Edith Cowan University
Master of Counselling
- Delivery: Online
- Commitment: 15 - 20 hours/week
- Study Level: Postgraduate
- Duration: 24 months
100% online and accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), this course provides advanced, evidence-based counselling knowledge and skills for professionals.
Course overview
- Accessible, flexible and accelerated
Study anywhere, anytime with ECU's flexible online format. This course is delivered in accelerated mode, allowing you to earn your degree and put your skills into practice sooner. - Fully supported
Be supported throughout your study journey by a personal Student Success Advisor and an online learning community of like-minded students and friendly, accessible staff. - Job ready skills, relevant to industry
Gain a wide range of skills – identified and designed by industry experts – to meet the complex and evolving needs of individuals and communities. - Professional Recognition
The Master of Counselling has been accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).
ECU’s online Master of Counselling provides advanced, evidence-based counselling knowledge and skills for professionals who want to make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities. Students may study this course to prepare to become a counsellor. Alternatively, they may wish to add to their existing skill set in roles including:
- Social work
- Career coaching
- Psychology
- Other allied health
- Human resources
- Youth work
- Human welfare roles
- Local government support/community development roles
- Case work
- Disability support work
- Cognate undergraduate social science or behavioural science
Key facts
March, 2025
May, 2025
July, 2025
September, 2025
November, 2025
What you will study
The course has 12 units of study made up as follows:
- 10 core units
- Professional field placement (equivalent to two units)
- Foundations of Counselling Practice (graduate certificate)
- Theories and Techniques in Counselling (graduate certificate)
- The Role of the Counsellor (graduate certificate)
- Ethics in Counselling
- Counselling in a Digital World
- Trauma-Informed Counselling
- Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Counselling at the Cultural Interface: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Practice
- Mental Health Counselling
- Advanced Theories and Techniques in Counselling
Entry requirements
Admission requirements you’ll need to meet for this course:
- Bachelor's degree from a country specified in the Admissions Policy (with preference given to degrees relating to 'helping professions') OR Equivalent prior learning including at least five years relevant professional experience.
- A personal statement about motivations to complete the course.
- Submission of academic transcript, two referee reports and an online interview.
- English Language requirements (Band 4).
Students looking to enter the Graduate Certificate of Counselling are required to submit documentation covering points one and four. Points two and three are covered during the graduate certificate component of the course.
Entry via nested qualification
Usually, if you successfully complete a graduate certificate, you can progress to the master's by coursework degree.
Outcomes
What you will learn:
Understand counselling in a digital world
Gain skills to effectively adapt to the field as it expands across the digital realm. Understand how theories and techniques of counselling can be translated and adapted for delivery across a range of modalities to connect with and support people in unique and far-reaching ways.
Develop a person-centred approach
Learn how to walk alongside individuals in a process that values difference, supports self-discovery, builds on unique strengths and recognises the interrelationships between individuals, communities and social structures as important platforms for healing.
Examine the roles of counsellors working at the cultural interface
Learn the skills and abilities needed to work in the community and actively promote a positive sense of identity, culture and heritage, with particular emphasis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and practice.
Explore self-awareness and reflective practice
Engage in self-evaluation, critical thinking and reflective practice to gain a deeper understanding of the self, and how this interplays with the therapeutic process, personal growth and ongoing professional development.
Fees & FEE-HELP
The academic year student fees shown are subject to change. You may also be required to pay student amenities fees. Contact the university directly to confirm.
The fees shown are per unit. Together they indicate the total fees for the course.
FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.