Common Counseling Degree Options
The following degrees are some of the most common for those in this field, but there are also many other degrees, specializations, and types of therapy available.
- LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor): After obtaining a master's degree in psychology, counseling, or a related field, the student can meet other licensure requirements and become an LPC. This degree is closely tied to psychology and mental health clinical counseling.
- MSW/LCSW (Master of Social Work/Licensed Clinical Social Worker): Gaining an MSW in graduate school, the student can provide counseling services without a license as long as they are supervised by an LCSW. Social work practitioners still work in several similar settings as other psychology degree holders, but they also focus more on government institutions and doing social justice work.
- MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist): To become an MFT, the student needs a master’s degree and clinical experience. MFTs treat couples, families, and individuals. They focus on mental health issues relating to relationships and families, but they can also diagnose some mental health disorders.
- PsyD (Doctor of Psychology): A PsyD degree prepares the student to become a clinical practitioner and/or conduct scientific research. The curriculum focuses on a variety of mental health topics and treatments, including serious mental illnesses. The degree contains 3 years of classwork and a year of clinical internship.
- Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology): The Ph.D. is focused on scientific research and there are many specializations that exist for Ph.D. degrees in psychology. It takes about 5-7 years to complete, and can prepare students to enter academia as a professor, do clinical work, and/or become an independent researcher.
Other Forms of Therapy Careers
Besides the commonly understood “talk therapy”, there are also various forms of therapy careers available to pursue, like play therapy, expressive arts therapy, music therapy, animal-assisted therapy, and sandplay therapy, to name a few. In addition, if you are interested in therapy forms that are focused on other aspects of health besides mental health, some options include but are not limited to speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
Masters vs. Ph.D.: Which Should I Pursue?
If you're wondering whether pursuing a master's degree or a Ph.D. would be a better option for you, here are some factors to consider.
- Time: Most Master’s degrees take around 2-3 years, with Ph.D. programs ranging anywhere from 4-7 years.
- Cost: Scholarships and financial assistance for Master's programs are generally rare. PsyD programs also are associated with large costs and loans. For Ph.D. programs, although tuition is expensive, most students have their tuition covered and are given a small stipend for living. This is often because Ph.D. students can serve as Research Assistants or Teaching Assistants.
- Research or Counseling Practice: If you are heavily interested in conducting research, a Ph.D. is much more geared towards that than a Master's degree. If your primary career interest is field experience in counseling without an academic research focus, a master's degree may be a more fitting option.
- Admissions: In general, Ph.D. programs are much harder to gain acceptance into, and they admit far fewer numbers of students.
- Job Opportunities: Gaining a Ph.D. degree opens up a vast number of job opportunities including those in clinical practice, research, and academia. Master’s degrees on the other hand offer less range of job opportunities, mostly focusing on clinical practice.
Ways to Gain Experience
Being successful as an applicant starts with gaining experience. Here are some of the ways students can set themselves up for success in this field.
Research Experience
- Research with faculty: Email professors in related fields (for example, HDFS, psychology, educational psychology, communications, neuroscience, etc.) that have research interests similar to your own. This guide from TIDES gives helpful information on how to contact professors whom you want to research with: https://cns.utexas.edu/tides/undergraduate/undergraduate-research/getting-started
- Get involved in other research experiences such as FRI (Freshman Research Initiative) or ARI (Accelerated Research Initiative)
- Some programs at UT offer practicum opportunities and opportunities for an undergraduate thesis, among other opportunities.
Ways to Get Involved at UT
- Student Organizations: There are several mental health, psychology, and wellness related student organizations on campus. Joining these organizations, serving in one as an officer, or creating your own organization are ways to gain valuable experience.
- Mental Health Ambassadors: Becoming involved as a mental health ambassador under healthyhorns allows students to facilitate mental health conversations and raise awareness.
- SHARE Specialists: Students can apply to be part of the Longhorn SHARE program, which offers training and experience in the facilitation of support groups for other students on campus.
- LWC Peer Educators: Housed in the Longhorn Wellness Center, the Peer Educator Program is an opportunity for students to gain training and experience in facilitating health-related workshops across campus. Students will also have the opportunity to design their own health initiative on campus with a small group of peers.
- FIG Mentors: Becoming a FIG mentor gives students experience with guiding freshmen through their transition to college, connecting new students to resources, and building relationships with faculty.
- Career Coaching: Students can get involved in career advising jobs and other experiences on campus related to helping students one-on-one. Even though this is academically focused instead of mental health focused, it still provides experience in working individually with students in need.
Outside Opportunities for Experience in the Mental Health Field
Although a license or higher level degree is needed for most direct-contact opportunities with clients, there are still many opportunities to get involved in the mental health field as a student.
- Crisis Counseling: Several crisis hotlines and text lines have opportunities available to students who want to serve as Crisis Counselors. The 741-741 Crisis Text Line and the Trevor Project crisis line (focused on LGBTQ+ mental health) are two examples.
- Non-profits: This can range from working or volunteering in crisis centers, shelters, foster companies, education/teaching opportunities, etc.
- Mental Health Facility Work: Even if you are not directly seeing clients, working in a mental health or counseling company in a different way can also be a valuable experience. For example, students can be an administrative assistant or a social media assistant.
- Clinical Internship: There are some sites that offer clinical internships for undergraduate students, usually juniors and seniors. These offer valuable hands-on experience in the field. They often can also count for course or practicum credit.
- Certifications: There are some certifications that undergraduate students can pursue and attain related to mental health. Some examples are a therapy assistant certification or a behavior therapist certification.
- Personal Projects: Another way to experience this field is by creating your own projects surrounding it. This could be a podcast, blog, video, or any other media that allows you to express your voice surrounding mental health or give others a chance to share theirs.
Academic Programs and Courses
Here you can find information about potential classes to take related to mental health and counseling, as well as minors, certificates, and other programs that are relevant. These can enhance your degree and academic experience with many courses that are relevant to your future career in counseling.
Minors
Although the department of Psychology does not offer a psychology minor, two minors that are especially relevant to counseling are the Educational Psychology minor and the Social Work minor.
The Educational Psychology Minor includes classes such as:
- EDP 352D (Introduction to Individual Counseling and Psychotherapy)
- EDP 352G (A Multicultural Approach to Counseling and Psychotherapy)
- EDP 352N (Addiction Counseling and Theories)
- EDP 358D (Emotional and Behavioral Disorders)
- EDP 376T (Sport and Performance Psychology)
- EDP 318T (Introduction to School Psychology)
Social Work Minor: Students can choose a general Social Work minor that offers introductory social work classes and two electives, or they can choose the Critical Disability Studies minor which focuses on disability studies and also requires two electives.
Other Relevant Minors: The following minors are directly relevant to a career in counseling or therapy; however, any minor even in an unrelated field can supplement your degree and skillset in valuable ways and contribute indirectly to your counseling career.
- Communicating for Development and Philanthropy
- Communicating Social Issues
- Health Communication
- Educational Psychology
- Kinesiology and Health Education
- Critical Disability Studies
- Social Work
- Women’s and Gender Studies
- Sociology
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Sexualities Studies
Certificates
BDP Certificate: Through UT’s Bridging Disciplines Program, students can earn a certificate by completing 19 credit hours in an interdisciplinary area of study. Earning any BDP certificate is a great way to gain a variety of skills in areas of coursework that you may not already be familiar with. Some BDP certificates that are especially relevant to pursuing counseling or therapy as a career include:
- Children & Society
- Ethics & Leadership in Healthcare
- Human Rights & Social Justice
- Patients, Practitioners, and Cultures of Care
- Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofits
- Social Inequality, Health & Policy
UTeach Natural Sciences: The UTeach Program allows UT students in natural sciences to earn their teaching certification in STEM fields. If you are interested in teaching, or if you are interested in becoming a school counselor in the state of Texas (for which 2 years of teaching experience are required), UTeach offers coursework and experiential programs to get started. UTeach Liberal Arts is also an option. Some classes in UTeach are also open to those who want to try out teaching experience without committing to the full UTeach program. Some of these include:
- Step 1: Learn the fundamentals of STEM teaching. Gain experience developing a lesson plan and teaching at a local elementary school.
- Step 2: Learn more fundamentals of STEM teaching, and teach at a local middle school.
- UTeach Outreach: Experiential-based courses in which students teach pre-written lessons to local schools several times during the semester.
- Note: UTeach can also help students get involved in several internships involving working with youth, such as the UTeach Outreach internship.