Residency

Purpose

The purpose of Residency is for the faculty to have an opportunity to fully get to know students and assess their readiness to enter full degree candidacy (if degree seeking) or to be endorsed for school counseling licensure (if an endorsement student).  You will participate in large and small group activities, and meet individually with a counseling faculty member for a short interview/discussion. At the conclusion of Residency the faculty will meet together and discuss each individual student’s strengths and areas for improvement. We will share this with you via email and encourage you to discuss that feedback with your advisor in order to assess your overall progress in the program.

Results of Residency/Degree Candidacy

The application for the residency includes the application for candidacy to the counseling program. Being accepted to candidacy means you have been assessed by the faculty in terms of your academic ability, counseling skills, and professional dispositions, and are allowed to continue in the program. This process follows the counseling program's charge as gatekeepers to the profession of counseling, ensuring knowledgable, skilled and ethical individuals graduate from our program to become licensed counselors.

Students will be notified after Residency via email to let them know if they have been fully admitted into candidacy, been approved to continue with endorsement, or if remediation is needed to help them prepare for either of those steps. In that email we will share our impressions of your areas of strength as a student and counselor, as well as areas of improvement. 

Results of Residency/Non-degree students (licensure only students)

All counseling students, regardless of whether they are degree seeking or non-degree seeking, must attend Residency. At the conclusion of Residency, non-degree students will be notified of whether they have satisfied Residency requirements in order to be recommended to the state board of education for licensure as a school counselor. 

Residency Google Site

We have created a Google Site to house Residency information and will send you a link once all applications have been received. Information will include the daily schedule, Zoom links for all meetings (if Residency is being held virtually rather than in person), which groups you have been assigned to for small group meetings, and the time and day for your individual meetings with each a faculty member.  

Plan for beginning at 9:00 am CST each morning and ending by 5:00 pm each of the first two days. On the third day we will conclude by 12:30 pm.

Activities

You will participate in many different activities at Residency including large group meetings, small group activities, role plays, and an individual discussion with a faculty member.  

Activities are designed to elaborate on content of your coursework, reinforce what you already have learned, and to challenge you to expand your counseling knowledge and skills.  

We will meet with you as a large group each day, but you will also meet at times by concentration (school counseling or clinical mental health counseling).  You will also be assigned to a small group (5-8 students) to attend focused workshops on counseling techniques and concepts. 

Bring your laptop, tablet or phone to access our Residency Google Site, download materials and complete the Residency Evaluation.  

Come prepared to participate, engage, and discuss.  We encourage you to ask questions about the profession and the program throughout Residency.

Student ID  

While attending Residency, you may be interested in obtaining your UTM student ID card.  If so, prior to traveling to UTM for the first day of Residency, go to https://www.utm.edu/offices-and-services/skyhawk-card-office/apply-for-skyhawk-id-card.php and follow instructions to upload a photograph. You can pick it up on the first day of Residency when you arrive or during one of our scheduled breaks.

Attire

Attire is casual. Because the heat and air in Gooch Hall is not always consistent, you might want to wear layers or bring a jacket.  Just to let you know, we will take a group photo on the last day.

Itinerary 

Room numbers and the specific schedule will be emailed to you and provided on our Google site. The rooms are open about 30 minutes before you start, if you want to come early. The Counseling Residency will begin on the first morning at 9:00 am and will continue to noon on the third day.

Here is a SAMPLE Residency Schedule (the specifics may change when you attend):

SAMPLE Residency Schedule 

Here are comments from students about previous Residencies:

Residency has been an incredible experience that I will never forget. I feel much more confident in my skills and look forward to future plans that I did not have prior to Residency. I have been so grateful for this opportunity.

Thank you all for the time, energy, and material you put into this process. You all met each of us where we were and pushed us to grow.

Residency was a great experience and made the whole program feel more personal than what I was use to online. Felt good to have personal contact with a person instead of being through a computer screen.

I was super nervous going in to residency, but the professors made us feel comfortable, and I liked all the small group sessions. I ended up really liking residency. There was nothing that I would have changed about this residency.

I personally loved residency. What an incredibly experience being around colleagues who have taken the same classes as me and been through similar feelings regarding our personal growth as people and professionals throughout the program. Residency topics were completely on point and I found myself engaged the whole time. I truly feel like any anxieties or questions have been resolved and answered as far as the program, comprehensive exams, and the topics about self care and multiculturalism were some of my favorites. Hearing my classmates and their perspectives on the topics was enlightening and I thoroughly enjoyed the schedule.

I really loved meeting my colleagues in person. We all come from different backgrounds, speak in different tones and accents, have different life experiences but share one thing in common: the love and pursuance of counseling as a profession. I loved speaking with my fellow classmates (now friends) and learning more about them, their worldview, and their feelings about the program. I felt very "at home" during this residency and I truly thought that there were many opportunities for collaboration and social interactions among students during Residency!

I genuinely enjoyed this. Before beginning the program, I had some concerns about doing my masters in counseling online, simply because counseling is a career that is built on human connection. While I've found that there is a good amount of human connection within the online class format (and that faculty are responsive and available for meetings), I really liked the opportunity to spend time in the same physical space with faculty and fellow students, and to get to know everyone a bit better.

The Counseling Residency is held in January and May/June every year. 

The next Residency is scheduled for:

April 27th - April 29th                     Application Deadline:  April 1st 

Consult with your advisor to determine when you should attend Residency. 

Have this conversation early, and often.

To attend, you must meet the following requirements.

Eligibility:

• You have completed Counseling 725: Theory and Techniques of Counseling 

• You have completed Counseling 740: Group Dynamics (offered in fall and summer semesters)

• You have completed Counseling 620: Introduction to Counseling

• You have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours (no more than 27 hours).

• School counseling endorsement students are eligible to attend after their first semester of classes has been completed.

Application:

If you meet the criteria for participating in the residency, please complete the online application by clicking on the link below.  

https://goo.gl/forms/AAhj4mbzk2gjJtjB2

Lodging Information

You are responsible for getting here and for lodging (if necessary). There are several motels here and you will not want to wait to make reservations because other events can come up and you may not be able to get a room. Motel information is included in the attachment. We suggest you Google the particular hotels and/or check reviews. We have had students who thought a particular motel was horrible and the next year someone said it was perfectly fine, so we don’t recommend or advise against any particular motel. Remember that if you are a state employee, you may qualify for state rates. Attached is more information regarding the itinerary, attire, parking, lodging, and etc. Additional counseling residency information documents are below, including a campus map and a miscellaneous information sheet.  

Lodging Options (If you do a web search, all of these have web page with a map indicated.)

Days Inn – 800 University Street, Martin – 731-587-9577

Econo Lodge – 855 University Street, Martin – 731-587-4241

Hampton Inn – 5575 Skyhawk Parkway, Martin – 731-587-5800

UTM Guest Apartments – UTM Martin campus – 731-881-7730 (significantly discounted rate however, they fill up quickly)

Meals 

All three days - light snacks and beverages will be provided but students are responsible for their own meals.

Snack, drink, and coffee machines are available in Gooch at ends of hall, first and second floors. Not all machines are available on all floors.

There are several fast food and other restaurants available close to campus.  The following are in easy driving distance: McDonalds, Burger King, La Cabana, Los Portales, Dragon Buffet, Taco Bell, Subway, Snappy Tomato Pizza, Pizza Hut, The Hearth, Long John Silver’s, KN Root Beer Drive-In, Opera House Restaurant, Sonic Drive-In, and Dairy Queen. The following are in walking distance: LaCanasta, Donut Shop, Yogurt Shop, Dominos Pizza, Sammie’s Sandwich Shop, and Wendy’s. The cafeteria and food court in the University Center will be open. In the food court, there is a Sandella’s flat bread pizza, Chinese style fast food, and a Chik-fil-a.  

Two new restaurants you might consider are Crave (healthy wraps, bowls, and pizzas, including vegan options), and Blake's BarBQ (sit down restaurant with excellent food, a nicer barbecue place).

Prior to Residency we will email to you a campus map with student parking highlighted for you.

Visitor parking tags can be completed online at https://www.utm.edu/offices-and-services/public-safety/ut-martin-parking/online-visitor-parking-permit.php.

If you get to campus in time, you will be given the opportunity to put the hang tags on your vehicle and move to a suitable parking space. If you are running late, we can take care of ONE parking ticket for each student, if you get one. 

You may park in the circle parking lot beside Gooch Hall or in front of the Administration Building long enough to come up and get your parking hang-tag, but you can’t leave your car there, unless you are eligible for handicapped parking. That is limited time and handicapped parking only.