What license will I be eligible for in Minnesota if I complete a graduate program?
Earning a graduate degree (in addition to completing supervised field experience and examination requirements) enables you to meet qualifications needed in order to apply for licensure. Depending on the program you complete, graduates residing in Minnesota will be eligible to become a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC), and/or a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and/or a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). LPCCs are recognized as Mental Health Professionals, and require 4,000 hours of supervised, post-master’s degree professional practice to become licensed. LADCs work with clients who have a substance use disorder diagnosis; however, there are no additional post-degree requirements to become an LADC. The Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) determines and enforces licensing standards.
Enrolled students also receive licensure support and guidance from our Student Success Coordinator and academic advisors.
What licensure will I qualify for if I do not live in Minnesota?
Planning ahead for your professional goals is very important, and the process should begin as soon as possible. Licensure across the United States varies (sometimes significantly) from state to state. Courses and internship experiences offered at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies are designed to be inclusive of standard state requirements for substance use and mental health licensure. States are responsible for setting licensure requirements, evaluating applications, issuing licenses, and monitoring continued requirements post-licensure. A good first step in determining which license you will pursue is considering what state or country you will likely work in following graduation. Then, look up the local licensure requirements. Then, you will need to compare course and internship requirements to your chosen academic program to ensure that requirements will be met. For clarifications, contact your state licensure board directly. Enrolled students receive licensure support and guidance from the Graduate School's Student Success Coordinator and academic advisors.
Do I need to be in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction to enroll?
Having personal experience with addiction is not required for the program, nor is it required to be an effective clinician. Students who enroll in the Graduate School have a wide variety of skills, experiences, abilities, and ideas to offer. Those students who are in recovery will be challenged to learn how to use tools other than self-disclosure in their work with patients. Students who are not in recovery, but are driven to help, will be challenged to learn as much as they can about how addiction and recovery happens.
Is online graduate education right for me?
Many factors contribute to the successful completion of an online graduate program. Students considering the online degree program at Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies can answer this basic questionnaire to help determine whether the program makes sense for you.
Can I be a full-time graduate student while also maintaining a job?
Working while enrolled is possible. However, the answer to this question is different for every student based on other life factors. Full-time students in our Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling: Advanced Practice program enroll in approximately 12 credits per semester. For every one credit hour in which you enroll, you will spend approximately two to three hours outside of class studying. Beyond that, clinical hours are required. While enrolled in the Advanced Practice program, you will log 880 clinical hours in addition to time in the classroom.
In the Master of Arts in Addiction Studies: Integrated Recovery for Co-Occurring Disorders program, full-time students are enrolled in 9-11 credits per semester. If an on-campus student can plan for one hour in class and three hours outside of class, then an online student can plan on four hours each week per credit. That means that a 9-11 credit load will require 36 to 44 hours a week of work. There are many factors that can increase or decrease these hours, including your level of computer and writing skills (including APA formatting), familiarity with online learning, reading speeds and prior learning in subject matter areas. The addition of internship hours, beginning in the third term for full-time students, increases the workload yet again. Most students will find it difficult to be a full-time employee, full-time student and complete an internship.
Can I enroll part-time?
Yes. Students can enroll part-time in any of our degree programs. However, for financial aid funding eligibility, students must be enrolled in 5 credits or more per semester.
Where can I complete practicum hours?
Internships are facilitated differently depending on your program of study.
Since students are immersed into hands-on experiences the first day of class, on-campus students who are enrolled in the 60-credit Advanced Practice program are required to comply with state of Minnesota licensing requirements. These requirements include 880 hours of clinical internship. Clinical internships are facilitated at any of the five Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation treatment center locations in Minnesota with the opportunity during the fourth semester to coordinate a non-Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation placement. Students work with the graduate school's Clinical Placement Coordinator in completing this process.
Our 60-credit online Integrated Recovery for Co-occurring Disorders program gives students the option of completing a clinical internship. Students have the option of completing this degree program without an internship component. Those students who decide to complete an internship during the online degree program will perform up to 1,200 internship hours. This number changes based on each student's state requirements. Online students work with the Clinical Placement Coordinator to complete this process.
How long are the on-campus experiences required for the online program?
As an online program requirement, students participate in three on-site residency experiences in Center City, Minnesota. You spend a total of 12 days on campus for these residencies. Spread across the beginning, middle and end of the program, the residencies combine classroom instruction and interactive learning, with opportunities for students to get to know members of their learning cohort, faculty and staff of the graduate school, as well as leadership within the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Residencies are not clinical experiences and do not satisfy clinical internship requirements for licensure.
What are the state requirements for licensure?
The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies’ academic programs are based on state of Minnesota licensing requirements for Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Out-of-state students who wish to pursue education with us are encouraged to determine your state’s academic and clinical internship requirements prior to enrollment. You can look up your state requirements by reviewing Licensure by State.
Are reasonable accommodations available?
Yes. The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies provides reasonable accommodations to students in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Minnesota’s Human Rights Act. In carrying out this policy, we recognize that there are many different types of disabilities and, therefore, wish to work with students to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities when there is no undue hardship to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Students with disabilities are responsible for contacting Kate Gray, 1-651-213-4425, to initiate services. This contact should be made six months before the start of the semester of admission or as early as possible to ensure the accessibility of accommodations. Students may be asked to provide medical documentation to substantiate the medical need for accommodation and the existence of a disability.
Is housing available?
While the Graduate School does not offer student housing, we do our best to connect incoming students with housing options in the local area. Contact Tashina Martinson or call 1-651-213-4175 for more information.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies is approved by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS program. Learn more about Financial Aid opportunities.
Can my employment be used toward clinical hours?
Employment positions may be used for clinical practicum and/or internship experiences if they meet these guidelines:
- On-site clinical supervision meets program standards
- Work-related clinical practice correlates with specific coursework
- Scope and depth of employment provides clinical practice consistent with the roles and responsibilities of primary therapists, alcohol and drug counselors, and/or case managers, etc.
Students who are interested in using an employment position as clinical placement experience are required to provide your advisor and the clinical placement coordinator with a brief written explanation of how the above guidelines will be met. If a student is employed for fewer hours than required for a clinical placement, the student is asked to include information about how he/she will obtain the remaining number of hours. Faculty will review relevant materials regarding the use of an employment site for a practicum or internship.
Is previous coursework transferable?
The Graduate School allows external credits to be transferred from prior educational experience into the master’s programs if they meet the following requirements:
- A maximum of 12 graduate-level credits may be transferred into the online Master of Arts in Addiction Studies: Integrated Recovery for Co-Occurring Disorders or the Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling: Advanced Practice programs.
- Coursework must have been completed at a regionally accredited institution.
- Coursework must be less than 5 years old and be for the equivalent number of graduate level credits.
- Student must have earned a grade of B (3.0 GPA) or higher.
- Practicum and internship courses, orientation courses, CPC-703 Synthesis: Professional Practice, CPC-813 Synthesis: Advanced Professional Practice and online courses requiring a residency experience are not eligible for transfer of credit.
Requests for credit transfer will be considered if made no less than two weeks prior to the first term of your enrollment at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. Credits taken after enrollment at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies will not be considered for transfer. Contact LeAnn Brown for more information concerning transfer credit, or call 1-651-213-4092.