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We recommend visiting for an overview of the profession.

The employment rate is close to 100% for graduating students. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 20% rate of growth for Mental Health Counselors between 2014 and 2024.

The graduate counseling programs at RIC prepare you with the academic credentials to be licensed as a Mental Health Counselor. After program completion, there are required clinical field hours and a licensing exam you must complete for the state in which you want to be  licensed. Many states, including RI, have two-tiered licensing which allows for a licensee on the associate level to work under the supervision of an independently licensed supervisor. This allows an associate level licensee to accrue the required clinical field hours (2000 in RI) while billing under the independently licensed practitioner.

Licensing as a Mental Health Counselor is a state by state process. CACREP accreditation for the MS CMHC program has been adopted as the standard of academic preparation for licensing  in many but not all states. The CGS in Advanced Counseling is not CACREP accredited. In RI, the number of hours required is 2000 and the exam is the NCMHCE. Most students completing our Practicum and Internship field experiences continue in these types of locations to complete supervised clinical field requirements.

You are right to ask a bit more about the distinctions in the Counseling and Social Work professions – especially before you dive into a career path. The 2 professions have  several similarities as well as unique characteristics. It is common for Licensed Mental Health Counselors and Social Workers to work side by side in practice. What differs is their academic preparation. Take a look at the courses in the MS CMHC and MSW programs as an example.  

Counselor preparation focuses on a wellness model with the intent to prepare professionals to improve life skills and relationships, make diagnoses and provide counseling. Social Work follows an ecological model with focus on changing the environment. Social Workers provide case management; locate treatment services and other services to support recovery and healthy living. Take a look at this .

If you haven't already, visit the Clinical Mental Health Counseling MS.

Classes are scheduled once per week in the evenings (4–6:50 pm or 7–9:50 pm) during the Fall and Spring semesters. Summer 1 and Summer 2 session classes are scheduled twice per week (3–6:35 pm or 7–10:35 pm).

Non-matriculated students can enroll in the following courses: 

• CEP 532 Theories and Methods of Counseling, offered generally in fall
• CEP 531 Human Development across Cultures, offered generally in summer and spring
• CEP 535 Vocational Counseling and Placement, offered generally in summer

Completing these courses does not ensure acceptance into the program. Once accepted into the program, these course credits would apply to the graduate counseling program. Financial aid generally does not cover courses you take while you are non-matriculated. 

You can see more on how to be activated and enroll as a non-matriculated student, as well as when courses are scheduled, on .

For activating as a non-matriculated grad student, see non-degree or visiting students and follow those steps to be activated. 

The open courses being offered are listed in Class Search > Search for classes > Term XYZ > Subject Counseling and Ed Psy > Course career Graduate.

Full-time graduate study (2-3 courses per semester) is a significant investment of both time and money. We expect it to be the primary focus of our students in order to get the most out of the education and training experience. That said, most of our students do work and are able to continue their work during the program consistent with the flexibility of their work hours and time needed to fully engage in graduate study. One of the biggest time challenges comes from clinical field expectations throughout the 3 year program.

Almost all of the required classes are in-person (once per week 3-hour classes). Occasionally a course will be offered as a “hybrid” (portions online and in-person) or completely online, but this is uncommon.

The MS CMHC program is designed to be completed in 3 years with 2 to 3 courses in fall, spring and summer. This design is based on field related clinical work (4 Practicum and 1 year-long Internship) in each fall and spring semester throughout the 3 years.  Students can take longer to complete the program but not less time.

View Graduate Tuition and Fees

You can use these current tuition and fee rates to estimate the total for the 60 credit hour MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or the 15+ credit hour CGS in Advanced Counseling.

Federal financial aid is available in both programs (MS and CGS) for students who are eligible for federal financial aid. For information about applying for financial aid, please email the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@ric.edu. Students who are eligible for federal work study funds are encouraged to discuss this with their advisor. Our program and department often have initiatives in research, diversity, and outreach which can be matched student interests and utilize those work study funds.

Yes. Applicants to the MS CMHC program are eligible to apply for Graduate and Teaching Assistantships in various RIC programs and departments. Many students in our graduate counseling program have worked in assistantships in areas as Academic Advising/Tutoring, Student Success, Learning for Life, Counseling Center, and Military Resource Center. To be considered for an assistantship, applicants are encouraged to apply prior to acceptance into the program.

Explore Graduate Assistantships

For more information, email the Office of Graduate Studies at graduatestudies@ric.edu.

Full-time graduate assistantships include a waiver of all tuition and registration fees for courses at ��ѻ��ý for the academic year and for one summer (the summer previous to or following the appointment) and an annual stipend of $3,500. Half-time graduate assistantships include a waiver of half tuition and fees for courses at ��ѻ��ý for the academic year and one summer and an annual stipend of $1,750.

All materials for application to the counseling programs are submitted online in CollegeNet.

You can also refer to the Clinical Mental Health Counseling MS Program Details for more information

There are no specific majors or coursework that are required for our program. Our applicants and admitted students come to this program with many different backgrounds. We also have many career changers who decide mental health is an important focus for their graduate studies. The key is to show your fit to the profession in your understanding, interests and readiness for graduate work in mental health counseling.

Beginning in February 2021 standardized test scores are no longer required for the MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Applicants for the CGS Advanced Counseling program are not required to submit test scores (MAT or GRE).

A writing sample is required for the MS application and it is included in the CollegeNet application materials. The prompt poses a situation for which you prepare a response and upload it to the online application. Read the instructions and prompt, prepare your response, then load with your response into the application. Remember - you can begin your application, save it, finish the writing sample, then complete the application.

When you complete the online application, there is a section in which you provide the email contact to the 3 people you have selected to provide referrals for you. I suggest you contact those folk in advance. Once they receive the automated request from CollegeNet, they submit the referral materials (letters of recommendation and candidate rating forms) directly through that portal.

This may vary depending on your background. Generally we review letters of recommendation to determine your readiness for graduate work and for the profession of counseling. Good recommenders are professors, employers, and supervisors. Personal references are of limited use to the application. These recommenders also complete the candidate rating forms included in the automated request from CollegeNet.

The performance-based evaluation could be a review from an employer, supervisor, or professor regarding the quality of your work. A performance-based evaluation measures your ability to perform a task or series of tasks in real time. It can be a work evaluation or applied task from a class such as service learning or a research project presentation.

A letter of recommendation generally focuses on specific traits that the writer believes make you a good candidate for graduate school - maturity, aptitude for advanced study, preparedness for the professional pursuit as a counselor.

A performance based evaluation (PBE) covers more about your work habits - interpersonal skills, communication with clients/customers, work ethic, ability to use feedback in improving performance, ability to understand and advance in job skills.

Neither of these are exhaustive lists but hopefully include some of the differences. If you do not have a PBE and recommender is willing, I suggest they write a LOR/PBE combined in letter format as an alternative. You can email the dean's office at fsehd@ric.edu to mention that the letter will serve both purposes, so that that can be noted in your application.

Yes. You are asked to repare a well-organized, focused essay of 300 to 500 words (double spaced and typed) describing why you want to pursue graduate education. Your essay should cover your experience, level of preparation, professional goals, and reasons for choosing RIC's graduate program.

When members of the faculty admissions committee review applications, they are looking for the fit of each applicant to the program and to the profession of Clinical Mental Health Counseling. With each item included in the application, highlight the reasons you are choosing this professional direction and emphasize the ways you are a good fit for the program.

• Tell us ways you are academically prepared for graduate studies especially if your grades may not tell the full story.
• Highlight practical and clinical experience you have in helping roles from employment and volunteer opportunities.
• Spend time on the Writing Sample to fully reflect your ideas and perspectives on working with people of all backgrounds.
• Build your Professional Goals Essay to show us your fit to the program.