Prepare for a career as a licensed mental health counselor with hands-on field experiences.
UMass Boston's Mental Health Counseling MS focuses on a challenging and rewarding academic program to prepare you for a career as a mental health counselor. It's designed for people interested in pursuing an advanced degree and state licensure to work in mental health counseling. The program begins with a two-week in-person study at or near the UMass Boston campus where you'll get to know your cohort and complete two courses (6 credits) of your degree. Throughout the program, you'll get hands-on experience as you complete some of your required clinical fieldwork hours through an approved field placement under appropriate supervision. At the end of the program, you'll meet the academic requirements for state licensure in mental health counseling in the state of Massachusetts and will have completed all of the pre-graduation clinical fieldwork hours required for licensure.
UMass Boston's 60-credit hour MPCAC-accredited Mental Health Counseling online master's program meets the educational requirements for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our students intern in diverse settings and leave with substantial skills and knowledge around mental health, counseling, and advocacy, ready for counseling positions that will prepare them to obtain licensure. At the end of the program, you will meet the educational requirements necessary for licensure in Massachusetts, provided you complete internship in Massachusetts. Please check with an admissions counselor at [email protected] to determine if our program meets educational requirements for practice in your state.
Students also have the option of adding an adjustment counseling concentration to their plan of study, which requires one additional course, as well as additional internship hours. The adjustment counseling concentration allows students to be eligible for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education K-12 initial level licensure as a school adjustment counselor.
The University of Massachusetts Boston is regionally accredited through NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges). To ensure superior quality, the online program is modeled after the on-campus program, offering many of the same instructors teaching the courses.
The Mental Health Counseling MS is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) for the period of September 2013 through September 2023.

