FAQ

Contact the Disability Access Center. You will need to provide documentation regarding your disability, so please begin this process at the same time that you make application to the program.

Consider who is in a position to "make an appropriate assessment of your academic or professional competence". Who could address your abilities to do academic work? Have you taken (or taught) any classes recently? Have you written grants or other technical documents? An employer may be able to address your professional competence, or possibly a volunteer coordinator if you have been doing volunteer work. If you have questions, contact the Program Coordinator.

It is acceptable to include your authorization letter with your application. Be sure your WWU Student Number is included on the letter (or your Social Security Number, if you don't know your Student Number yet). If your authorization letter is being sent separately, include a note of explanation with your application.

The Graduate School does the preliminary screening of applicants, to be sure that all materials have been received and that the minimum requirements have been met. The application packet is then forwarded to the program. Program Faculty will contact you to schedule a personal interview, and a recommendation will be made to the Dean of the Graduate School, based on the interview and a review of your overall qualifications, career goals, and availability of space in the program. If a favorable decision is made, you will be sent an e-mail offering you admission to the program. Be sure to respond to this e-mail in a timely manner, indicating your acceptance.

The program is sometimes able to offer a provisional slot to a student who has a slightly lower grade point average, if they show strong potential for success in other ways, such as their score on the GRE or MAT, compelling reasons for their low GPA (such as illness), and a strong commitment to the field.

Each graduate program has its own code, so applications can be tracked on the computer. The Program Code for the Master's in Rehabilitation Counseling is G-RCS.

The Graduate School has many applicants in this situation and is accustomed to dealing with it. They read the written evaluations provided by the college and make a recommendation regarding whether the student is qualified based on those evaluations.

You begin the application process by creating an account on WWU's Graduate School's CollegeNet ApplyWeb Application and completing the application and submitting required materials. This is also where transcripts, test scores, your résumé, and purpose statement should be uploaded. For questions about the online application or other aspects of the application process, you can call the Graduate School at 360-650-3170 or send an e-mail to gradschool@wwu.edu.

When the application is complete and has been screened for the minimum requirements, it is sent to the office of the Rehabilitation Counseling Graduate Program. You will then be contacted to schedule your admission interview. For questions about this part of the process, or if there is anything about which you want further information, contact the Program Coordinator at 425-405-1644 or RC.Info@wwu.edu.

Rehabilitation counselors often work with individuals who are vulnerable as a result of their disability, or who may be at a vulnerable point in their lives. Entry into the program is automatically denied for applicants guilty of the following:

• first, second, or third degree assault of a child;
• first, second, or third degree rape;
• first, second, or third degree rape of a child;
• incest;
• sexual exploitation of minors;
• child abuse or neglect as defined in RCW 26.44.020;
• first or second degree custodial sexual misconduct;
• first, second, or third degree child molestation;
• first or second degree sexual misconduct with a minor;
• patronizing a juvenile prostitute;
• child abandonment;
• child buying or selling;
• or any of these crimes as they may be renamed in the future.

For all other crimes, consideration is given to the type of convictions for any other crimes not listed above.