Graduate Course Descriptions

The Qualitative Research II course provides students with the opportunity to use research designs appropriate to qualitative and action research questions, qualitative approaches to data analysis, and models and methods of program evaluation. Students will be asked to create research questions or hypotheses appropriate for professional research and publication and learn about strategies for conducting culturally relevant and culturally competent research. This course will add to the knowledge learned in Qualitative Research I and will culminate in a student-led qualitative research project that will be submitted to a professional conference of the student’s choosing.

The Counselor Education and Supervision Dissertation course provides students with a framework to initiate the dissertation proposal process. The course emphasis is on the development of a research topic, the steps in the development of an effective review of historic and current literature, and the process of selecting an appropriate research design and methods. Students are expected to select a topic of scientific inquiry based upon a research question and/or hypothesis which will be explored through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method research methodology. Students will also be guided in the selection of their dissertation committee.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Seminar course provides students with overview of teaching in Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs, development of programmatic curriculum, hands-on experience applying accreditation standards in CMHC programs, best practices for teaching clinical skills, supervising clinical mental health counseling students, clinical mental health counseling research, and client advocacy skills. The ACA Code of Ethics will be reviewed along with Clinical Mental Health Counseling-specific ethics from appropriate organizations.

The School Counseling Seminar course provides students with overview of teaching in School Counseling programs, development of programmatic curriculum, hands-on experience applying accreditation standards in school counseling programs, best practices for teaching clinical skills, supervising school counseling students, school counseling search, and student advocacy skills. The ACA Code of Ethics will be reviewed along with School Counseling-specific ethics codes from appropriate organizations.

The Addiction Counseling Seminar course provides students with overview of teaching in Addiction Counseling programs, development of programmatic curriculum, hands-on experience applying accreditation standards in Addiction Counseling programs, best practices for teaching clinical skills, supervising clinical addiction counseling students, addiction counseling research, and client advocacy skills. The ACA Code of Ethics will be reviewed along with Addiction Counseling-specific ethics codes from appropriate organizations.

The Student Affairs Counseling Seminar course provides students with overview of teaching in Student Affairs Counseling programs, development of programmatic curriculum, hands-on experience applying accreditation standards in Student Affairs Counseling programs, best practices for teaching student affairs skills, supervising Student Affairs Counselors, Student Affairs Counseling research, and student advocacy skills. The ACA Code of Ethics will be reviewed along with Student Affairs Counseling-specific codes from appropriate organizations.

This course provides students with an opportunity to engage with methods of program evaluation in terms of academic institutions, clinical mental health counseling settings, and private practices. Along with the introduction to program evaluation theory, students will be introduced to counseling consultation models which can be used in the settings listed above.

Students in the Counselor Education and Supervision program will need to pass the Counselor Education and Supervision Comprehensive Examination to transition from a doctoral student to a doctoral candidate. Students will not be able to start the Counselor Education and Supervision Dissertation until they have passed their Comprehensive Examination. The Comprehensive Examination will include a total of 15 questions prepared by the core faculty to assess proficiency in the areas of Clinical Counseling, Counseling Research, Clinical Supervision, Counselor Education, and Leadership and Advocacy.

Special topics courses in psychology. See course listing each semester for specific titles and descriptions.

A culminating experience which reflects the student’s synthesis and integration of knowledge. All students pursuing the M.A. degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling are required to sit for the Comprehensive Examination. In order to be eligible to take the Comprehensive Examination, the student must secure the chair’s approval and have completed the following requirements as described in catalog.