The graduate program leading to a Masters degree in Counseling is administered within the Department of Human Development and Learning. There are approximately 28 regular faculty members in the department of Human Development and Learning, seven of whom comprise the counseling faculty. The counseling faculty are responsible for administering the counseling program.

The roles and functions of the Counseling program have been ever-changing as national trends in the development of the counseling profession have evolved from a vocational advisement emphasis through a school guidance orientation into a comprehensive counseling profession where counseling services are rendered in a wide variety of mental health settings.

This program has gradually changed from one which primarily prepared school counselors certified by the Tennessee State Department of Education to one which trains individuals to provide mental health services in various public and private agencies, schools and organizations. As the training needs of students evolved, students requested more and varied classes. In response to demands, new courses were developed and eventually three new areas of specialization were created: Between 1986 and 2004, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) approved Community Agency Counseling, Higher Education, and Marriage and Family Therapy as formal options in the Counseling program. The Counseling program has continued to evolve and now includes an Educational Specialist degree (Ed.S) in Counselor Leadership, taught in conjunction with the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) department.

In the Spring of 1999, the Community Agency and School Counseling options of the program received accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).