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Graduates from Human Development Counseling are encouraged to apply for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor. As a CACREP accredited program, HDC graduates meet the Illinois licensure standards for the first tier of licensure of professional counseling. Follow this link for further licensure requirements and application. Additional certificates and licensure may be sought specific to concentration area.

Certificate of Education Form for Graduates

Congratulations, HDC Alumni, on reaching the milestone of applying for your LPC or LCPC! In order to expedite your application process, the Department has provided a pre-populated ED Form for you to provide to registration and records (who will then return to you). Please fill out the top portion of this form, without including your Social Security Number (you can include the SSN once the ED form is returned to you to send to IDFPR).​

email form to registrar@uis.edu

Graduates Prior to 2022-2023

Certificate of ED School Counseling

Certificate of ED Clinical Mental Health

Certificate of ED Community Counseling

Certificate of ED Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling

Graduates Beginning 2022-2023

Certificate of ED School Counseling

Certificate of ED Clinical Mental Health

Certificate of ED Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling

School Counseling

Upon completion of the requirements for the school counseling area of study, students are encouraged to apply for the PEL or ELS license. Additionally, school counselors must pass the Basic Skills Test and School Counselor Content Area (i.e., Field 181) Test. Both examinations are administered by the Illinois Certification Testing System. Students seeking school counselor certification should contact Dr. Jim Klein.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC)

According to the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC, 2008), the CCMHC certification provides evidence of one’s education, knowledge, and skill in clinical mental health counseling. For a detailed account of what is required for the CCMHC.

The National Board For Certified Counselors

The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose primary purposes are to establish and monitor a national certification system, to identify to professionals and the public those counselors who have voluntarily sought and obtained generic counselor certification, and to maintain a registry of these counselors. This process grants recognition to counselors who have met predetermined NBCC standards in their training, experience, and performance on the National Counselor Examination (NCE). Because the Department of Human Development Counseling is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), students are at a distinct advantage because they are eligible to sit for the certification exam during internship. In addition to becoming nationally certified, the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation also uses the NCE results for the Illinois Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) credential.

What the NCC Credential Does for You

  • Generates client referrals for you through CounselorFind, NBCC’s referral service linking potential clients to nearby NCCs.
  • Travels with you when you relocate in or outside the US.
  • Keeps you in touch with current professional credentialing issues and events
  • through The National Certified Counselor, NBCC’s newsletter.
  • Advances your professional accountability and visibility.
  • Ensures a national standard developed by counselors, not legislators.
  • Supports the rights of NCCs to use testing instruments in practice through NBCC’s participation in the National Fair Access Coalition on Testing (FACT).
  • Offers, through Lockton Affinity, liability insurance to NCCs at bargain rates.
  • Allows online access to verification of national certification through the NBCC Registry.

A counselor who is certified by the NBCC uses the designation NCC, National Certified Counselor.

Criteria for Certification as a NCC

  • Graduate degree in counseling or a closely related field from a regionally accredited university.
  • At least two years post-masters professional counseling experience (This requirement is waived for graduates of a CACREP-Approved Program).
  • A documented supervised counseling experience.
  • Assessment of counseling experiences by two professionals in the field.
  • Pass the counselor certification examination administered by NBCC, or provide evidence of current state counselor licensure in one of the following states: AR, GA, ID, MD, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, OH, OK, SC, or VA. These states administer the National Counselor Examination as a component within their respective licensure processes.

NCC’s are certified for a period of five years. In order to be re-certified at the conclusion of the five-year cycle the counselor must:

  • Demonstrate completion of 100 contact clock hours of approved continuing education or re-examination.
  • Adhere to the NBCC Code of Ethics in professional practice.

Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling

Students within the Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling (MCFC) concentration may seek dual licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist. We strongly encourage students to maintain professional licensure within counseling. MCFC students interested in dual licensure are encouraged to consult with their academic advisor and an MCFC Concentration Coordinator regarding the requirements specific to Marriage and Family Therapy licensure.