Official transcript(s) verifying receipt of an undergraduate degree and previous graduate credit (in English or with translation) must accompany an application. Official transcripts of all academic work at the undergraduate and graduate levels are required for all students. The USD Graduate School and/or academic units retain the right to require credential evaluations from organizations, such as Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES), for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary.

Applicants with a baccalaureate degree may be qualified for admission into the master's program. Baccalaureate degree must be from an institution with institutional accreditation for that degree. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on conferred degree is required for full admission to the master's program. An earned master's degree in counseling or a counseling-related field is required for admission to the doctoral and specialist programs. Doctoral and specialist students must complete studies in all CACREP entry-level standards. A minimum graduate grade point average of a 3.0 is required for a specialist's program and a minimum graduate grade point average of a 3.5 is required for a doctoral program. Each graduate program may admit students on provisional status per university policy.

Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from an institutionally accredited American college or university or from an accredited institution in the following English-speaking countries: United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada (Excluding Quebec), Australia, and New Zealand are not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score. For all other applicants, a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT), 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), 8.5 on the TOEFL Essentials, 6.0 on the IELTS Academic, or 53 on the PTE is required for graduate admission.