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Counseling and Psychology Programs at the University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Best Online Masters in Psychology Degree Programs.

Through the Department of Psychology at the University of North Dakota, students can earn a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Ranked as one of the nation’s top online psychology programs, it is also available as a residential program on-campus. Students can enroll on a part-time or full-time basis. All versions of the program feature the same classes, including History and Systems of Psychology, Psychology of Learning and Practical Experiences in Psychology. Three certificate programs go along with those degree tracks: behavioral health, forensic psychology, and cyberpsychology.

The general and experimental psychology graduate program offered by the university is one of the best programs for students who will later earn a doctoral degree. This program is only available on-campus because it features courses that require students to do research projects in the university’s labs. They’ll have the chance to work with other students as they create experiments and when they test their theories. Applied Cognition, Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Health and Aging are some of the program’s required courses.

Forensic psychology majors can get a Master of Arts degree online through two years of part-time courses. They can also get a Master of Science in degree in less than two years through full-time classes. It includes nine credits of electives that allow both residential and online students to do internships and/or take classes that interest them. They will also take 21 credits of core forensic psychology courses, including Psychology and Law, Readings in Psychology, Behavior Psychology and Advanced Social Psychology.

Two doctoral programs are also available in clinical psychology and counseling psychology. In the counseling program, students have up to six years to complete their degrees. It includes a counseling practicum where students provide services to patients and a doctoral practicum that makes sure students meet the minimum standards for working as licensed counselors. Couples and Family Counseling, Multicultural Counseling, Survey and Test Design, and Supervision and Consultation Theory and Practice are among the required courses in the counseling psychology program. The required classes in the clinical psychology program include Advanced Therapeutic Interventions, Advanced Social Psychology, and Advanced Developmental Psychology.

About the University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is a public university and the primary campus for students in and around Grand Forks. Established in 1883, it opened as a college for the new students moving to the territory and became a full university after North Dakota became an official state. Sometimes called North Dakota because it is the largest university in the state, it also uses the UND nickname. U.S. News and World Report ranks UND as one of the best Midwestern colleges and as one of the country’s top online colleges. North Dakota offers a range of online programs for psychology majors that allow them to do offline work in their classes.

University of North Dakota Accreditation Details

UND has accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA) for its doctoral and clinical programs in psychology. This accreditation applies to the practicum and fieldwork that students do as well as all their classes. The counseling psychology program has the same accreditation. UND students who plan on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can do so and get financial aid via that form because North Dakota has regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This accreditation is also useful for students who need to transfer credits into one of the university’s psychology or counseling programs.

University of North Dakota Application Requirements

UND requires that all incoming freshmen have an unweighted high school grade point average of 2.75 or higher and a transcript that shows they took three units of math, social studies and science classes, four units of English courses and at least one elective. They will also need to provide an SAT/ACT score and the UND application. Students who are over the age of 25 or will transfer a minimum of 24 college credits do not need to provide a test score. The scores that students need on those tests will vary from 18/960 to 22/1100 based on their GPAs. There is a $35 application fee due of any student who does not qualify for a fee waiver. Students who apply early in the year and provide all their required information can automatically enter the university’s scholarship pool.

All of the UND graduate psychology programs have the same requirements. Students can pay the $35 application fee online with an electronic check or credit card and submit the online application. The university requires official transcripts, a goals statement and three letters of recommendation. Students can submit electronic letters of recommendation, but they should look for references who can write about their academic experiences and their ability to finish graduate school. In the goals statement, students should write between one and two pages to demonstrate their writing skills and to explain why that psychology program interests them. UND has similar admissions requirements for its doctoral programs.

Tuition and Financial Aid

UND graduate students pay the tuition rate associated with where they live unless they enroll in online classes. With fees added, this rate is $496 per credit hour for North Dakota residents and $615 per credit hour for residents of Minnesota. Students from all other states pay $716 per credit hour. All online graduate students pay the university $576 per credit hour. Undergrads also pay rates based on where they live. They pay between $399 and $570 per credit hour if they live in North Dakota or anywhere else in the country. The total cost of attendance comes to $9,737 per year for North Dakota students, $10,711 per year for Minnesota residents and $13,843 each year for all other American residents. Online undergrads pay a flat $399 per credit hour. UND housing and meal plan packages cost an estimated $9,544 each year.

The FAFSA helps any student who can demonstrate need to qualify for financial aid. Work-study includes positions for undergrads and assistant jobs for graduate students. Residential and online students can get direct federal loans and other types of government loans as well as grants. Scholarships are also available from the University of North Dakota for students in all the counseling and psychology degree programs now available.