University of Southern Maine

Programme overview

This Accelerated Graduate Pathway enables students who declare a Social and Behavioral Sciences major to complete both a bachelor’s degree and the Master of Science in Counseling in as few as five years by beginning graduate courses during their senior undergraduate year. Eligibility requires maintaining progress standards and meeting the graduate program admission criteria; participating students submit the graduate application and required materials while still undergraduates with guidance from their Academic Advisor.

What you'll study

Graduate-level Counseling courses taken in the final undergraduate year count toward both the undergraduate major and the MS in Counseling. The Counseling graduate program offers three concentration options: Clinical Mental Health, Rehabilitation, and School Counseling; each concentration is structured to lead to licensure in that specific counseling field.

Entry requirements

• Declare a major in Social and Behavioral Sciences to be eligible for the pathway.
• Complete prerequisite courses for the Counseling graduate program.
• Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Submit the graduate program application and all required admission materials during undergraduate studies; your Academic Advisor will provide application guidance.

Career prospects

Each concentration—Clinical Mental Health, Rehabilitation, and School Counseling—prepares students for professional licensure in its respective area, supporting careers as licensed counselors in clinical, rehabilitation, or school settings.

Scholarships & funding angle

The pathway is positioned as time- and cost-saving: participating students can save up to 18 graduate credits' worth of tuition, fees, and related expenses by applying graduate credits to both degree requirements, shortening the overall time to enter the workforce.