Supervisors
Learn about faculty available to supervise this degree.
Please note: additional supervisors may be available. Contact the program for more information.
Program overview
This specialized thesis-based degree is designed to help students develop the philosophical, theoretical, research, and practical expertise required to offer effective psychological education and counselling.
The program offers you the opportunity to study diverse topics of particular interest to counsellors, such as: interpersonal communication, lifespan human development, family functioning, career assessment and evaluation, and statistics and research design.
The program follows a scientist-practitioner model of training and is delivered on-campus only. And our graduates have gone on to have rewarding careers in schools, post-secondary institutions, community agencies, hospitals, and in private practice.
Completing this program
- Research Courses: Topics include research design in statistics, qualitative research methodologies, multivariate design and analysis and more.
- Specialization Courses: Courses include Relationship Counselling and Counselling Interventions.
- Practicum Courses: Two counselling practicum courses in a supervised counselling setting.
- Thesis: Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.
Outcomes
Research, not-for-profit organizations, community agencies, post-secondary institutions, hospitals, counsellors, private practice settings, intercultural communication, culture studies, curricular consultant, public and private education systems, community and non-governmental agencies.
A master’s of science degree in counselling psychology will give you the pre-requisite for a PhD.
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Admission requirements
GPA
A minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 point system, over the last two years of full-time study (a minimum of 10 full-course equivalents or 60 units) of the undergraduate degree.
Minimum education
Normally, a minimum of 24 units (4.0 full-course equivalents) in Educational Psychology and/or Psychology. This must include: One undergraduate statistics courses (Note: For those who completed a psychology degree at the University of Calgary, Psychology 312 acts as an equivalent); A senior undergraduate psychology or educational psychology course in the area of Communication Skills in Guidance and Counselling, or its equivalent, Working Alliance; A senior undergraduate Psychology or Educational Psychology course in each of cognitive psychology/learning theory, social psychology, biological bases of behavior, and (d) psychology of the individual (e.g., abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, personality theory).
Work samples
None
Documents
- A curriculum vitae
- A concise rationale for the application (500 words or less)
- A completed Pre-Admissions Checklist
Reference letters
Two academic references, one of which must be from the undergraduate honours supervisor (if an honours degree was completed).
Test scores
None
English language proficiency
An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt) score of 97.
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7.0.
- Canadian Academic English Language test (CAEL) score of 70 (no less than 70 in each section).
- Academic Communication Certificate (ACC) score of A- in each course.
Deadlines
For admission on August 1:
- Canadians and permanent residents: Nov. 1 application deadline
- International students: Nov. 1 application deadline
If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements
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