Low-Cost, Flexible UWA Degrees in Psychology and Counseling
The University of West Alabama appears in our ranking of the Top 25 Master’s Degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy Online.
On Blackboard Learn, the College of Liberal Arts grants the 123-credit B.A./B.S. Psychology for online University of West Alabama undergrads to accelerate through eight-week modules that mirror Livingston content from Human Anatomy to Personality at a 17:1 student-faculty ratio.
Chaired by Dr. Mark Davis, the M.S. Experimental Psychology follows a 36-57 credit online curriculum with Traditional, Clinical Psychology, and Health & Sports Psychology options to sharpen research methods. The M.S. Adult Continuing Education: Counseling and Psychology is the Julia Tutwiler College’s online 33-credit, non-licensure track to vocational counseling careers. For Alabama certification, the M.Ed. School Counseling customizes a 48-credit, CAEP-accredited major of mini-semester courses, such as Crisis Intervention and Play Therapy. Non-certified teachers must complete the 48-credit M.S. Guidance and Counseling in three years instead. Since Spring 2017, the 60-credit M.S. Clinical Mental Health Counseling led by Dr. Reenay Rogers has integrated 700 practicum hours into disorder diagnosis prep. The M.S. Family Counseling develops non-pathology relationship tactics in a 33-credit, Web-based sequence of classes like Systems of Psychotherapy.
Lastly, the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) offers two 33-credit, post-master’s tracks for Counseling and School Counseling.
About the University of West Alabama
The University of West Alabama originated in 1835 when Scotch-Irish immigrants opened the Livingston Female Academy in Jones Hall for the Presbyterian Church’s teacher training. Chartered in 1840 under A.A. Kimbrell, it closed during the Civil War and reopened as Livingston Normal College in 1878. Legislator Addison Gillespie Smith helped make Alabama America’s first state to fund women’s schooling in 1883. Twenty-four years later, the State Board of Education assumed its governance as Livingston State Teachers College. It was authorized for Bachelor of Science degrees in 1929 and the Master of Education in 1958. Desegregated in 1969, its 600-acre Sumter County campus off Highway 11 admitted men by the 1960s. During Don C. Hines’ 1990s tenure, the Department of Behavioral Sciences started the first Psychology Major. Renamed in 1995, the University of West Alabama started using wireless educational technology in 2000. Budgeting $57.4 million, UWA now engages 2,261 on-site and 2,833 online Tigers from 28 nations with 66 percent retention. On Niche, West Alabama boasts the 193rd safest environment, 296th top public education, and 325th best faculty. Washington Monthly also crowned UWA the country’s 272nd best master’s institution.
University of West Alabama Accreditation Details
In April 2013, the University of West Alabama hosted the On-Site Review Committee from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to reaffirm the Level V accreditation and Quality Enhancement Plan through 2023 under its 15th president, Dr. Ken Tucker, who earned the William Gilbert Award for Excellence in Teaching. Located 263 miles east via Interstate 20 in Decatur, this 11-state Gulf Coastal Plains accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Education Department to assure good student outcomes in UWA’s 46 baccalaureate, 28 master’s, and 11 specialist degrees. The Julia Tutwiler College of Education is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through June 2022. However, West Alabama is not currently accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP), which can affect licensing.
University of West Alabama Application Requirements
Attending the University of West Alabama is classified “selective” by the U.S. News & World Report since 2,084 of the 7,388 Fall 2017 applicants were okayed for 28 percent acceptance. First-year Tigers prowling the B.A./B.S. Psychology must culminate a high school diploma or its GED equivalent. Freshmen typically rank in the top half of their classes with a median 3.19 GPA. Unconditional admission requires a minimum 19 ACT or 990 SAT score. Marks of 17-18 on the ACT or 920-980 on the SAT are reviewed conditionally. Undergrad transfers need 24+ collegiate credits, including 12 in basic curriculum, graded at least “C.” Though transfers are test-optional, foreign students must still reach a 500 TOEFL, 5.0 IELTS, 45 PTE, 700 TOEIC, or 1076 GTEC score. The School of Graduate Studies only admits four-year bachelor’s holders with cumulative GPAs over 2.75. Class A programs like the M.Ed. School Counseling mandate 3.25 GPAs and teacher certification eligibility. The M.S. Experimental Psychology stipulates a minimum GRE score of 280 with 3.0 in Analytical Writing. Education Specialist (Ed.S.) cohorts need master’s degrees, two years of certified teaching, and clean background checks.
The University of West Alabama has final freshman deadlines of July 1st for Fall, December 1st for Spring, and April 1st for Summer starts. Online Psychology & Counseling Department students generally can apply six times yearly: July 9th, September 4th, November 16th, February 18th, March 22nd, and May 17th. The M.S. Experimental Psychology published deadlines of April 15th and August 15th for on-campus graduates though. Interested students create UWA Online accounts to submit the $40 application and optional ZeeMee profile. Official registrar records are mailed to Station 200 in Livingston, AL 35470. For testing results, use SAT code 1830, GRE code 1737, or ACT code 0052. Up-to-date immunization verification is sent via Med+Proctor. Additional items include the 2-3 recommendations, résumé, EXP form, valid teaching license, fingerprinting check, and practicum performance appraisal. Please contact (205) 652-3400 or admissions@uwa.edu with other questions.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For 2018-19, the University of West Alabama is billing traditional in-state B.A./B.S. Psychology majors $4,225 per term or $8,450 annually. Non-resident undergrads pay double at $8,450 by semester or $16,900 each year. Mandatory fees add $1,590 every nine months. Living at the Livingston campus’ dorms like Gilbert Hall costs $5,420 yearly. Standard meal plans for Young Hall Cafeteria are $2,696. UWA budgets $1,200 for texts and $3,505 for miscellaneous extras. Annual bachelor’s attendance equals $21,005 in-state and $28,619 out-of-state. Online undergrad courses are more affordably priced at $325 per credit for everyone. The School of Graduate Studies charges $429 per credit online. For example, the M.S. Adult Continuing Education: Counseling and Psychology totals $14,157. Online M.S. Guidance and Counseling candidates spend $20,592 overall.
According to the NCES College Navigator, the Financial Aid Office at Station 3 gets 75 percent of UWA Tigers clawing into average packages worth $5,447 for $8.09 million combined. University funds include the Trustee Excellence Award, Dean’s Award, Counselor’s Award, Tiger Achievement Award, Dual Enrollment Scholarship, Academic Transfer Award, James Pate Essay Competition Scholarship, Julia Tutwiler Scholarship, Skipper Fireman Scholarship, Cheerleading Scholarship, and Allyrae Wallace Educational Scholarship. The Teacher Connect Program deducts $100 per credit on online M.Ed./Ed.S. School Counseling courses for P-12 educators. Similarly, the Black Belt Teacher Corps Scholarship gifts $2,000 to students from a 23-county region with minimum 2.75 GPAs. The Military Connect Program bolsters Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits with online tuition discounts of $250-$329 by credit. State-based aid like the Alabama Student Grant, National Guard Educational Assistance, Earl P. Andrews Jr. Memorial Scholarship, and Jay Murphy Scholarship help. Submitting FAFSA forms coded 001024 judges the Federal Pell and FSEOG Grant eligibility of B.A./B.S. Psychology majors. Traditional Tigers spend 10-15 hours weekly in paid Federal Work-Study jobs. College Factual also records median West Alabama debt of $12,750 from Federal Stafford, Graduate Plus, and private loans.
Learn more about the University of West Alabama at the Psychology & Counseling Department website.