Swinburne University of Technology
Master of Counselling
- Delivery: Face to Face
- Study Level: Postgraduate
- Duration: 3 Years
Prepare for professional counselling practice through advanced therapeutic training, supervised workplace experience and a specialisation in couple, forensic or human services counselling.
Course overview
The Master of Counselling prepares you to work therapeutically with individuals, couples, families and groups across a range of professional settings. Designed particularly for people with experience or an interest in human services, the course combines advanced counselling theory with supervised practical experience and research-informed practice.
You will examine counselling ethics, cultural diversity, trauma, loss and grief, lifespan development, attachment and evidence-based interventions. Choose a specialisation in couple counselling, forensic counselling or human services counselling to explore relationship practice, criminal justice and violence risk, or areas including addiction, group work and therapeutic assessment.
Practical units provide opportunities to apply your knowledge in professional settings with clinical supervision. The course is accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and can support a pathway into professional counselling, subject to the association’s membership requirements.
Delivered part-time over three years at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus, the course comprises 12 units totalling 150 credit points. Students can also exit at graduate certificate or graduate diploma level after completing the required components.
Key facts
What you will study
To qualify for the Master of Counselling, students must complete 150 credit points comprising:
- Eight core units (100 credit points)
- Four units from one of the counselling specialisations (50 credit points)
Complete the following core units:
- Foundations of Counselling
- Ethics and Cultural Diversity for Counsellors
- Lifespan Development and Systemic Thinking
- Advanced Counselling
Entry requirements
Applicants must have one of the following:
- A minimum three-year Bachelor's degree from an Australian university or approved equivalent.
- Graduate Certificate of Counselling or equivalent.
- Graduate Diploma of Counselling or equivalent.
All students will be required to submit a current Working with Children Check and Police Check.
Work experience
Documents substantiating work experience need to be provided on company letterhead and clearly detail roles, as well as duties and duration of posts held.
English language requirements
All Swinburne students must be able to meet out our English language requirements. You’ll be able to provide evidence of your English language skill if you have:
- completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or another type of secondary qualification taught in English
- completed some types of university or vocational education studies (tertiary studies) taught in English
- completed an English language test, such as TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson or C1
- completed an English language (ELICOS) course
- lived and worked in an English-speaking country for at least four years (domestic applicants only)
Recognition of Prior Learning
If you have gained extensive and relevant knowledge through formal training or acquired relevant skills through work or through life experience, you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning (RPL).
Contact the university or visit their website for more information.
Outcomes
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Exercise independent judgement relevant to counselling theory and practice in the field of human services counselling, couple counselling and forensic counselling.
- Initiate, plan, implement and evaluate basic counselling interventions with a range of client groups and presentations across the lifespan.
- Apply basic and more advanced skills to work therapeutically with a range of clients in human services and couple counselling contexts using counselling methods and techniques that are drawn from different evidence-based approaches, all of which emphasise the important role of assessment, empathy, the therapeutic relationship, ethical decision-making and professional supervision.
- Reflect on and take responsibility for, their own learning and self-management processes in relation to counselling work with clients that promotes self-reflection and the development as a professional counsellor in a human services, couple counselling or forensic counselling context.
- Demonstrate competence in assessment (including risk assessment and mental state examinations), case formulation and treatment planning, implementation and evaluation for clients presenting with a range of complex issues in a human services and couple counselling context.
- Use written and oral communication skills to demonstrate an understanding of basic and advanced theoretical concepts and methods relevant to trauma, loss and grief counselling, addiction counselling, couple counselling and forensic counselling; and to transfer this knowledge to different client groups, including individuals, couples and families.
- Critically apply research principles, skills and methods to inform evidence-based practice, which includes a broad and specialist understanding of the treatment literature for individuals, couples and groups presenting in a human services, couple counselling or forensic counselling context.
Career outcomes
Potential role includes:
- Private practice counsellor
- Mental health counsellor
- Social worker
- Pastoral care
- Grief counsellor
Fees and FEE-HELP
Estimated yearly fee in 2026: $36,220 (domestic full-fee paying place)
Estimated total fee in 2026: $54,330 (domestic full-fee paying place)
The student tuition fees as published are subject to change based on individual circumstances at the time of enrolment. These fees apply to units studied in 2026 only and may change for units studied in future years. If part-time study is permitted, annual fees will be proportionally lower based on the number of units taken per semester.
Student fees may vary in accordance with:
- The number of units studied per term.
- The choice of major or specialisation.
- Choice of units.
- Credit from previous study or work experience.
- Eligibility for government-funded loans.
You may also need to pay the student services and amenities fee.
Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.
FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.
