Evaluate your career, academic and individual goals

Many applicants are unsure about whether to enroll in a doctoral or master's program in community counseling or another mental health specialty (such as social work or marriage and family therapy). The decision is usually based on an evaluation of one's career goals, academic goals, and individual interests and strengths. Master's-level counselors and doctoral-level psychologists provide wide range of mental health interventions. In addition to providing counseling and therapy, professional psychologists generally conduct formal psychological evaluations, engage in more administrative and supervision activities, and are often involved in program evaluation. Our programs are designed to prepare counselors to be outstanding practitioners, leaders and advocates who are trained to meet the needs of diverse clients and students.

	School Counseling	Clinical Mental Health Counseling (on-campus)	Clinical Mental Health Counseling (online)	Counseling Psychology
Degree	M.A.	M.S.	M.S.	Ph.D.
Total Credit Hours	48 credits	60 credits	60 credits	91 credits
Specializations Available	na	Non-specialization Addiction counseling Child and adolescent counseling Clinical rehabilitation counseling	Non-specialization Child and adolescent counseling	na
Program Focus	Focus is on clinical competency			Focus is on research competency and clinical competency
Time to Degree	Takes two years or less to complete full-time  12 credits per semester for 5 consecutive semesters		Program designed to be completed part-time, often is 3 years 6-9 credits  per semester for 9 consecutive semesters	Often takes between 5 to 7 years of full-time study to complete
Comprehensive Exam?	Requires a comprehensive exam in addition to course work to complete			Requires completion of doctoral comprehensive exam (i.e., clinical presentation to panel of faculty, completion of a comprehensive literature review)
Clinical Requirements	Clinic requirements require 100 hours of practicum and 600 hours of internship.  All of our students benefit from support for finding clinical placements.			Clinical requirements includes completion of master’s clinical requirements, 700 to 1200 hours of doctoral practicum and a 2000 hour internship experience
Licensing Exam?	Must pass the National Counselor Exam to qualify for licensing			Must pass the EPPP to qualify for licensing

Pursue your passion

Many individuals are primarily interested in providing professional counseling and psychotherapy services to the public and not interested in conducting research and program evaluation, pursuing careers in the management and administration of mental health service programs, and conducting formal psychological evaluations. These individuals are often happier pursuing master's degrees in counseling rather than doctoral degrees in counseling psychology.

Doctoral program further explained

Doctoral counseling psychology programs, like ours at Marquette, are usually based on a scientist-practitioner model of training. This means the clinical aspects of therapy go hand in hand with scholarly activity, which contributes to our knowledge of the field, including therapy practice, human development, psychopathology and program evaluation, among others. Not surprisingly, doctoral programs require many more hours of course work in research methods and statistics. Admission requirements for doctoral programs are also generally higher than master's programs.

Master's Degrees

Our master’s degree in counseling programs include a variety of courses, practicum and training experiences that offer comprehensive preparation for professional practice as a counselor in various clinical and school settings. Training in counseling begins in the first semester, practicum usually begins in the second semester of the first year, and internships continue into the second year.

Are there restrictions in applying for master's or doctoral program?

At Marquette, you can apply to the master's or doctoral program. We have students who entered our programs after their bachelor's degree, after some graduate course work, after completing a master's degree and even after having completed a doctoral degree in another field. We do not have restrictions about the academic backgrounds of the applicants to programs, and you do not have to complete a master's degree in counseling before you can apply to our doctoral program in counseling psychology.

Accelerated Degree Option

Did you know? The School of Education offers an Accelerated Degree Program (ADP) in conjunction with our Educational Studies program that allows our undergraduate students to continue on for a master's degree after completing their bachelor's degrees. ADP students take classes during their senior year that meet requirements for both their undergraduate and graduate degrees.