Application Process

‌Creating a balance between work, life, and school can be challenging. Courses in the Counseling program are offered evenings and weekends, offering you the flexibility to maintain this balance.

Students may be eligible to complete six to seven credit hours before being admitted to this program. Please contact the Coordinator of Graduate Admission for more details.

Applications for this program are accepted for spring, summer, and fall start terms with the following deadlines. All materials must be postmarked by the identified dates.

Application Deadline

Summer and Fall Term

Application Deadline - February 15
Admission Decision - April 15

Spring Term

Application Deadline - September 1
Admission Decision - November 1

Scholarship Opportunities

The Drake School of Education offers several opportunities to help defer the costs of your education. The counseling program is honored to offer two scholarships for students pursuing School Counseling with the generous gifts from our donors. Additionally, we have scholarship opportunities through a federal grant for students pursuing Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling. See our scholarship page for more information.

Application materials required for an admission review include:

Application for Admission

Complete and digitally sign our online Application for Admission.

Résumé or Curriculum Vitae

A current professional résumé or curriculum vitae is required. Please include information regarding current and/or past employment history as well as professional development and internships completed.

Statement of Interest

Admission to the Counseling Program has a specific essay requirement.

The essay should be a 5-page, double spaced statement of interest in the counseling profession and should include the following information:

Educational and professional background
Career aspirations with a counseling degree
Experience working with people who are different from you
What do you think is one of the more prominent or pressing issues in the area of counseling? (school/clinical mental health/rehabilitation)

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendations are required. When selecting your references, choose individuals such as professors and employers who can attest to your potential for success in a graduate program.

You will enter the names and email contacts for your two references into the online application. Your references will be contacted electronically with directions for submitting our letter of recommendation form on your behalf.

Official Transcripts

We require official transcripts from:

Any institution where you earned (or will earn) a bachelor’s degree.
Any institution where you earned a post-bachelor’s (graduate) degree.
Any institution where you earned credit you would like considered toward an endorsement or graduate degree.
Upon application review, you may be required to provide additional transcripts, including those with courses taken while in high school or at a community college.

Official transcripts are designated as those coming directly from the university or college of attendance to Drake University.

Official transcripts may be sent via secure electronic transmission from the issuing institution to soegradadmission@drake.edu or via postal mail to:

Coordinator of Graduate Admission
School of Education – Drake University
Collier-Scripps Hall – Rm 221
2702 Forest Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50311

Transcripts and other supporting materials are not returned to the applicant and become the property of Drake University.

International Candidates

Academic records and examination results must be submitted to Drake University in official form, which will differ from country to country. Faxed transcripts and transcripts photocopied without a fresh seal from the secondary or post-secondary school are not considered official records, and an admission decision cannot be made until the official records are submitted. Any translated record should be a literal translation, not an interpretative one, and should be accompanied by the original-language record. Both records should be freshly certified by the school, not by notaries or translators.

Original or certified copies of academic records or transcripts in official form from all institutions attended, including exam results, must be submitted by the educational institution directly to Drake University either by mail or electronically. Candidates are also required to submit an official course-by-course credential evaluation for each international institution attended through World Education Services.

Official records may be sent via secure electronic transmission from the issuing institution to soegradadmission@drake.edu or via postal mail to:

Coordinator of Graduate Admission
School of Education – Drake University
Collier-Scripps Hall – Rm 221
2702 Forest Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50311

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit official evidence of language proficiency from one of the following exams. The minimum scores accepted are:

Internet Based TOEFL (iBT) 79
IELTS 6.6
DuoLingo English Test 110

Scores dated within the last two years are acceptable and must be reported directly from the testing agency. Exemptions are granted to applicants who have earned a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the United States, or the international equivalent degree from a university of recognized standing in a country in which all instruction is provided in English.