Counselor Education

Overview

Faculty & program information 

Mission statement

Counselor Education (CE) prepares counselors to effectively serve diverse populations in dynamic mental health, school, and higher education counseling settings. Throughout the program, faculty emphasize community engagement, cultural humility, advocacy and leadership skills, data-driven decision making, and adaptation of evidence-based practices through teaching, research, and service. While adopting a scientist-practitioner lens and engaging in regular self-reflection, students in CE will integrate rigorous scholarship with clinical practice. Students will consider emerging community interests and diverse worldviews to contribute to academic, social, and emotional well-being for all citizens.

Program Objectives

The following CE program objectives were developed based on the guiding tenets and feedback from key stakeholders. 

1. Students will develop identities as professional counselors and will demonstrate competence in employing foundational counseling skills.

2. Students will understand and apply theories and research informing counseling practice, and synthesize this knowledge through development of their own counseling approach.

3. Students will be able to evaluate research-based interventions. 

4. Students will assume an identity of counselors, as commensurate with local and national governing guidelines.

5. Students will develop awareness around their cultural humility and work towards increasing their cultural comfort and cultural experiences throughout all facets of their counseling work.

6. Students will have the knowledge of career development theories and will be capable of applying career techniques in counseling sessions. 

7. Students will have a theoretical and experiential understanding of group development and dynamics, as well as theoretical methods to apply these skills in group processes. 

8. Students will have the knowledge of individual and group approaches for assessment and evaluation in a diverse society and will be able to apply these skills to facilitate the helping process. 

Emphasis Specific Objectives: 

Annual Report

CE Annual Report 2024

Advising Philosophy

Upon acceptance into the counselor education program, each incoming student is assigned a faculty advisor. Advisor assignments are made based on students’ identified academic and career interests. We encourage students to meet with their advisor to discuss academic planning and progress, practicum opportunities, professional development goals, and academic adjustment. Advisors also serve as a primary point of contact with the broader program and department, and can connect students with necessary resources for assistantships, research opportunities, and professional resources. The advisor, the DGS, and the DGS Administrative Assistant monitor student progress toward degree completion. 

Review the Counselor Education Advising Philosophy

Educational Psychology Graduate Student Handbook with graduate program information, policies, and core requirements to supplement the Graduate School Catalog. 

Program Info & Forms

• Counselor Education Scholarships

Counselor Research Practicum Sequence (Optional)

The counselor education program offers students the opportunity to participate in an optional Counseling Research Practicum sequence. This unique opportunity is offered by relatively few counseling programs. Students who take this sequence develop applied research expertise consistent with their responsibilities as licensed professional counselors, licensed professional clinical counselors, higher education counselors, school counselors, and professionals in other counseling-related fields. Courses in this sequence provide students interested in participating in a research project the opportunity to document that participation on their transcript. Class requirements are tailored to support your research participation with a research mentor and research team.