Counseling (MA)

 

With a master’s degree in counseling, you can use your talents to improve the world:

• Help children adapt to their surroundings and perform
  better in school and life.
• Counsel spouses on how to improve their relationships.
• Work through emotional issues or mental disorders with families.
• Counsel clients in areas such as trauma, substance abuse, grief, and other concerns that distress people.
• Secure employment in community agencies, hospitals, schools, and government agencies that provide counseling and mental health services.
• Be a part of a private practice that offers counseling services.

At the University of Holy Cross, you can earn your master’s online in three years. 

Through teaching, research, and public service, the MA programs foster not just intellectual learning, but also encourage you to develop spiritually, culturally, and with a sense of responsibility. Become a self-developing, competent counseling professional who will be an asset to the community, both personally and professionally. Our alumni serve as professional counselors in a wide variety of fields and are known for their knowledge, skills, and compassion.

Where our grads counsel

Behavioral health groups
Catholic Charities
Communities In Schools
District attorneys’ offices
Juvenile detention centers
Schools
Sheriffs’ offices
Private practices
Hospitals
And more

Why University of Holy Cross? 

Complete coursework at your own pace

You’ll have two to three online classes, with weekly assignments to tackle at your own convenience — early morning, late at night, over lunch.

An example semester course load:

Spring: 3 courses (9 credit hours)
Fall: 3 courses (9 credit hours)
Summer: 2 courses (6 credit hours)

Get in-person training

Beginning with those starting their degree programs in fall semester 2026, as part of your techniques in counseling courses, you’ll spend two in-person on-campus residencies — one during your first semester and another halfway through the program. You’ll get live feedback on your client role playing sessions and learn techniques for improving your delivery of counseling services. 

Earn 700+ hours of clinical experience

You’ll complete a practicum via tele-health through the Thomas E. Chambers Counseling and Training Center and two internships at an approved site of your choosing and earn 280 direct client hours and 420 indirect client hours. We’ll work with you to find placements that fit your interests. Students have completed internships at community agencies, schools, psychiatric hospitals, addiction clinics, and more.

Gain expertise from our industry specialists

Our professors’ clinical experience covers the lifespan of clients who present with a wide range of issues.

Present your research at national conferences

At the annual Law and Ethics in Counseling Conference in New Orleans, our master’s and doctoral students showcase their own research and present alongside faculty. The conference brings together 200+ counselors and counselor educators from all over the world. Past student research topics presented at national conferences include:

• Social media addiction among college students
• The effects of colorism in African Americans
• The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the counseling process
• Body surveillance and body shame
• Counseling students’ attitude toward assisted suicide
• Test anxiety in first-year students
• Call to action regarding ethical concerns between counselors and child welfare systems

Master's Course Highlights 

Introduction to Techniques of Professional Counseling

Learn the fundamentals of being a counselor. The first techniques course and a residency launch you into role playing with mock clients where you practice your beginning counseling skills. Those experiences give you the tools to continue role playing in mock client sessions via Zoom, where your professor will observe, assess, and give feedback as you develop your counseling skills.

Practicum in Counseling

Now that you have the counseling fundamentals under your belt, you’ll begin your clinical experience with 100 hours of supervised counseling. You’ll start defining the theory that will guide your solutions to client problems and form your professional identity.

Internship in Counseling

You will complete 600 hours of intensive supervised clinical work experience in a school, community, couple, family or child-centered agency. You will hone your person-centered skills and put your theory into practice.

On-line program delivery and residencies

The University of Holy Cross master’s degree programs are delivered online and include two in-person on-campus one-day residencies. The university campus is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most courses are asynchronous. Accommodations are made for students who are not able to attend any synchronous Zoom class meetings.

Beginning with graduate counseling students admitted for Fall 2026 semester, two in-person on-campus one-day residencies will be required. One residency will be held when students begin the master’s degree program, and a second residency will be required later during the time students are earning their degrees. All on-line counseling graduate programs that are accredited by CACREP must do the following during the two residencies: observe students’ professional behaviors with professors and/or university staff, and with peers; observe the students to ensure they can deliver core counseling skills; and provide feedback to students regarding strengths and areas of need for remediation.

CACREP specialized practice areas offered

Our counseling graduate program offers master’s degrees in clinical mental health counseling; marriage, couple, and family counseling; and school counseling. A PhD degree program in counselor education and supervision is also offered.

Admissions Criteria

Admission to the master’s degree program includes consideration of each applicant’s career goals; aptitude for graduate-level study consistent with on-line delivery of the program; potential for success in forming effective counseling relationships with diverse populations; and potential for success as a counselor.

Minimum Master’s degree requirements

To earn the master’s degree, admitted students must complete a 60-credit degree program that includes a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour internship. In addition, students must pass a comprehensive examination at the end of the program. See the Master’s Student Handbook for detailed master’s degree program requirements.

Master’s degree program costs and financial aid

Costs for completing degree programs and available financial aid at the University of Holy Cross can be found at this website: uhcno.edu/admissions/tuition.php. Students who are full-time teachers or counselors while enrolled in the graduate counseling degree program are eligible for a tuition discount. Students employed full-time as teachers are eligible for discounts of 50% for tuition only (not fees) and students who are employed as full-time counselors are eligible for discounts of 20% for tuition only (not fees). Contact Dr. Carolyn White at cwhite@uhcno.edu for discount requirements and details.

Master’s degree program mission and objectives

Mission

The Graduate Programs in Counseling incorporate the Mission and Philosophy of the University into their own statement of Mission and Philosophy. The various specialties in counseling nurture students into self-developing, competent professionals who can contribute to their communities both personally and professionally. The programs emphasize the whole person’s development of spiritual, intellectual, cultural, and material values necessary to live responsibly, respect individuality, seek truth and peace, and foster justice in society. The programs emphasize the delivery of services through a sociocultural, systemic, developmental, wellness perspective. The Graduate Programs implement their philosophy into their mission through measurable objectives for teaching, research, and public service.

Objectives

1. To provide a counseling master’s degree program for a diverse student body.
2. To deliver master’s degree programs in counseling that meet the standards of the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
3. To prepare master’s degree-level professionals to provide high-quality counseling services.
4. To continually assess the master’s degree programs and make adjustments if necessary to ensure students are receiving a high quality educational experience.
5. To deliver master’s degree programs in counseling that fit within the mission of the University of Holy Cross and reflect the core beliefs of the Marianites of Holy Cross, a Catholic congregation of women, by educating the whole person.

Key performance indicators

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in professional counseling orientation and ethical practice.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in social and cultural diversity.
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in human growth and development.
4. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in career development.
5. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in counseling and helping relationships.
6. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in group counseling and group work.
7. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in assessment and testing.
8. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in research and program evaluation.
9. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in foundations, contextual dimensions, and practice in their chosen specialty area of Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
10. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in foundations, contextual dimensions, and practice in their chosen specialty area of Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling.
11. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills in foundations, contextual dimensions, and practice in their chosen specialty area of School Counseling.

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