Professional Counseling

At Northern Colorado you will make the most of your future by expanding your mind and advancing your career. You’ll gain an education for life through relevant courses that help you reach your career goals.

Our graduate programs in school counseling, clinical counseling, and family counseling are fully accredited. We prioritize excellence and assure that our graduates are fully prepared to work as professional counselors. Our alums have become leaders in agencies, schools, and private practices.

  • All Professional Counseling Programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
  • The faculty has been recognized with the UNC Academic Excellence Award.
  • Faculty members have been recognized for excellence in teaching at the College and University levels.
  • Faculty members are scholars as well as teachers.
  • Students see clients under live supervision in our state of the art clinic.

Program Objectives

Mission Statement

The counseling faculty views potential candidates as unique, with strengths and assets to be identified, encouraged, and developed during their graduate education. The knowledge of human relations skills necessary to help individuals recognize their own and other persons’ unique promise and discover opportunities for its expression form the core of preparation for students in professional counseling.  Such knowledge and skills are learned in part from research and study in the behavioral and social sciences, various skill development activities, and supervised practica.  Opportunities for a broad understanding of human behavior and human relationships in a diverse society are included in the education of the student in counseling.
The Professional Counseling faculty is committed to the development of broadly based competent professional counselors skilled in helping people with personal, academic, interpersonal, and career concerns in educational settings and community agencies.  The requirements of the program are conceptualized within the framework and standards set forth by the counseling profession, Colorado state law, the UNC Graduate School and job requirements.

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Diversity Framework

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

The Professional Counseling Programs in the School of Applied Psychology and Counselor Education (APCE) is a member of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE’s 15-state region includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Under this approval, students from one of the states listed above can attend UNC at the Colorado resident graduate tuition rate rather than the non-resident rate. To learn more about WICHE, please click on the link below. If you are a resident of one of these states, you will be asked to indicate so on the Supplementary Data Sheet on your application materials.
Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP)