Master in Counseling

The Master of Science Degree in Counseling is designed to prepare you to work in a school setting as a school counselor. You'll have the opportunity to follow any of several career paths in the counseling field. Additionally, completing the 48-credit School Counselor program will likely earn you provisional certification as a school counselor. (Same with the 54-credit Bilingual School Counselor program, too).

Graduate students who complete the 60-credit Mental Health Counseling program are eligible to sit for the professional licensing examination.

Specializations:

• Counseling
• Counseling with a specialization in School Counseling and Bilingual Extension
• Advanced Certificates in Alcohol/Substance Abuse Counseling and in Retirement Counseling (CASAC)

Additionally, if you're interested in mental health, Mercy's Mental Health Counseling Degree will earn you the license that has become the new entry-level standard for the field.

Both counseling programs may be taken part-time or full-time

Counseling Fast Facts

• Designed for full and part-time students
• The program qualifies students who complete school internships to receive a New York State certification.

Program Outcomes

By the end of this program, students should be able to:

• Identify and apply the American School Counseling Association standards to qualify for provisional certification as a School Counselor in New York State.
• Demonstrate mastery of the eight CACREP Core Counseling Competencies: Human Growth and Development, Social and Cultural Foundations, Theories of Counseling, Groups, Lifestyle, and Career Development, Appraisal, Research, and Program Evaluation, and Professional Orientation and Ethics.
• Identify, explain, and respond to concerns, issues, and challenges relevant to today’s students.
• Define, explain, and apply counseling, assessment, advocacy, prevention, and intervention techniques to assist students.
• Apply current knowledge and research from social and behavioral sciences, including the use of technology, to the practice of counseling in a school setting.
• Identify and explain the impact of cultural diversity on counseling techniques and make appropriate applications.
• Meet identified professional and ethical standards required to work as a school counselor in New York State.
• Be cognizant of the concerns, issues, and challenges relevant to today's students in urban and suburban schools.

Purpose

The master ’s programs in counseling offer graduate education in counseling preparation. The 48-credit Master's in School Counseling prepares students to become New York State Certified school counselors in urban and suburban school settings. The 60- credit Masters in Mental Health Counseling prepares students to become New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselors in public and private agencies.

The Master of Science in Counseling offers two certifications within the degree program. Successful completion of the School Counselor Program leads to a recommendation to the New York State Education Department for provisional certification as a school counselor. Students completing the Bilingual School Counselor Program will be recommended for provisional certification as a school counselor and also for a bilingual extension to the certificate.

The Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling is a licensure-qualifying program. Upon program completion, graduates are eligible to work towards meeting the 3,000- hour externship required for licensure as a mental health counselor in New York State. According to the state laws regulating mental health counseling licensure, graduates will have up to two years (with the option of two additional one-year extensions) to meet the 3,000 hours of experience and pass a licensing examination to complete the licensure requirements.

Note: While all but five courses (CNSL 650 – Counseling and Applications I, CNSL 655 – Counseling and Applications II, CNSL 660 – Practicum in Group Work, CNSL 690 (688) - Internship I and CNSL 691 (689) - Internship II) may be completed as distance learning courses for the School Counseling program, New York State will not permit more than 27 credits of distance learning courses to be counted toward the 60-credit Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling. New York State also requires students pursuing a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling to take the following courses in a traditional classroom environment: CNSL 650, CNSL 655, CNSL 660, CNSL 686 and CNSL 687.

Admission Requirements

Please refer to the general requirements for admission and matriculation in the Graduate Admissions section of the course catalog.

Program Requirements for Admission to the School Counseling Program

1. Two professional letters of recommendation on letterhead.
2. A two-to three-page essay on the applicant's reason(s) for becoming a school counselor.
3. A resume.
4. An in-person essay on an assigned topic may be required depending on qualifications.

Degree Requirements

1. Successful completion of 48 graduate credits for School Counseling and 54 credits for School Counseling with Bilingual Extension and 60 graduate credits for Mental Health Counseling
2. A 3.0 cumulative GPA
3. Successful completion of a written comprehensive examination (CPCE)

Counseling Objectives

Graduates of the Master of Science in Counseling Degree Programs will be prepared to assume a professional school counseling role in a school setting. Graduates will be expected to do the following:

• Apply current knowledge and research from social and behavioral sciences, including the use of technology, to the practice of counseling.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the impact of cultural diversity on counseling techniques and applications.

Counseling M.S. Curriculum

The 48-credit Master of Science Degree Program in Counseling is organized as follows:

• Core Courses 33 Credits
• Supervised Internship I and II 12 Credits
• College Planning and Preparation 3 Credits

Total of 48 Credits

The Master of Science Degree in Counseling Program requires completion of 33 core course credits including Practicum in Counseling, two supervised internship placements specific to the student’s area of study and CNSL 525.

Core Courses

• CSNL 630 Counseling and Ethics
• CNSL 640 Human Development I
• CNSL 643 Intro to School Counseling (for students who entered in Fall, 2012 and thereafter)
• CNSL 650 Counseling and Application I
• CNSL 651 Multicultural Perspectives in Counseling
• CNSL 655 Counseling and Application II
• CNSL 660 Practicum in Group Work
• CNSL 665 Career Development and Counseling
• CNSL 667 Diagnostic Tools: Measurement
• CNSL 673 Research Methodology
• CNSL 670 Practicum in Counseling (for students entering in fall 2017)

Career Opportunities

The Master of Science Degree in Counseling qualifies students who complete school internships to receive a New York State certification to work in schools.