Mar 29, 2024  
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog 
    
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Counseling MA


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Return to: School of Education & Human Development  

Office: Lawrence Street Center, 701
Telephone: 303-315-6300
Fax: 303-315-6311
E-mail: education@ucdenver.edu
Website: www.ucdenver.edu/counseling  

Faculty

Information about faculty in the Counseling program is available online at www.ucdenver.edu/education.

Degree

The Master of Arts degree in Counseling program prepares professionals for community/mental health agencies, private practice, public schools, and institutions of higher education. Students should obtain faculty advising regarding professional requirements.

The Clinical Mental Health, Couples and Family Counseling/Therapy, and School Counseling programs consist of 63 semester hours (66 for the multicultural/diversity strand). Core requirements that are common to all areas of study are followed by courses specific to each program.  The Clinical Mental Health, Couples and Family Counseling/Therapy, and School Counseling programs require a practicum (150 clock hours) and an internship (600 clock hours). For most students in these programs, the master’s degree is a three-year program with course work for two years followed by a year of practicum and internship. All beginning students enroll in

  and  .  

The Higher Education and Student Affairs program consists of 45 semester hours. Students in this program are required to complete a 600 hour internship.

The clinical mental health counseling, school counseling and couple and family counseling/therapy programs are nationally accredited by CACREP, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.

All students are expected to have online computer capability for communication and instructional purposes. For students in off-campus programs, some courses may be offered via computer technology.

Admission Requirements

Successful applicants to the Counseling program will have obtained a minimum 2.75 undergraduate GPA and will score at least 290 (combined) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or at least 396 on the Miller Analogy Test (MAT). Also, applicants will submit a current resume, a letter of intent, three letters of recommendation (at least 2 academic letters are strongly advised) and additional required materials. Applicants meeting these minimum standards may be invited to a half-day group interview that involves program orientation, small group interviews, a writing assignment and a group exercise.

A prerequisite course in basic statistics (undergraduate level) is required prior to enrollment in the program.

Application materials are available at https://soa.prod.cu.edu/degreeprog/applyDEGREEPROG_CUDEN/login.action. All materials must be submitted online by the appropriate deadline: September 15 for spring semester; January 15 for summer and fall semesters.

Matriculation Requirements

Counseling students must earn at least a B in skills-oriented courses (CPCE 5100, 5160, 6140, 7100, 5910, 5930) or must repeat these courses until they do so. In addition, all students in The Clinical Mental Health, Couples and Family Counseling/Therapy, and School Counseling programs must make a formal case presentation in CPCE 5930 (internship) to demonstrate their clinical knowledge. Students in the Clinical Mental Health, Couples and Family Counseling/Therapy, and School Counseling must also take a national comprehensive examination (after 30 semester hours). Students in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program must complete a comprehensive examination in the last semester of study. Students may choose to conduct research and submit a thesis (research conducted under faculty advisement) instead of taking a comprehensive examination.

Program Areas

Students accepted into the Counseling program follow one of the four concentration areas. The clinical mental health counseling program follows state licensure requirements for licensed professional counselor; the couple and family counseling/therapy program follows licensure requirements designated by the state of Colorado of licensure as a marriage and family therapist; the school program follows both the licensed professional counselor licensure and state department of education certificate as a school counselor requirements, and the higher education and student affairs program follows the Counsel for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education standards.

Counseling Core

  - Counseling Theories
  - Techniques of Counseling
  - Group Counseling
  - Family Therapy Theory*
  - Counseling Issues and Ethics*
  - Career Development
  - Multicultural Counseling Issues for Individuals and Families
   - Human Development Over the Life Span
  - Introduction to Measurement
  - Introduction to Research Methods
National Comprehensive Exam to be taken after the CPCE core classes are completed.*

Total: 30 Hours

*not required for HESA

Additional Requirements for Program Area One: Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MA)

  - Techniques in Family Therapy
  - Addictions Counseling
  - Strategies of Agency Counseling
  - Mental Health Diagnosis
  - Advanced Theories and Techniques in Psychotherapy
Two Additional Electives (6 semester hours)

Total: 21 Hours

Additional Requirements for Multicultural/Diversity Strand in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

  - Techniques in Family Therapy
  - Addictions Counseling
  - Strategies of Agency Counseling
  - Special Topics Gender & Sexual Orientation
  - Spiritual Dimensions of Counseling
  - Mental Health Diagnosis
  - Advanced Multicultural Counseling
  - Advanced Theories and Techniques in Psychotherapy

Total: 24 Hours

Additional Requirements for Program Area Two: Public School Counseling Certificate (MA)*

  - Addictions Counseling
  - Developing & Implementing a School Counseling Program: ASCA
  - Introduction to School Counseling
  - Practicum in School Counseling
  - Counseling Children, Adolescents and Their Parents
  - Developmental Counseling in Schools: Prevention & Intervention
  - Mental Health Diagnosis
Place Test is required for the Colorado Department of Education Certification for school counselors.

Total: 21 Hours

* 100 hour practicum is required in the schools (CPCE 5915).  Three hundred of the 600 hours of internship must be in a concentrated environment. Full time experience consisting of at least a four-hour block of time each day is required. Students may not do their internship in their primary employment (agency or school setting). For school counseling, three hundred (300) hours of internship are needed at the middle and secondary level for a K-12 program. CPCE 5150, 6140 and 7100 are necessary for students to work with school-related family issues, individual counseling and children’s counseling in practicum and internship.

Additional Requirements for Program Area Three: Couple and Family Counseling/Therapy (MA)

  - Techniques in Family Therapy
  - Issues In Family Studies
  - Counseling Couples
  - Introduction to Sex Therapy
  - Counseling Children, Adolescents and Their Parents
  - Advanced Assessment: Theory and Treatment in Family Systems
  - Mental Health Diagnosis

Total: 21 Hours

*CPCE 5160 is necessary prior to internship in couple and family therapy; this course requires 10 hours of laboratory experiences working with youth.

Additional Requirements for Program Area Four: Higher Education and Student Affairs*

  - Foundations of Student Affairs
  - Diversity in Higher Education
  - Student Development Theory
  - Leadership and Organizations
  - Higher Education Law and Ethics
  - Internship in Counseling
Comprehensive Exam

Total: 15 Hours

* Students who have completed HESA courses as part of the Human Development and Family Relations undergraduate major or minor at CU Denver, will be allowed to use these courses to satisfy program requirements; but, they will not receive graduate credit for these courses. As such, these students will be required to take elective courses to reach the 45 credit hour requirement.

Counseling Clinical Experiences

  - Practicum in CPCE
  - Internship in Counseling

Total: 12 Hours

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