Counseling and Psychology Degrees Offered at Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University appears in our ranking of the 10 Most Affordable Online Industrial Organizational Psychology Programs.
Austin Peay State University (APSU) offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the psychology and counseling field through the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences. The Department of Psychological Sciences and Counseling encourages all students to get involved in research on campus, and there are currently laboratory facilities designed for projects in learning, vision, cognitive development, and biopsychology.
The undergraduate program leads to either a bachelor of science or bachelor of arts with a major in psychological science. The track includes 41 required hours in the major consisting of eight required courses and five electives. The psychology core includes Behavioral Statistics, Research Methods, Social Psychology, and Developmental Psychology. In addition, students with a GPA of at least 3.0 have the opportunity to complete a three-hour research course as well as a three-hour field experience.
At the graduate level, APSU offers the Master of Science in counseling with two concentrations, either clinical mental health counseling or school counseling. From an educational standpoint, graduates from the first program are eligible to register as Licensed Professional Counselors with the Mental Health Service Provider designation in the state of Tennessee. This program consists of 60 credit hours total, three electives and 16 required core classes. The core sequence includes both practical experiences and theoretical courses like Theories and Counseling in Career Development, Group Theories and Techniques, and Diagnosis and Psychopathology. By graduation, students will have completed 700 hours of work in the field.
The school counseling specialization prepares graduates for work with students from their elementary years through high school, and completion of the program fulfills all requirements for licensure by the Tennessee Board of Education. All students participate in a 120-hour practicum as well as a 600-hour internship. Much of the 48-credit-hour core curriculum overlaps with the clinical mental health counseling concentration, but there are also some specialized courses including School Counseling Program Development and Implementation and Counseling Children and Adolescents. Students with no previous experience in the education field need to complete two extra classes, Classroom Organization and Management and Teaching and Learning, while those with experience just need one additional elective after the core. Both of these counseling programs can be completed either on campus or entirely online.
Offered solely online, the Master of Science in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (MSIO) program patterns its curriculum after the guidelines set by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). The 34-hour program can be completed in as little as two years.
About Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University officially opened in 1927 on a site that had previously been home to eight educational institutions since the Rural Academy was founded in 1806. Over the years, it had allegiances to the Freemasons, the Presbyterians, and other private organizations until becoming state-funded as the Austin Peay Normal School.
In addition to changing its name, its course offerings have evolved, beginning as a 2-year teacher training school in 1927 and today housing six different colleges with a total of 75 degree programs. There are also 28 degrees that can be completed entirely online. The university is continuing to grow, both expanding its campus in Clarksville, Tennessee, and increasing enrollment. The student body currently numbers over 10,000 students and is expected to increase by 50% in the next six years, making APSU the state’s fastest-growing public university. The U.S. News and World Report has ranked Austin Peay State University #38 on its list of Top Public Schools in the regional universities south division.
Austin Peay State University Accreditation Details
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is responsible for ensuring the quality of colleges and universities in the southeastern part of the United States, looking at a variety of factors including the quality of coursework, the expertise of faculty, organizational planning, resource utilization, and others. This ensures that each school is managed responsibly and provides an adequate education. Austin Peay State University has been accredited by the SACSCOC since 1947, and this was last reaffirmed in 2014.
Featured Programs
Other organizations review individual programs in a certain field to verify that the curriculum and training adequately prepare students for professional work. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has granted accreditation to a variety of programs at APSU including teacher education and school counseling.
Austin Peay State University Application Requirements
Applying for undergraduate admission for first-time students who are 21 or younger requires submission of an application, $25 fee, official transcripts, and ACT or SAT scores. In order to be unconditionally admitted to APSU, freshmen need a GPA of at least 2.85 from high school, an ACT score of 20, an SAT score of 1020, or a GED score of 580. Applicants older than 21 do not need to submit standardized test scores. Transfer students must send all college or university transcripts but only need high school transcripts if they graduated after 1989.
To qualify for admission to the graduate counseling program, applicants should send their transcripts documenting completion of a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 minimum GPA along with 12 hours of psychology classes including statistics, lifespan development, and abnormal and general psychology. Other application materials include the $45 fee, GRE scores, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition rates depend on number of credit hours and residency status with residents of Tennessee and seven nearby Kentucky counties qualifying for in-state tuition.
At the undergraduate level, tuition costs $274 per credit hour for a student’s first 12 credit hours with subsequent hours costing $52 each, and out-of-state students pay $635 per credit hour up to 12 hours and then $126 afterward.
Graduate tuition also has a 2-tier system with credit hours 1 through 10 at a rate of $440 for residents and $699 for non-residents with all additional credit hours costing $85 and $140 each. At the undergraduate level, there are four main scholarship categories, academic, APSU athletic/departmental/performance, the Tennessee Lottery, and the Tennessee Promise.
Graduate students are eligible for teaching, research, and administrative assistantships that exchange tuition waivers for campus work. These positions not only benefit students financially but also provide relevant experience in their field and professional references.
There are a variety of other job opportunities at Austin Peay State University through the undergraduate work-study and graduate student worker programs, and prospective students are encouraged to contact an admissions adviser about available financial aid options or with more general questions.
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