MA Counseling at University of North Dakota

Programme overview

Create positive change in your community and beyond with a rewarding career as a professional counselor. Build a strong foundation for making a difference in your community. An M.A. in Counseling from UND will prepare you to become a skilled practitioner in the field.

Department: Department of Education, Health & Behavior Studies | Duration: 2-3 years (60-66 credit hours) | Study mode: full-time; online | Intake: Fall (Feb. 1* | July 1), Summer (Feb. 1* | April 1), Fall (August 1), Spring (December 1), Summer (May 1) | Location: Grand Forks, ND, United States

What you will study

Plus One of the Following Emphasis Areas: program prerequisite PPT 410 Drugs Subject to Abuse or equivalent Required courses include COUN 507 Life-Span Development in Counseling; COUN 510 Counseling Methods; COUN 515 Methods of Research; COUN 518 Group Theory and Process; COUN 519 Career Counseling; COUN 520 Diagnostic and Prevention Strategies in Counseling.

Career pathways

An M.A. in Counseling from UND prepares you for a fulfilling career as a counselor in a range of settings, including: Mental health centers, Rehabilitation offices, Family service organizations, K-12 schools, Psychotherapy, Mental health counseling, Psychology, Crisis intervention.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

The on-campus Master of Arts in Counseling Program is an in-person experience where students must complete 60 credits, at the UND campus, in order to complete the degree. There are four emphasis areas in the On-Campus Program: Addictions, Child and Adolescent Counseling, Community Mental Health, and Rehabilitation. Students will select one emphasis area to be the focus of their program of study. The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog. A four-year bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university. Twenty semester credits of coursework in the behavioral sciences at the undergraduate level, which must include theories of personality, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, and statistics. Additional courses in psychology and sociology may be applied toward this prerequisite.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,441 a year (2026-27). North Dakota resident rate. On-campus tuition for 2026/2027 as shown in the programme's tuition table (fall and spring semesters, rate band 'Education'); excludes mandatory student fees, housing and books. The same table lists Minnesota residents $17,070. Source

International applicants: USD 26,882 a year (2026-27). International student rate. On-campus tuition for 2026/2027 as shown in the programme's tuition table (fall and spring semesters, rate band 'Education'); excludes mandatory student fees, housing and books. Source

Terms run Fall (August-December), Spring (January-May) and Summer (May-August).

Graduate applications go through the UND admissions application with a $35 non-refundable fee (no waivers); each graduate program sets its own deadline, listed in the Program Finder. Three academic or professional references and a statement of goals are required.

International graduate applicants: Fall May 1, Spring Sept. 1, Summer Feb. 1, unless the program sets a specific deadline. Application fee $35.

Apply through the official page: https://und.edu/admissions/graduate/apply.html

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