Counseling and Psychology Degrees Offered at University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado appears in our ranking of the 50 Top Online Bachelor of Psychology Degree Programs.
Between two colleges and five departments, the University of Northern Colorado offers more than 15 degrees in the counseling and psychology fields. The only undergraduate program is part of the School of Psychological Sciences which is in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. The psychology bachelor of arts can be completed on campus or online with the online program geared more toward nontraditional adult students. Requirements for both options include 43 hours in the major with four required psychology classes and a field experience course. Students also take 4 hours of biology and 24 hours of electives making sure to complete courses from at least three different categories. Motivated students can overlap their senior year with a year of graduate school and graduate with both their bachelor’s in psychology and Master of Arts in Educational Psychology which is also available 100% online and features classes like Life Span Development and Brain and Education.
The two departments in this college that offer counseling graduate programs are the Applied Psychology and Counselor Education and the School Psychology departments. Degree programs include three professional counseling tracks, an M.A. in Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling, M.A. in School Counseling, and M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. All students in these programs take 51 credit hours that overlap consisting of courses like Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse, and Family Systems as well as two practicums and an internship. The remaining 12 to 24 credit hours are made up of specific electives which could include Play Therapy and specific advanced methods and seminar classes. Upon graduation, individuals are eligible for certification as marriage and family therapists or nationally certified counselors.
The College of Natural and Health Sciences offers two related degrees. The Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling is a hybrid program with half of the classes online, and it requires a total of 60 credit hours with 9 mandatory courses like Medical Aspects of Disability, Human Services Counseling Theories and Techniques, and Family, Cultural and Psychological Aspects of Disability. Students complete more than 600 clock-hours in the field and can take advantage of the UNC Rehabilitation Counseling Clinic to gain extra experience. Graduates are well prepared for the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor exam with a 93% pass rate. The other program in this college is the M.S. in Sport and Exercise Science with an emphasis in Social Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. This is a 33-credit-hour track featuring courses like Motivation, Psychosocial Aspects of Aging, and Social Psychology and Group Dynamics. Students have the option of either completing a 6-credit-hour thesis or taking a comprehensive examination before graduation. Ph.D. programs are available in all of the above areas with students choosing between a variety of electives, participating in faculty research projects, and writing their dissertations.
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About the University of Northern Colorado
Beginning in 1889, the University of Northern Colorado opened as the State Normal School for teacher training and remained focused on the education field until the 1940s. Today, the university enrolls about 13,000 students in 100 undergraduate majors and 120 graduate programs divided between six colleges on its main campus in Greeley, Colorado. UNC prides itself on providing a means for upward mobility among lower-income populations with around 40% of its student body being first-generation college students. In addition, its origins in education have not been forgotten, and many degree programs have teaching-related specialties available.
The U.S. News and World Report has ranked the University of Northern Colorado as having the 29th best online bachelor degree programs in the country as well as the 15th best rehabilitation counseling program.
University of Northern Colorado Accreditation Details
The University of Northern Colorado was first accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in 1916 and is due for renewal in 2025. The accreditation process verifies that a school meets standards in areas involving its mission, quality of education, financial resources, and governing board among others. There are also professional organizations that provide industry-specific accreditation. This ensures that the material being taught is up-to-date and that graduates are ready to enter the workforce. At UNC, the following groups have certified the psychology and counseling programs.
- American Psychological Association
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
- Council on Rehabilitation Education
University of Northern Colorado Application Requirements
Freshmen applicants can submit either the Bear App on UNC’s website or the Common Application and must include official transcripts and ACT or SAT scores. There are no published cutoff levels, but the average GPA was around 3.4 with middle ACT/SAT scores of about 22/1120. For admission to the online bachelor’s degree completion program, preferred applicants have a 2.4 GPA as well as 60 hours of transferable college credit.
Admission to all master’s programs requires a 3.0 GPA and completion of an undergraduate degree. For the on-campus program, applicants must also submit three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, the supplementary data sheet, and resume, preferably with 2 years of related work experience. Each prospective Ph.D. applicant needs to provide transcripts showing a master’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA, three letters of reference, minimum combined GRE score of 297 with a 3.5 analytic writing score, letter of intent, and curriculum vitae.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For online students, undergraduate tuition is $360 per credit hour with the graduate rate at $520. There are three residency categories for on-campus classes, instate, out-of-state, and Western Exchange which denotes residency in one of the 15 partner states in the western region of the United States. Undergraduate tuition and fees for a 15-hour course load total approximately $5000, $10,000, and $8000 respectively with graduate rates about the same for 10 credit hours. Assistantships are a popular funding option for graduate students with positions available in research, teaching, and administrative capacities. Students working 16 to 20 hours each week have up to 10 credit hours of tuition costs waived each semester. The University of Northern Colorado also has a variety of scholarships available including automatic first-year awards based on high school GPA and test scores as well as transfer student awards for college GPAs above 3.0.