to" person to help you understand some of the long-term components of the program content, such as residency in Beaumont, Texas, and requirements of the field experience for both in state and out-of-state students. In addition, the faculty advisor will help monitor some of the essential characteristics of your development, such as awareness of your communication with others and taking proactive steps for wellness.

List of our faculty advisors

The role of the faculty advisor is different than the role of your student services graduate advisor. Faculty advisors do not address scheduling, payment or course add/drops. You should contact a student services graduate advisor for those types of requests at luacademic@lamar.edu.

The Texas Administrative Code (TAC) mandates all courses and practicum requirements must be completed within 5 years of the start date of the program.

The TAC language is as follows:

§228.35. Preparation Program Coursework and/or Training.

(a) Coursework and/or training for candidates seeking initial certification in any certification class.

(b) … was provided by an approved EPP or an accredited institution of higher education within the past five years and is directly related to the certificate being sought.

TEA interpretation of TAC language (from TEA Newsletter for Educator Preparation Programs – May 11, 2021):

If the candidate is continuously enrolled in the EPP (listed as Other Enrolled from admission – present), the EPP could accept prior coursework if older than 5 years that was taken through the same EPP. If the candidate is no longer identified as Enrolled, then the EPP would only be able to accept coursework taken within the last 5 years (given that it is directly related to the certificate sought and provided by an approved EPP or accredited IHE).