School of Education

Graduate Programs in Counseling

Professional Counseling is an exciting career field that offers many rewarding opportunities for personal and professional development. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke offers two 60-credit hour graduate degree programs in professional counseling. Students can select to pursue graduate degrees in either:

• M.A.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, or
• M.A.Ed. in Professional School Counseling

Mission of the Counseling Programs
The mission of the Graduate Counseling Programs at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke is to train diverse professional counselors committed to improving the mental health and human development of individuals served in schools and communities. Through research, service, teaching, and supervision, the faculty members collaborate with students to prepare counselors who have strong counselor identities, effective clinical and leadership skills, and cultural competence. The counseling programs engage in continual program evaluation and revision to maintain alignment with the counseling profession’s national standards.
Learn more about the Counseling Programs:

• Counseling Programs Objectives
• Opportunities for Student Involvement
• Course Formats

Counseling Programs Objectives:
Upon completion of a Counseling Program at UNCP, students will show evidence of being reflective practitioners and critical thinkers who seek to respect diverse worldviews, demonstrate self-evaluation and self-reflection strategies, and engage in ongoing interpersonal skill development. Students will develop professional identities as counselors and engage as active members of their communities. Furthermore, each student will develop knowledge and demonstrate competency in the areas of:

1. Human growth and development, including an understanding of biopsychosocial models of development;
2. Personal characteristics, professional orientation, and ethical practices of counselors consistent with the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics and state and federal laws that govern the practice of counselors;
3. Theoretical approaches to counseling and case conceptualization, including articulation of a personal theory of counseling and an integrative approach to wellness and prevention as a professional counselor;
4. Helping relationships and counseling skills and techniques;
5. Group dynamics, process, and counseling, including process-oriented groups and psychoeducational groups;
6. Career development and practice that is appropriate to the student’s employment setting;
7. Multicultural and social justice issues in counseling, including an approach to advocacy for the profession and diverse client populations;
8. Appraisal and assessment, including application of developmental theory to;
9. Crisis intervention, including skills necessary to communicate and collaborate with, or refer to, multidisciplinary teams in professionals in schools, agencies, and other appropriate settings;
10. Issues in addictions;
11. Research and program evaluation methods, including use of research and evaluation methods necessary to identify and critique evidence based practices and to use data to improve program outcomes; and
12. Clinical Mental Health Counseling OR Professional School Counseling specific roles, skills, duties, and issues (depending on students’ selected programs of study)

Opportunities for student involvement:
There are many opportunities for graduate counseling students to become involved in the counseling program.

• Counseling Honor Society: UNCP’s Phi Sigma society is a chapter of the international counseling honor society, Chi Sigma Iota. Phi Sigma invites students who have demonstrated academic excellence in counseling to participate. The chapter sponsors annual activities and is organized by student-elected officers.
• Graduate assistantships: Students are encouraged to apply for Graduate Assistantships with the Counseling Programs and other campus offices.
• Counseling Club: The Counseling Club is a student-led social club that sponsors social events for graduate students in the Counseling Programs.
• Faculty-student Collaboration: Students may choose to participate with faculty on research projects and in making professional presentations at conferences.
• Professional Organizations: Students are encouraged to join professional counseling associations to network with their future colleagues at state and national levels.

Course Formats:
Courses are delivered using a variety of instructional methods. Most of our courses are hybrid courses that include some on campus instructional time and online learning. Some courses are taught entirely face-to-face on campus and some courses are taught entirely online. All face-to-face courses are held in the evenings on the main campus of UNCP.

 

 

Updated: Thursday, September 15, 2011