Hello. I'm looking to pursue a master's degree in counselling. I've been looking into a few options available for me, and I'd like to ask for some opinions if these are good institutions to pursue it.

What I'm looking for:
- RM40k is my budget. I've excluded more prestigious institutions like IMU, Monash and Taylor's that are way beyond what I can afford.
- Preferably an institution that has public transport convenience, but not a requirement.
- Can practice as a counsellor after graduating, programme and syllabus recognized by Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia.
- Good lecturers that can help me broaden my knowledge on this topic.
- I'm okay to study part-time or full-time.
- Aiming to finish in maximum 3 years.
- Scholarships, if any. I'm not really a high achiever, or someone with great credentials, so I'm not expecting much.

Currently considering:
HELP University
- Checks most boxes, but only offers one intake per year, earliest I can pursue is in the January 2024 intake.
- Heard some of the good lecturers for the counselling programme are leaving, but no way to verify this other than hearsay.

Management and Science University (MSU)
- My current first choice solely because I can pursue it this year, instead of waiting till 2024.
- Checks most boxes as well, but haven't met any friends who have studied here, looking to get more opinions about this institution, but it seems to be quite well managed just basing on their MQA rating.
- Offers multiple intakes per year.

Open University Malaysia (OUM)
- Price is very affordable (RM20K), but I haven't met any friends who studied here as well, so I'd appreciate any opinions as well.

Considered:
Universiti Malaya (UM)
- The most affordable, and the name UM itself carries a lot of weight, but sadly I do not meet their entry requirements, so I no longer consider it as an option.

I'm open to any suggestions that I have not considered before, and also happy to answer any questions as well.

Thank you so much.

This post has been edited by Nutellacase: Jan 14 2023, 03:02 PM

It's great that you have done research on different institutions and have a clear idea of what you are looking for in a master's program in counseling.

HELP University may be a good option as it meets most of your criteria and is recognized by Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia. However, you should verify the information about the lecturers leaving and keep in mind that you will have to wait until January 2024 to start the program.

Management and Science University (MSU) is a good option as it meets most of your criteria, has multiple intakes and has a good MQA rating. It is worth reaching out to students or alumni to get more information about the program and the university overall.

Open University Malaysia (OUM) is also a good option as it is very affordable and may meet your criteria. However, you should verify the recognition by Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia and reach out to students or alumni to get more information about the program and the university overall.

It's worth considering all options and doing research on them to make an informed decision. You can also reach out to the institutions' counseling programs or career services to get more information on scholarships and other financial aid options.

Hey there!

It's awesome that you did your research beforehand, I can see your commitment there.

Based on your requirements, there's a couple of things I can share:

a. Almost all universities that offer the programme, is accredited by Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia. Of course, it's always good to check with MQA on the accreditation, especially since if I'm not mistaken it takes two batch of alumni before the programme is fully accredited.

b. The part regarding the good lecturers can be subjective. There's no shortage of amazing counsellors out there, but personally, every counsellor is bias towards their own method and style, and that method is the one that they might pass down to you. So don't rely too much on this quality as a benchmark.

c. Perhaps you can take a gander at some of the syllabus offered by the university. For example, in IMU, they have specialisation such as Grief Therapy, if that's something you are interested in. However, you don't have to worry, as by the end of the programme, you can manage all types of issues as you will be trained in individual counselling, group therapy, psychometrics, career counselling and family therapy. Still, looking at their syllabus can be good especially if they offered subjects that other uni might not.

d. Another aspect to look for is their faculty. If they are located in a faculty that also offers other psychology programme like Clinical Psychology, Child Psychology, Social Work etc., that it will give an indirect benefit to you as you will be exposed to their duties and prepare you if you ever going to provide a multi-disciplinary treatment in the future.

e. One more aspect to look at would also be their client diversity. This one, you should call up the uni itself. Ask them directly how diverse are the clients that they serve, especially during Practicum (internal placement). Are there any senior clients? any parents? how about their socioeconomic backgrounds? any opportunity to work with marginalised community like the refugees or LGBTs? It's something to think of when choosing your uni.

f. Do you mind sharing which requirement you did not fit for in UM? Have you considered other public uni as well like UKM (the first uni to offer psychology programme) or UPM? Their intake is September/October, and you can start applying from April I think, June/July is interview and start this year as well. Plus, it should be cheaper too.

g. Lastly, this is a personal observation. Choosing either public or private uni will probably influence the kind of setting and clients you'll meet in the future. I noticed that private uni graduates tend to work in private practice, hospital and English speaking NGOs, while those in public uni tend to be more exposed to the government settings (like addiction rehab centre, prison, juvenile schools, government hospital and klinik kesihatan etc.) and more prevalent in Malay speaking and government affiliated NGOs. Not all, but based on my experience, I noticed this pattern do exist. Not sure whether it should be a deciding factor in your decision, but regardless of which uni you go, try to get as much experience as possible and diversify your clients. Additionally, your uni choices will also influence your Internship (external placement) as well. Following the same patters, most private students go to private practice/English-speaking NGOs while public students gears towards government agencies. I myself did my internship with the Ministry of Defence and my field supervisor told me there has never been any private uni students applying to intern there. It could also be due to MoUs, but then my uni did not have any MoUs with any ministry but it doesn't stop us from applying.

Hopefully these info can assist in your decision making (or make it harder haha). Whichever you choose, you just need to master your studies, try to conduct quality sessions as much as possible and constantly ask your peers/lecturers to criticise your sessions for improvement. Then, the journey should be a breeze!

This post has been edited by toMochika27: Jan 25 2023, 08:04 PM

Hi tomochika! Many apologies for the super-duper late reply. I was not notified that I got a reply in my thread and hadn't bothered to check all these while until today out of the blues.

I have since enrolled myself in IMU which was originally beyond my budget, but I was fortunate to get some financial support to pursue for my further studies.

a. I see, that's a reasonable assumption to make as it wouldn't make sense for a university to offer a counsellor programme if it isn't recognized by LKM in the first place. That also explains why the programmes in some institutions that I have checked at the time earlier this year are still currently PA, thanks for the information!

b. This is a good point. I recently had a chat with my friend about it and he shared a few approaches that different counsellors may employ. What may work for them may not necessarily be the same for me, so I suppose it's a good idea for me to explore the methods and styles as you say to find what works best for me.

c./d. This wasn't something I considered at all which I wish I did so I could've made a clearer comparison between the institutions that I considered. With that said, I don't regret my decision because I am still interested in the subjects offered by IMU and I hope it'll be an eye-opening experience for me. In any case, this is a good knowledge for me to pass on if I happen to have any younger friends who may consider furthering their studies.

e. This is something that I wish I asked when I attended the faculty's get-to-know session earlier this year. Should the opportunity arise, I will definitely ask again as I am quite keen to work with marginalised communities, especially the LGBT community during my practicum.

f. I did not meet the requirement as my cGPA wasn't high enough when I did my degree, so it was out of the question.

g. I see, that is a good observation. While I can speak Malay fluently in general, I'm much more comfortable speaking in English as I'm more accustomed to conveying my thoughts with said language. However, this is something I'm willing to overcome in time. Good on you for applying to a government agency! I think it's a good choice that you applied for it despite it being an unconventional choice for interns from private universities.

Thank you so much for your reply, I will keep the things that you have shared in mind.