master of arts in counseling
> application process

Fall 2009 Applications Are Now Closed

Fall 2010 Applications Are Available Now

General Information

• Eligibility Requirements
• Important Dates
• Filing an Application with the Department
• Filing an Application with the University
• Academic Foundation
• Approved Prerequisite Courses
• Financial Aid Information
• Description of the Application Process
• Description of the Interview Process

• Have a 3.0 grade point average in the last two years of undergraduate work.
• Have completed course work in abnormal behavior, personality theory, and statistics by the start of your first semester in the program for the MFT track; personality theory, theories of learning and/or child development (effective Fall 2006, only a course in child development will be accepted for this prerequisite), and statistics for the PPS track.
• Have a BA degree - preferably one in the behavioral sciences, and optimally, one with sound preparation in psychology. School counseling students should have first-hand knowledge of the K-12 school setting.
• Submit and complete all of the Department application forms by the required deadline.
• Be enrolled or have applied to Sonoma State University. (CSU application for SSU is available from Admissions & Records.)
• Have a personal interview - a required part of the admission procedures.

  ---

Important Dates

October 1 to January 23 -	Department applications available on the web.
October 1 to January 23 -	Department applications available from the office.
October 1 to January 31 -	Counseling Department applications accepted
January 31	Deadline for Department & SSU applications

Application to the Department

In order to apply to the Counseling Department, fill out and complete an application packet. If you do not have the ability to download from the site, contact our office after October 1 and request the Application Packet. The DEADLINE for receipt of all the materials for your file, including the initial application form, information sheet, letters of recommendation, transcripts and autobiography is January 31.

Click here for the department application.

Application to the University

In order to apply to the University, you must submit the California State University Application and all other documents required to the Admissions & Records Office. It is now possible for you to submit your university application on-line.

If you are already enrolled as an unclassified graduate student, this step is not necessary.

If you are currently enrolled and will be graduating, you must reapply to the University.

A BA is preferred in one of the behavioral sciences and optimally, one with sound preparation in psychology. Abnormal behavior, personality theory, and statistics course work are prerequisites for admission into the program in the MFT track. Personality theory, theories of learning, and statistics are prerequisites for admission into the program in the PPS track. These courses must be completed before beginning courses in the Counseling Department. Take care of these early! If you wait until you are in the application process and you cannot find the right courses or are unable to enroll in them, you risk being turned down for admission into the program.

You may begin taking prerequisite courses or Counseling Department courses (limit 12 units Counseling courses) prior to admittance to the program through Extended Education's Open University program. For more information, call Extended Education (664-2394).

To enroll in our courses as an Open University student bring your Extended Education registration form to the first class. All Counseling Department courses are restricted and you must go to the first class and get the instructor's approval. This MUST be done prior to officially registering.

You are eligible to enroll in all but field work courses (510AB & 514AB & 596) and 512, 521, 523, 540 and 580 in the Department, provided:

(1) there is space available in the class;

(2) you obtain the consent of the instructor and/or meet prerequisites for certain courses (i.e. statistics for COUNS 513); and

(3) you take no more than 12 units of course work in the Counseling Department prior to acceptance into the program.

We do keep track of this and anyone going over the limit will be asked to leave a class if it is determined they have gone over twelve units in Counseling Dept. courses.

1. A file is created upon receipt of the Initial Application Form & $25 fee.

2. Applicant responsibilities:

• Keep copies of all your supplemental materials for your records (Department application, autobiography, etc).
• Request letters of recommendation as soon as you can and have them sent directly to you - keeping them to submit to the Department with your complete packet. (You might consider giving them a deadline a month prior to the January 31 deadline.) You may wish to ask five people for letters of recommendation in case someone does not come through by the deadline.
• Request two sets of transcripts. You will need one transcript to send with application for Sonoma State University (Admission and Records), and one transcript to be submitted to the Counseling Department with application packet. Unsealed transcripts provided by applicants are not acceptable. If you are applying to SSU, be sure to promptly respond to the request for transcripts from Admissions and Records. Remember to request a set of transcripts from SSU for the Counseling Department! The Counseling Department would like transcripts from all the institutions from which you received a degree and/or took any relevant (behavioral science) course work.
• Your complete packet must be in our office by January 31 - Information Sheet, Autobiography, Letters of Recommendation, and transcripts (in sealed envelopes).
• You must either be enrolled at SSU as a post baccalaureate student or have submitted a CSU Graduate Application to Admissions & Records before the end of January.

3. It is important to read all the information you receive to avoid missing a deadline or misunderstanding what is required.

4. Please notify us if you do not wish to continue with the application process at any point during the process.

...AND AGAIN, REMEMBER YOU MUST ALSO FILE A UNIVERSITY APPLICATION.

(1) Completed files are screened by faculty teams. There are many more applications from qualified candidates than can be admitted, and the reading of the files constitutes the first part of the selection and elimination process. Candidates receive letters advising them whether or not they have been selected for an interview. The interviews are likely to be scheduled the latter part of March into early April. Please keep this time available.

 

(2) The Department has found that the interview provides very important data, and, consequently, it is required as a part of the selection process. Interview teams generally consist of two faculty members. International applicants and applicants living outside of the Western region of the U.S. (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, California, Nevada, Arizona) may request to submit a video taped interview which must be submitted by April 1st. (Contact the Department for further guidelines)

 

(3) On the basis of all of the data which have been brought forward, the faculty admissions committee determines the ranking of all of the candidates. It should be stressed that throughout the application process every attempt is made to quantify data and to assign numerical equivalents where appropriate.

 

(4) According to the rankings derived by the Committee, based upon the number of places available through current staffing, letters are sent to three groups of applicants:

a. those invited as classified students
b. those on a waiting list
c. those not admitted

Every attempt is made to mail these letters the week following the interviews. We anticipate admitting approximately 36 - 40 classified students.

As stated earlier, there are more qualified candidates than we can admit. We encourage people to apply again. We feel you should know that some candidates have been successful on the second and even third attempt.

It should be noted that the Department selects the best candidates for admission from each year's pool of new applicants. REAPPLICATION AND/OR COMPLETION OF COURSE WORK DOES NOT GIVE AN APPLICANT PRIORITY FOR ADMISSION.

PLEASE ADVISE THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT OF ANY ADDRESS CHANGES DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME.