Graduate Program

Counselor Education offers a Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited Master of Arts degree in Counseling and a Doctoral degree in Counselor Education.

The Master of Arts degree in Counseling has areas of focus in either Clinical Mental Health Counseling or School Counseling. The Master’s degree is only offered as Plan II (no thesis). All students taking courses in the Counselor Education program are expected and required to abide by the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics and applicable state and federal laws governing standards of practice for counseling.

Graduate Advisor
Upon admission into the program, students are assigned an initial advisor. They have the option of selecting an advisor of their choice as they progress in their program of studies.

Application Deadlines
M.A. in Counseling	September 1 and February 1
Ph.D. in Counselor Education	November 1

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts in Counseling (M.A.)
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education (Ph.D.)

Master of Arts in Counseling

Counselor Education offers a 60 credit hour Master of Arts degree in Counseling with areas of focus in School Counseling or Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Students can elect to complete both areas of focus, which is a 72 credit hour program, and includes 12 credit hours of internship. Applicants to the Counselor Education program are encouraged to complete 18 credit hours of upper-division behavioral science courses (e.g., education, psychology, family studies, sociology, anthropology) prior to admission. Additional information and application forms are available online.

Admission

Admission to the Master’s program is based on ratings of several factors including scholarship, academic background (especially in behavioral science), work experience, volunteer experience, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement including multicultural experience. Admission is competitive, with more applicants than it is possible to admit. After the initial screening process, selected applicants are invited to interview with the faculty. Based on the results of both the initial screening and the interview, faculty selects candidates for admission to the program.

Required Core Courses

COUN 510	Professional Orientation and Ethics**
COUN 513	Career Counseling
COUN 515	Testing and Assessment in Counseling
COUN 516	Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Counseling
COUN 517	Theories of Counseling and Human Behavior**
COUN 518	Group Counseling Internship
COUN 519	Practicum in Group Counseling
COUN 522	Communication Skills in Counseling
COUN 576	Diagnosis of Mental Disorders
COUN 577	Substance Use and Abuse
COUN 584	Multicultural Issues in the Helping Professions
COUN 590	Practicum in Counseling
COUN 595	Internship (6 credit hours)
EDPY 500 -or- EDPY 505	Survey of Research Methods in Education Conducting Quantitative Educational Research
EDPY 502 -or- EDPY 511	Survey of Statistics in Education Introductory Educational Statistics
EDPY 503 -or- FS 503	Principles of Human Development Seminar in Human Growth and Development

**These two core courses may be taken by non-degree graduate students. An override must be obtained by non-degree students to register.

School Counseling Area of Focus

COUN 541	Counseling Children and Adolescents
COUN 545	School Counseling
COUN 581	Sexuality in Counseling and Psychotherapy

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Area of Focus

COUN 521	Clinical Mental Health Counseling
COUN 560	Family Counseling
COUN 581	Sexuality in Counseling and Psychotherapy

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in Counselor Education is designed for those who have completed a Master’s degree in Counseling or an allied field and who are licensed or are eligible for professional licensure in Counseling or a closely related profession. The doctoral program is accredited by CACREP. A minimum of 97 credit hours are required to successfully complete the program, including a 24 credit hour supporting area and a dissertation. The Counselor Education program accepts up to 36 credit hours of graduate transfer credit to be applied to the Ph.D. program. All students are required to have the following courses at the master's level: Group Counseling, Theories of Counseling, Multicultural Issues, Ethics, and Research Design. Those applicants without these courses are eligible for a ‘conditional’ admission pending completion of the courses in the first year of study at UNM. All substitutions of courses must be approved by the Counselor Education program faculty before a substitute course can be used to fulfill a requirement. A course may be used to fulfill requirements in more than one area, but the student’s program of studies must still include 97 credit hours.

The program requires that students develop competency in teaching, research, supervision, and consultation. These competencies, added to the professional expertise in counseling demonstrated at the point of admission into the doctoral program, enable the doctoral graduate to successfully carry out a wide range of supervisory, consultative, teaching, research, and counseling activities in a variety of professional settings. Graduates are well suited to: college or university faculty positions in counselor preparation programs; research, policy and program evaluation; supervisory roles in counseling services, mental health clinics, hospitals, schools and private practice settings; mental health consultation with individuals, groups and organizations, and direct preventive or remedial mental health services. The program is not a psychology program and does not prepare students for psychology licensure.

Admission

Admission to the program is based on scholarship, academic background, work experience, letters of reference, a writing sample, a statement of intent, culturally diverse experience and scores on the Graduate Record Examination. Final selection of candidates is made after an interview of finalists.

For additional information on the program and application procedures, contact the Counselor Education Program. Admission to the program is for fall semester of each academic year only. Admission into the Counselor Education program in no way guarantees placements (e.g., practica, internship), licensure, and/or employment. Additionally, fingerprinting and background checks may be required.

Degree Requirements

Master's Program (15 credit hours required)

Group Counseling
Theories of Counseling
Multicultural Issues
Ethics
Research Design

		Credit Hours
	Theories	3
COUN 621	Advanced Theories
	Supervision	3
COUN 514	Supervision of Counseling Services
	Instructional Theory and Methods in Counselor Education	3
COUN 625	Teaching in Counselor Education
	Multicultural and Diversity Studies	3
	Students select a course in consultation with their advisor that fits their expertise and/or area of interest. Options include:
ANTH 537	Seminar: Southwestern Ethnology
CJ 514	Seminar in Intercultural Communication
LLSS 523	Education and Anthropology
LLSS 587	Education and Gender Equity
MGMT 560	Seminar in Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior
SOC 520	Racial and Ethnic Relations
SPCD 501	The Psychology and Education of Exceptional Persons
SPCD 520	Introduction to Mental Retardation
SPCD 530	Introduction to Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
	or other courses with program approval
	Assessment Methods and Use of Data (select one of the following)	3
EDPY 515	Survey and Questionnaire Design and Analysis
EDPY 572	Classroom Assessment
EDPY 574	Introduction to Educational and Psychological Measurement
	or other courses with program approval
	Ethical and Legal Issues in Counselor Education and Supervision	3
COUN 615	Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Issues
	Consultation	3
COUN 620	Seminar in Counseling
	Clinical Experiences	15
COUN 630	Advanced Practicum in Counseling (Clinical)
COUN 650	Advanced Group Counseling and Psychotherapy
COUN 696	Internship (Clinical)
COUN 696	Internship (Supervision)
COUN 696	Internship (Teaching)

Supporting Area (24 credit hours required)

The 24 credit hour supporting area consists of 12 credit hours of quantitative and qualitative research (as defined below), and 12 credit hours in another discipline. Supporting area disciplines are typically selected from the following examples: Educational Administration, Educational Psychology, Family Studies, Health Education, Management, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Health, Training and Learning Technologies, and Sociology. Students should note that some programs are very specific about the course work required for a supporting area in that discipline.

The following courses are required toward the 12 credit hours of quantitative and qualitative research:

EDPY 603	Applied Statistical Design and Analysis
EDPY 604	Multiple Regression: Techniques as Applied to Education
LLSS 502	Introduction to Qualitative Research
	either an additional quantitative or qualitative research course
	Quantitative Options including:
EDPY 504	Statistical Software Applications for Educational Research
EDPY 606	Applied Multivariate Statistics
EDPY 607	Structural Equation Modeling
EDPY 651	Advanced Seminar in Quantitative Educational Research
	or other courses with program approval
	Qualitative Options including:
LEAD/LLSS 605	Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
LLSS 623	Ethnographic Research
	or other courses with program approval

	Dissertation Seminar (1 credit hour)
	options including:
EDPY 650	Dissertation Seminar
LLSS 650	Dissertation Seminar
	or other courses with program approval
	Dissertation (18 credit hours)
COUN 699	Dissertation
	Other program electives to reach 97 credit hours
COUN 516	Disaster, Trauma and Crisis Counseling
COUN 541	Counseling Children and Adolescents
COUN 560	Family Counseling
COUN 576	Diagnosis of Mental Disorders
COUN 577	Substance Use and Abuse
COUN 581	Sexuality in Counseling and Psychotherapy
	or other courses with program approval

At times, other relevant courses become available or students have unique educational needs or interests. ALL substitutions of courses must be approved by the Counseling Program faculty before a substitute course can be used to fulfill a requirement. A course potentially may be used to fulfill requirements in more than one area, but the student’s program of studies still must meet the Counseling Program doctoral degree requirement of 97 credit hours.

Keys and Symbols Reference