Admissions

Admission to graduate programs in the College of Education is based on a comprehensive review of all application materials. Programs give strong consideration to the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, relevant work and/or life experiences, and performance in prior undergraduate and graduate coursework (GPA). Admissions decisions are based on selecting outstanding applicants who demonstrate great promise for not only completing their degree, but for becoming a competent professional as well.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also given strong consideration for the Counselor Education doctoral program. The GRE score must be official (sent by ETS). Official ETS score reports can only be sent for tests completed in the past 5 years; therefore, applicants must have completed the GRE within the past 5 years.

An earned masters degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or comparable degree from an international institution. Applicants must have a minimum grade average of 3.0 for all upper-division undergraduate work and acceptable scores on the GRE. These scores are used in the context of a holistic credential review process. Exceptions to the above requirements are made only when these and other criteria, including letters of recommendation, are reviewed by the academic unit, recommended by the college, and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Counselor Education faculty conducts a holistic review of candidate applications, considering academic criteria and criteria relevant to professional clinical performance. Listed below is information pertaining to minimum expectations as well as more contextual information based on accepted and enrolled students. Typically, the Counselor Education program receives three to five times as many applications as we have space available. Thus, the application process is competitive, and the program does not have the resources to accept all qualified candidates. Listed below are both minimum and competitive ranges for the University of Florida and the Counselor Education program.

All applicants must meet these requirements to be admitted to the Counselor Education Program:

• A bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from an accredited United States college or university, or a degree deemed equivalent by the University of Florida Office of Admission
• 3.0 upper-division undergraduate grade point average (average upper division GPA of accepted candidates is 3.5)
• 3.5 overall graduate grade point average (average graduate GPA for accepted doctoral candidates is 3.9)
• Doctoral applicants only: Acceptable GRE Scores (Between Fall 2011 and Fall 2013, for accepted and newly enrolling students, the average GRE scores were: Verbal 150, Quantitative 148, Analytical Writing 4.0. The high and low ranges were: Verbal 141-169, Quantitative 142-164, and Analytical Writing 2.5-5.5)
• Demonstrated ability to perform Essential Functions Required of Matriculated Students
  • A matriculating graduate student in Counselor Education must possess fundamental abilities and skills in five categories: observation, communication, motor movement, intelligence, and social efficacy. However, it is recognized that degrees of ability vary widely between individuals. Individuals are encouraged to discuss their disabilities with the Admissions Coordinator and, jointly, consider technological and other facilitating mechanisms needed in order to train and function effectively as a Marriage and Family Counselor, a Mental Health Counselor, a School Counselor, and/or a Counselor Educator. The Counselor Education Program at the University of Florida is committed to enabling its students to utilize any reasonable means or accommodations to complete the course of study leading to a degree.
    • Observation: Learning to be a professional Marriage & Family Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, and/or School Counselor necessitates the functional use of sensory modalities such as vision and hearing. For example, a student must be able to comprehend demonstrations of counseling skills and techniques and a student must be able to understand and represent clients accurately.
    • Communication: Learning to be a professional Marriage & Family Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, and/or School Counselor requires that a student demonstrate computer literacy and the ability to read, write and speak efficaciously. For example, a student must be able to verbally communicate effectively and sensitively with clients and to send and receive messages accurately.
    • Motor Control: Learning to be a professional Marriage & Family Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, and/or School Counselor necessitates that a student is able to execute such motor movements that may be reasonably required for the student to provide general care and emergency services for clients. Such actions include coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
    • Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: Learning to be a professional Marriage & Family Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, and/or School Counselor necessitates that a student be able to use abilities required in measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and the synthesis of information.
    • Social Efficacy: Learning to be a professional Marriage & Family Therapist, Mental Health Counselor, and/or School Counselor necessitates that students must possess the emotional health required for the full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with clients, and the diagnosis and treatment of clients. Students must be able to tolerate challenging workloads and to function effectively under stress. Students must be able to adapt to changing multicultural environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the problems of many clients. Empathy, compassion, integrity, interpersonal skill, professional aspirations, and personal motivation are all qualities that are assessed during the admissions and education process
• Favorable review in an interview
• As per University of Florida Gradaute School Admissions policy, Non-US and Puerto Rican applicants must demonstrate English proficiency through one or more of the following means:
  • All international students seeking admission to the Graduate School must submit satisfactory scores on the GRE General Test.
  • International students must submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language:computer=213, paper=550, web=80), IELTS (International English Language Testing System: 6), MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery: 77) or successful completion of the University of Florida English Language Institute program.
  • Students who meet the following conditions may be exempt from the English language test requirements:
    • International students whose native language is English
    • International students who have spent at least 1 academic year in a degree-seeking program at a college or university in a country where English is the official language, if their attendance was in the year immediately prior to UF admission
  • International students with unsatisfactory scores on the TOEFL, IELTS, or MELAB; unsuccessful completion of the University of Florida English Language Institute program; or an unacceptable score on the verbal part of the GRE must achieve an acceptable score on an essay administered by the Academic Written English program at UF. If English skills are not acceptable, then performance on the essay will be used to place students in appropriate courses that will not count toward a graduate degree.

All application materials are due by 5:00pm on the application deadline date. Only fully complete application files are reviewed by faculty. It is the candidate’s responsibility to check on the status of materials received by the University.  To check on your status with the University, log on to ONE.UF.

Doctoral Application Deadlines

Masters/Specialist Application Deadlines

Procedures depend on the type of candidate (e.g., new applicant-U.S. citizen, new applicant-international, or former UF graduate student). The University of Florida has implemented an online application procedure, and all candidates are required to complete the online application process.

To ensure all application materials are completed and submitted, please download our Application Checklist.

The Graduate Application can be found here.

Please review the Graduate Application Instructions PDF.

Master’s/Specialist applicants please choose one of the following as your Program of Study:

• “Mental Health Counseling Degree Name – Specialist in Education”
• “School & Guidance Counseling Degree Name – Specialist in Education”
• “Marriage and Family Counseling Degree Name – Specialist in Education”

All candidates complete the online web application through the University of Florida Office of Admissions. Please note that applying to the University of Florida Office of Admissions involves an application fee, which may be paid by credit card. New applicants to a graduate program at the University of Florida should click on the University of Florida Graduate Admissions link. Former graduate students at the University of Florida should click on the following appropriate link.

• University of Florida Graduate Admissions

• Former UF Graduate Student complete the application for readmission.