Department of Counseling and Development

General Information

Established in the early 1960s, the Department of Counseling and Development continues to provide excellence in counselor education, preparing professionals for jobs in schools and community or private agencies. The emphasis of this program is on diversity issues, ethical concerns and technological developments so that graduates can apply the old wisdom of the profession within the new frame of complex realities facing them in the 21st century.

DEGREES OFFERED
M.S. with a specialty in School Counseling
M.S. with a specialty in Mental Health Counseling

Both of these programs are accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

School Counseling prepares students to work in public and private schools from K to 12 and requires 48 graduate credits including a minimum of 600 hours of internship. With two years experience as a school counselor, the graduate of our program is eligible for permanent certification by the State Education Department (SED) of New York. Students who seek certification in New York City, New Jersey or other states must also meet those requirements which do, in fact, differ from the NY State Education Department's requirements.

Mental Health Counseling prepares students to work in mental health agencies, hospitals and similar facilities, as well as in other non-school settings. The program requires 60 graduate credits and 900 hours of internship.

Entrance Requirements for Master’s Program in Counseling

Program Entrance Requirements

• Undergraduate Grade Point Average (G.P.A) of 3.0 or successful completion of a previous master’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Two letters of recommendation
• Interview with a faculty member of the Department of Counseling and Development

Applicants for admission whose undergraduate GPA is less then 3.0 or do not have a previous master’s degree are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). For admission purposes, only the writing assessment of the GRE is evaluated. This section of the exam assesses writing and critical thinking skills which are essential attributes for the professional counselor. Applicants will be considered to have met the GRE requirement if they obtain a score of 4.5.

Applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree and have at least 10 years work related experiences beyond their degree and/or have been involved in extraordinary life experiences are eligible to apply to the graduate counseling programs.  At the discretion of the Chair, the GRE will be waived.

Deadlines for a complete application for admission to the programs of study in the Department are as follows:

April 30 for Summer Admission
August 20 for Fall Admission
January 10 for Spring Admission

For an admissions application, Click Here

Study Plan
An approved plan of study is developed with the Department's Academic Counselor at the start of the program and reviewed progressively with a faculty advisor. Upon completion of 15-18 credits in the program, each student must meet for an Interim Assessment with his or her faculty advisor prior to the granting of degree candidacy.

Required Professional Liability Insurance

Students are required to have professional liability insurance. The student can receive insurance from a number of different professional associations. One is the American Counseling Association (ACA) that can be visited at the website www.counseling.org

Required Health Insurance For Mental Health Counseling Students (MHC)

Students are required to have health insurance when they are enrolled in a practicum or internship in a mental health counseling setting (EDC 669, 683, 684, 685 or 686).

Culminating Experience:  Degree Synthesis

Degree Synthesis

Students admitted Fall 2007 and thereafter will take EDC 707, Degree Synthesis in place of the comprehensive examination; however, the comprehensive exam will be made available for those students who wish to take the exam in place of EDC 707.     

Comprehensive Examination

The application for the Comprehensive Examination is due no later than one month prior to the date of the examination. For full-time students, 24 credits must be completed with an additional 12 credits in progress in order to file.  For part-time students, 30 credits must be completed with an additional 6 credits in progress in order to file.  The application deadline and dates of the examination are posted in the Room 320 complex in the Library at C.W. Post or in the Main Office at Brentwood.  Permission may be granted from the Chair to take the comprehensive exam on an alternate date due to religious observance. The Department requires that students take the examination no later than thesemester prior to graduation. Students are encouraged to meet with faculty advisors and to form study groups in preparation for the comprehensive examination.

Thesis

Thesis Seminar, EDC 708, is available only to those matriculated master's degree candidates electing to develop and write a thesis under the supervision of approved faculty in lieu of taking the Comprehensive Examination. Students must submit a proposal to the Department Chair and the Dean for approval. A grade of "A" in EDC 702, Research Methods in Counseling, is required for approval in order to choose the thesis option.

Mental Health Counselor Licensure in New York State – 2006

After more than 30 years of fighting for the licensing of mental health counselors in New York State, the Legislature passed the Bill!  The effort was first taken up by the New York Counseling Association (NYCA), but for the past several years, the New York Mental Health Counseling Association, a division of NYCA, led the battle under the astute and enlightened leadership of its past President, our own Professor Judy Ritterman, who has been an adjunct professor in our Department for over ten years. Our 60 credit M.S. in Mental Health Counseling is approved by NYSED as leading to licensure.  School counselors who wish to also secure a license would have to return to school and take those specialty courses and the clinical internships that our mental health counselors now take to obtain their degree. It should be noted that the Office of Professions requires the completion of a minimum one year supervised internship or practicum in Mental Health Counseling where one year means at least 600 clock hours.  Therefore, returning graduates would not be required to take the third internship in mental health counseling that we require of our degree students, although we would encourage students to do so.