Counseling Programs
The Master of Arts in Counseling program is a non-thesis program requiring 48 units of courses and successful completion of a comprehensive exam. It prepares individuals to provide a variety of professional counseling services to diverse client populations in a wide range of work settings. The mission of the program is to prepare exemplary counselors who are committed to ethical practice and life-long learning. Course and internship requirements meet standards of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and many state licensing agencies. All students complete a 30-unit core of counseling courses that meets the 10 required NBCC areas. Students complete an 18-unit specialization in one of three areas: School Counseling, College Counseling and Student Development, or Career Counseling and Adult Learning. This degree requires the student to complete two semesters of fieldwork or internship in a setting related to the student’s career goals.
To complete the program successfully students must develop skills in assessment of client needs; individual counseling; small and large group facilitation; consultation; policy and proposal writing; and data collection and analysis. To promote a deeper understanding of the counseling process and the roles of counselor and client, students are required to show participation in 25 hours of interpersonal, career, family, or pastoral counseling in individual or group settings. This requirement must be completed before the student enrolls in the counseling practicum. Counseling services experienced up to two years prior to entering graduate study may be used to meet this requirement.
During the program, students must develop the multicultural counseling competencies needed by counseling professionals working in an increasingly diverse and global society. Students become lifelong learners who will pursue professional development as a necessary part of counseling practice. Finally, students learn to take an active role in producing the organizational change necessary to promote academic, professional, and personal success for themselves and their clients.
The program has a strong focus on leadership and advocacy skills in relationship to human development issues as well as the planning, delivery, and evaluation of comprehensive programs for school counseling, career development, and college or university student development. The program also supports the development of Global Cultural Competence and offers opportunities to participate in a graduate course with a study abroad component including attendance at an international counseling conference.
Graduates of the counseling program are found in school districts, community college and university campuses, career centers, government and business settings and community agencies. In addition, graduates have gone on to doctoral programs in counseling psychology, counselor education, educational leadership, higher education administration and educational psychology. Students who complete our M.A. program are eligible for state licensing as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) in 48 states. California is working on becoming the 49th state and a legislative bill has been written.
Applicants to the program should specifically address fit of the counseling program’s coursework and experience requirements to the applicant’s career goals. In the application and in the required individual interview with a counseling program faculty member, the applicants should provide evidence of demonstrated ability in academic endeavors and examples of effective helping skills applied in employment, intern, and volunteer settings. Recommendation letters should reflect on the applicant’s intellectual and interpersonal skills based on direct observation or supervision of the applicant.
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Counseling Program Specializations
Specialization in Career Counseling and Adult Learning
Students in this area plan to apply their counseling skills with a focus on career counseling and development, life-planning and work-related interventions. Graduates work with clients of all ages from primary school to older adulthood in positions in higher education, K-12 school settings, business, government, and community settings as well as in individual practice as career counselors and consultants and in distance counseling. Graduates do individual, small - and large - group interventions with clients in areas such as career choice and development, life-planning decisions, transition support, conflict management and team building.
Specialization in College Counseling and Student Development
The College Counseling and Student Development Program at USD is designed for students who want to develop an identity as professional counselors and who are interested in working in higher education settings. College counseling and student development professionals work in community colleges, four-year colleges, universities, distance education institutions, technical and vocational colleges. Graduates meet the requirements for positions in higher education settings that require or prefer that students have training in general counseling as well as specialized work in college student development.
Specialization in School Counseling
Students in this area plan to be school counselors in elementary, middle school or junior high and high school settings or to work with agencies serving K-12 children and their families. Students have knowledge and skills in student advocacy as well as in the design, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive, results-based guidance and counseling programs. The school counseling specialization also stresses the development of leadership skills in transforming school counseling. The requirements for the California Pupil Personnel Services Credential with emphasis in school counseling can be met as part of this degree program.
Pupil Personnel Services (P.P.S.) Credential with Specialization in School Counseling
Students can meet the California requirements for the P.P.S. Credential with Specialization in School Counseling as part of the requirements for the M.A. in Counseling – School Specialization or as a credential-only option which can utilize previous graduate coursework in counseling. The program director and credentials analyst will help students who seek credentials from other states.
Program Requirements
The counseling core is designed to meet the program requirements recommended by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). All students complete a 30-unit core of counseling courses and 18 units in their area of specialization. The program requires the student to complete a 100-hour Counseling Practicum and two semesters of fieldwork or internship in a setting related to the student's career goal. The fieldwork or internship requires completion of 600 hours of supervised work at an approved site. The courses listed below are required. Full course descriptions for each course are found in the Graduate Bulletin.
I. Core Courses (30 units):
COUN 503 – Professional Orientation and Ethics in Counseling (3)
COUN 504 – Pre-practicum in Counseling Techniques (3)
COUN 505 – Human Development (3)
COUN 508 – Research Methods in Counseling (3)
COUN 510 – Career Development Across the Lifespan (3)
COUN 515 – Multicultural Counseling (3)
COUN 520 – Counseling : Theory and Practice (3)
COUN 525 – Group Dynamics (3)
COUN 530 – Assessment Techniques in Counseling (3)
COUN 541 – Advanced Counseling: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (3)
II. Specialization Courses (18 Units):
A. Career Counseling and Adult Learning
COUN 589P – Practicum: Adult (3)
COUN 532 – Designing Career Development Interventions (3)
COUN 559 – Consultation, Training and Supervision (3)
COUN 593F – Internship in Career Counseling (3) (Taken twice)
Electives: selected by student and adviser (3 units)
B. College Counseling and Student Development
COUN 512 – College Counseling (3)
COUN 535 – College Student Development (3)
COUN 589P – Practicum: Adult (3)
COUN 592F – Internship in College Counseling (3) (Taken twice)
Electives: selected by student and adviser (6 units)
C. School Counseling
COUN 588P – Practicum: School (3)
COUN 518 – Organization of Student Support Systems (3)
COUN 536 – Counseling Children and Youth in School Settings (3)
COUN 537 – Applied Techniques for Counseling in School Settings (3)
COUN 590F – Fieldwork in School Settings (3) (Taken twice)
Requirements for the Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Counseling
Option 1
For students who have completed or are completing USD’s M.A. in Counseling with a School Counseling specialization. Requirements:
• Complete requirements for the M.A. program in School Counseling
• Pass CBEST
• Meet the P.P.S. credential fieldwork requirements*
Option 2
For students who already have a master’s degree in counseling. Candidates for this option should make an appointment with the School Specialization Coordinator to have previous graduate coursework evaluated for equivalence to the following courses:
COUN 503 – Professional Orientation and Ethics in Counseling (3)
COUN 504 – Pre-practicum in Counseling Techniques (3)
COUN 505 – Human Development (3)
COUN 508 – Research Methods in Counseling (3)
COUN 510 – Career Development Across the Lifespan (3)
COUN 515 – Multicultural Counseling (3)
COUN 520 – Counseling: Theory and Practice (3)
COUN 525 – Group Dynamics (3)
COUN 530 – Assessment Techniques in Counseling (3)
COUN 541 – Advanced Counseling: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (3)
COUN 588P – Practicum: School (3)
COUN 518 – Organization of Student Support Systems (3)
COUN 536 – Counseling Children and Youth in School Settings (3)
COUN 537 – Applied Techniques for Counseling in School Settings (3)
COUN 590F – Fieldwork in School Settings (3) (Taken Twice)
EDUC 582 – Psychological Foundations of Education in a Diverse Society (3)
*Fieldwork: The P.P.S. credential requires 600 hours of fieldwork completed under the supervision of a P.P.S.-credentialed supervisor. School fieldwork must be completed at two levels: elementary, middle or junior, high school. Fieldwork sites are approved by the faculty member designated as the Director of Field Experiences in conjunction with the student’s adviser. Specific hours of direct contact experience, cross-cultural counseling, and group counseling are required. Students receive individual and group supervision during the fieldwork experience. Students enroll in a fieldwork course each term that they are collecting fieldwork hours until 600 hours are completed. Students must complete a minimum of 200 hours at each fieldwork site. Prerequisites: COUN 588P, COUN 505, COUN 515, COUN 525 (or consent of school specialization coordinator and director of field experiences).
Counseling Program – Learning Outcomes
The Counseling Program faculty identified 10 learning outcomes that describe the competencies attained by graduates of the counseling program.
1. Diversity: Students will possess the knowledge, skills and disposition needed to provide effective counseling and developmental services to clients diverse in age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation. Students will gain an understanding of counseling practice in a global environment and are able to work effectively with international clients in the United States and to assist clients and counseling professionals with transitions to global career locations.
2. Professional Identity: Students will acquire sound identities as professional counselors with a commitment to continued lifelong learning and professional development. Graduates will be actively involved in professional associations and possess effective networking skills.
3. Ethics: Students will be knowledgeable of the ethical guidelines developed by the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, the American School Counselors Association, the American College Personnel Association and other relevant professional organizations. Students will demonstrate their knowledge and use of at least one ethical decision-making model as they apply it to cases involving various professional domains.
4. Developmental and Career/Life Planning: Students will possess the knowledge of career, developmental, and life planning processes as well as the skills needed to provide individual counseling, assessment and other training to facilitate decision-making and developmental life transitions.
5. Individual and Group Counseling Skills: Students acquiring competencies in individual and group counseling will be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills related to several of the more commonly recognized counseling theories, including psychodynamic, person-centered, reality theory, gestalt, Adlerian, cognitive-behavioral, and others.
6. Research and Analytical Skills: Students will demonstrate the knowledge, skills and dispositions associated with conducting and interpreting social science research. Specifically, students will demonstrate their abilities of developing research and evaluation questions and selecting and using appropriate methods for data collection and analysis. Students will also show their ability to apply existing theory and research to the practice of counseling.
7. Leadership and Advocacy: Students will demonstrate their ability to go beyond the conventional practice of providing individual and group counseling and to take leadership in advocating for clients and for systemic change to improve counseling and developmental services and programs. Graduates will be able to work collaboratively with others and to lead teams of professionals in delivering innovative approaches and methods in the field of counseling. Moreover, they will internalize and demonstrate the value of client advocacy.
8. Assessment: Students will have the ability to gather, interpret, and utilize a variety of assessment data. This will include the ability to select, administer and interpret appropriate standardized tests for individual and group assessment of client needs and to complete program evaluations.
9. Consultation and Conflict Resolution: Students will have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide professional consultation to a variety of client populations including colleagues, teachers, administrators and managers, parents and community members. Students will have the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, advocate for, implement, provide program leadership for and to facilitate conflict resolution and violence prevention programs that can be used in a variety of settings with diverse populations of clients.
10. Technology: Students will possess the knowledge and skills to utilize technological resources in professional practice and in research and to understand the application of ethical practice to the use of Web-based counseling, assessment and information.
