2012-2013 Georgia Regents University Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Special Education
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Counselor Education
The Counselor Education Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree graduate program at Georgia Regents University prepares students for professional careers as either school counselors or counselors in community mental health or private practice settings. Early in the program, students are assisted as needed in determining which specialty area will most closely align with their career goals. Most courses require outside field experiences, coordinated by the faculty, to help students gain a sense of professional responsibilities and expectations in the field. Although the student body is quite varied, we are committed to increasing the numbers of diverse students enrolled in our program in order to be more representative of the surrounding community.
Both the School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration areas are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The accreditation runs through October 31, 2014. Please note that the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is currently accredited under the 2001 Standards for Community Counseling as a Community Counseling program. The CACREP 2009 standards combine the Community Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling standards into standards for Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs. The counseling program intends to seek accreditation for this program as a Clinical Mental Health Counseling program when it comes up for accreditation, per CACREP guidelines.
The Counselor Education Program is designed to meet the needs of both traditional and non-traditional students. Courses are generally offered during evening hours or on Saturdays to accommodate those who may already be working as school teachers or in other professional career areas. It is not required, however, that applicants have a teaching certificate or work experience for acceptance into the program. Those individuals with at least some work experience will be considered more highly. Both the School Counseling and the Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration areas also require intensive practicum and internship experiences near the end of the course of study. For future school counselors, the practicum and internship placements are completed in school settings at the elementary or secondary levels. For those specializing in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, internships are held at local hospitals, mental health centers, and other community agencies.
All full-time Counselor Education Program faculty hold doctoral degrees and have professional experience in their particular subject areas. Several hold professional licensure (LPC) and certifications from the national or state certification organizations. They are also actively involved in the counseling profession, holding membership and/or offices in the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), Georgia School Counselor Association (GSCA), South Carolina School Counselor Association (SCSCA), Licensed Professional Counselors of Georgia (LPCG), South Carolina Counseling Association (SCCA) and other organizations. Faculty members frequently present at regional and national conferences, quite often in collaboration with counseling students, reporting on descriptive or experimental research which has been conducted during the program courses.
Admissions Procedures and Requirements
The Counselor Education Program faculty seeks to admit only those individuals who are personally and academically prepared to successfully complete the Master’s degree in clinical mental health or school counseling. Faculty members recognize the need for counselors to be sensitive and competent in working with diverse populations. In order to meet this need, they support multicultural perspectives throughout educational programs and actively seek a diverse student and faculty population. Additionally, faculty are committed to admitting students who demonstrate an awareness of self and others regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, gender, or other forms of diversity. Only those students who have completed the admissions process and have been accepted into the program may take counseling courses. Exceptions to those with previous graduate experience may be given on a case by case basis.
Admission to the program is competitive and based on several criteria. For all counseling programs, the student should exhibit those personal qualities or characteristics which, in the judgment of the faculty, are necessary for effective functioning in the role of a counselor. Applicants may obtain an application packet and more detailed admissions criteria from the Dean’s office in the College of Education.
Please note that application deadlines for the Counselor Education Program are earlier than those in the College of Education and are as follows:
Fall semester admission: May 15
Spring semester admission: October 15
Summer semester admission: March 15
The completed application packet should be submitted to the College of Education Dean’s office. The application process involves several required elements, the last of which is, if selected a formal interview with program faculty.
These requirements include:
- Complete application and accompanying materials to the College of Education (COE) Graduate Program. Requirements include at least a 2.5 undergraduate GPA, passing score on the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) Basic Skills test (school counseling track applicants only), and a criminal background check (see COE Graduate Program section of catalog for complete requirements).
- GRE or MAT Minimum Scores (must have been taken within the last five years).
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Regular admission: minimum of 300 on the test overall, with a score of at least 146 on the Verbal subtest
Miller’s Analogy Test (MAT)
Regular admission: minimum of 388
- Three Letters of Recommendation
Applicants will include at least three professional recommendations using specified forms.
- Personal Autobiographical Essay
Applicants will write an autobiographical essay in which they discuss their reasons for wanting to become a counselor, what attributes they may possess which would contribute to their effectiveness as a counselor, what personal characteristics they possess that might hinder their relationships with clients, and how they are planning to address those issues. The essay must be double-spaced and three pages in length.
- Writing and Technology Proficiency Sample
Applicants will complete a writing and technology proficiency sample. During this one-hour session, applicants will read a brief article and, using a computer, will write an essay responding to question prompts. Applicants will contact the GRU Testing and Disabilities Office to arrange a time and date to complete the writing sample prior to the admissions deadline. Students who live farther than 100 miles from campus may request alternative arrangements from the program coordinator.
- Personal Interview
The personal interview with the faculty is the final requirement for full admission into the program. Shortly after the admissions deadline, faculty will select applicants to be invited to the interview based on the quality of the previous criteria. The interview is designed to assess applicants’ potential for forming effective interpersonal relationships in individual and group contexts; openness to self-examination and personal and professional growth; potential to develop knowledge, skills and dispositions in the field; potential to work effectively with diverse populations; emotional stability; receptiveness to supervision; degree to which the Program’s objectives and mission are consistent with the vocational and professional goals of applicants; and the degree to which applicants display the potential for success in the counseling program and profession. After the interview applicants are evaluated by the faculty with a rubric which considers all of these factors, including both academic and non-academic issues.
Applicants who gain admission are those who best match the characteristics described in the above paragraphs based on all of the information provided, the results of the interview, and the number of available openings for the upcoming semester.
The Admissions Committee makes its recommendations to the Dean of the College of Education. The Dean’s office sends each applicant a formal letter regarding the status of his/her application, usually within one to two weeks after the interview.
Program Eligibility and Systematic Assessment of Students
Students are expected to maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 across all courses attempted in the M.Ed. program. Any course in which a student earns a grade of D or F must be retaken. Student progress throughout the program is regularly monitored and assessed by program faculty. Students showing deficiencies in either academic or nonacademic areas may be placed on probation and/or remediation status, and may be either reinstated or dismissed based on subsequent academic or non-academic performance. Students must successfully complete all coursework and clinical experiences in order to graduate from the program.
Applicants and students should consult the Counselor Education Program Student Handbook (www.aug.edu/elcse/ counseling) for more specific and updated information. The College of Education Graduate Programs portion of this catalog also contains important information on transfer hours, retention and exit from programs, time limits for completion of degree, graduate appeals and financial aid.
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