Grad School: Where do I start?

Graduate School
1

TL;DR
My advisor didn’t have any specific recommendations for me about which graduate schools might be a good pick. I’m just hoping for some direction.

If more details are needed, I graduate in May of 2020. I want to become a Marriage and Family therapist. My school does not offer a graduate program related to this. I go to a small school in North Dakota. I have a 3.9 GPA (I have gotten 1 B: I am not good at writing essays in philosophy.) I have not taken the official GRE yet, but I have taken a practice test, 153 V 155 Q. I’m working on improving that before I take the real one. I have research experience as an RA and I was a psych tutor for my school. Other than that, I don’t know what qualifications I might have.
Although a specific recommendation would be great, if you could just point me to a starting place to narrow down my options, I would appreciate it.

I am happy to move anywhere in the country so distance is not a factor.
Funding is a really important factor. I will take loans if need be but it would be best to be able to find funded programs. Again, any direction for that would be great.
Thank you for your time and help.
Respectfully,
Cassie

2

You will be hard pressed to find a fully funded MFT program; I am not sure that they exist. an MFT MA program will be a professional program, and professional programs usually expect students to pay out of pocket.

You might want to also consider master’s degrees in other counseling areas - like mental health counseling. You could still do work with families and couples; a lot of those programs still offer training in those areas. That way, you could look in your own state for lower-cost programs - UND has a master’s in counseling.

Another option is moving to a state with several MFT programs and working there for 1-2 years to establish residency.

3

Thank you for your help!
So, if I wanted to get a Masters in Counseling or Ph.d/Ed, where should I go to find more information on programs?
Respectfully,
Cassie

4

https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/programs/index.aspx

https://www.cacrep.org/directory/

Here are some places to start. Make sure you choose accredited programs.

5

Thank you!

6

Hi, is there an opportunity for scholarship at the graduate level ?

7

Most PhD programs are funded. That means a tuition waiver, stipend (fellowship, teaching assistant, or research assistant), and health insurance. Master’s programs aren’t usually funded though there may be some here and there.

8

Undergrad advisors are barely helpful for grad school…I would ask professors instead.