Nov 03, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Accelerated Graduate Pathway to Counseling


For highly motivated undergraduate students who are already looking ahead to graduate school, USM offers an Accelerated Graduate Pathway from our Social and Behavioral Sciences program to the MS in Counseling program that allows you to begin graduate study while completing your bachelor’s degree, saving you time and money – which means you’ll be ready for a career that much sooner, with your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in hand.

Program Requirements

In order to apply or participate in the Counseling pathway:

  • Declare the Social and Behavioral Sciences major.
  • Complete at least one full-time semester at the University with a 3.0 GPA.
  • Meet with assigned professional advisor in the Advising Office to discuss and gain approval to declare the accelerated pathway. 
  • Complete and sign the electronic AGP Declaration Form.
  • If the professional advisor approves, and a student has earned junior status (54 credits), they may begin take courses from List A.

Recommended Course Sequence


Students who have declared the AGP in Counseling may take up to six credits of the courses from List A prior to acceptance to the MS in Counseling program.

List A: 

1. HCE 500 Orientation to the Counseling Profession OR HCE 510 Introduction to Rehabilitation Counseling and Services.

2. and one of the following:

  • HCE 507 Spritiuality and Religion in Counseling (elective)
  • HCE 604 Career Development
  • HCE 620 Fundamentals of Counseling Theories
  • HCE 668 Human Development

Students must earn a B or better in these classes.

 

Once the six credits from List A are completed, a student may apply to the master’s program. Students are required to follow all guidelines for their application as outlined on the Graduate Admissions website. 

SBS students must be accepted in the counseling graduate school program in order to take any further graduate counseling courses. If accepted into the graduate program, a student becomes eligible to take any of the following courses from List B.

List B:

1. Any additional course(s) from List A,

2. and any of the following courses:

HCE 514 Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Evidence-based Practice and Treatment

HCE 612 Multicultural Counseling

HCE 641 Mind/Body/Expressive Techniques

HCE 642 Perspectives on Chemical Dependency

A student may take courses from List B only after they have been accepted into the MS in Counseling graduate program. The maximum number of overall graduate credits taken as an undergraduate that can be applied to the graduate program is 18.

If not accepted into the graduate program, the student is not eligible for the remaining courses, however the six credits will count as SBS electives. Even if a SBS student is an accelerated pathway student, they are not guaranteed acceptance into the graduate program.