Counseling, School Concentration, M.S.

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The Master of Science in Counseling (MSC) degree provides graduates with the counseling knowledge and skills used in school, clinical mental health, and rehabilitation settings. Students study human development and behavior, individual counseling theory, group theory and dynamics, research methodology, and psychological measurement and evaluation, in addition to courses in individual concentrations-school counseling and clinical mental health counseling.

Depending on the MSC concentration, we offer face-to-face, online, hybrid, blended, or any combination of for synchronous and asynchronous course delivery. Course instruction includes a variety of teaching and learning strategies, depending on the nature of the course, such as lectures, group discussion (synchronous and asynchronous), in class exercises, supervised case review, cooperative learning, service learning, guided practice, introspection and critical thinking. In addition to coursework, each student must successfully pass the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE).

The counselor education program holds accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP).

Program Requirements

School Counseling Concentration (60 credits)

The school counseling specialty requires a total of sixty credit hours of coursework. Upon completion, students are eligible for certification from the Maine Department of Education in the area of school counseling, levels K-12. Certified graduates are qualified to become employed in elementary, middle, and secondary schools in Maine. Students are trained to become specialists in the planning and delivery of data driven comprehensive developmental school counseling programs that promote the academic, career, social/emotional development of all children/adolescents. Students in this concentration also learn advocacy and collaboration skills to better serve their student clients in educational environments. Graduates of this specialty are eligible to sit for the National Counselor Examination. Students must take the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE). Students must take the CPCE prior to their practicum experience and successfully pass in order to enter their internship experience. The school counseling specialty holds accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP). For those students who complete the State of Maine Department of Education 8 course requirement to attain a conditional school counseling certification must complete the following 8 courses in order for your academic advisor to provide you with an attestation letter:

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Core Courses (36 credits)

Required Concentration Courses (21 credits)

Elective (3 credits)

Certification Note: To receive certification as a school counselor in the state of Maine, students must take an exceptionalities course. This may be an undergraduate or graduate course. This can be taken in place of the elective.

A Master of Science in Counseling with the combination of required courses can prepare graduates for one or more of these professional credentials:

Certified School Counselor (CSC)

*Students must work with their advisor and external governing bodies to ensure eligibility when seeking additional credentials*

Transfer Credit Policy

A graduate student in a master’s program in counseling at another university may transfer into our program a maximum of 18 credits (6 - 3 credit courses) from the other institution, under the following conditions:

The program from which the student is transferring is a CACREP - approved program from an accredited university.
The student has passed the course with a grade of B or better, and has taken the course within the past three years, a request for transfer credit may be made. Students must submit an official grade transcript including the course(s) for which transfer credit is being requested and a detailed course description or syllabus to verify course equivalency to a HCE graduate course.
The student is in good standing and comes with the recommendation of the program coordinator.
The student is admitted and matriculated in USM’s MS in Counseling.

Transfer between Specialty Areas within the USM Counselor Education Program

Transfer from one specialty to another within the counselor education program is permissible only if re-application and admission is made to the specialty of interest during the regular admissions process. Multiple specialties are permissible upon consultation with one’s advisor.
Approval for extramural credit must be completed prior to registration.