Return to: College of Education and Human Development

Alan Forrest, Chairperson and Graduate
Program Coordinator
Graduate Faculty
See Graduate Faculty list at:
http://gradcollege.asp.radford.edu/faculty.html

The Counseling and Human Development program offers graduate education leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) degree for students interested in becoming professional counselors and working in elementary, middle and secondary schools, colleges and universities, community counseling centers, hospitals, agencies or clinics.

Two programs in the department were nationally accredited in 1996 and reaccredited in 2004 by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Accredited programs currently include Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling. The program is also accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (2004) and the Virginia Department of Education (2004). These certification and accreditation achievements certify that the department offers the highest quality professional education available in the counseling professions.

Professional Endorsements and Licensure

Courses in the department are often used for educational endorsements and for state licensure by professional regulatory boards such as the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Counseling and other licensing agencies. Students with master’s degrees seeking endorsements in School Counseling, needing specialized courses or seeking to enroll in supervised clinical practica or internships in community counseling leading to licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor, must complete the following advanced level course sequence prior to enrolling in any of the department’s clinical internships. The sequence of required courses are: COED 641 - Practicum: Individual Counseling Techniques  and COED 642 - Practicum: Group Counseling Techniques . COED 641  and COED 642  must be completed in the department prior to enrolling in any counseling internship offered in the department. Other courses offered by the department can be taken for the purpose of professional endorsement certification or licensure with approval of the chair.

Specialized Endorsements and Licensure Features

School Counseling (K-12): Graduates of the school counseling program are eligible to obtain licensure by the state at the kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) level. Licensure as a Virginia school counselor requires the candidate have a master’s degree from a state approved program in counseling.

Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC)

Radford University’s Department of Counselor Education provides academic course work that meets degree requirements established by the Virginia Board of Counseling for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Licensure for Professional Counselor in Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Health Professions Board of Counseling is the state agency that determines licensure for professional counselors in Virginia. The state of Virginia requires that the applicant for licensure shall have completed 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of graduate study in the following core areas, with a minimum of 3 semester hours or 4.5 quarter hours in each of the areas identified as follows:

• Professional identity, function and ethics;
• Theories of counseling and psychotherapy;
• Counseling and psychotherapy techniques;
• Human growth and development;
• Group counseling and psychotherapy, theories and techniques;
• Career counseling and development theories and techniques;
• Appraisal, evaluation and diagnostic procedures;
• Abnormal behavior and psychopathology;
• Multicultural counseling, theories and techniques;
• Research;
• Diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders;
• Marriage and family systems theory; and
• Supervised internship of 600 hours to include 240 hours of face-to-face client contact.

The Department of Counselor Education has identified courses which may be taken to satisfy the core areas listed above. Students wishing to pursue licensure in Virginia should consult with their advisor in planning their program of study.

Counseling and Human Development:

Only those students who already have a master’s degree or are seeking licensure will be permitted to enroll in Counseling and Human Development (COED) courses. Special permission for students seeking a master’s degree in another department can request permission to enroll in classes from the department chair.

National Certification

Counselors in both concentrations – Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling – can earn the national certification from the National Board of Certified Counselor (NBCC) by successfully passing the National Counselors Examination (NCE) offered upon completion of the program

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program is competitive and the department values diversity in its student population. Prospective students are selected for the program based on their ability to complete academic requirements of the program, personal qualifications necessary for success in the counseling profession and appropriateness of professional goals. The Admissions Committee of the department will evaluate academic qualifications and potential for success in the program based on an admissions application portfolio. Applicant admissions portfolios are evaluated throughout the year, but matriculation as a student into the Counseling and Human Development program is restricted to summer and fall terms only. Priority admission deadline is February 15 for summer and fall admissions. The space-available admission deadline is April 15 for summer and fall admissions. Special consideration for late admissions will be considered on a case by case basis until July 15 for fall admissions.

Admissions decisions are made based on an overall evaluation of all stated criteria. Failure to meet a minimum criterion in one area will not necessarily be cause for rejection of admission. The admissions portfolio shall include:

• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher;
• Official transcripts of all prior undergraduate and graduate work;
• A maximum of 9 credit hours may be transferred into the Counseling and Human Development program with the exclusion of the following clinical courses: COED 611 , COED 641 , COED 642  and COED 690 -COED 694 ;
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT) scores are required;
• Three personal reference letters submitted to the Graduate College; and an
• Admissions essay, limited to three pages, including experiences, interests and other factors central to your decision to apply to the program and short- and long-term goals and career aspirations related to the program.

An interview may be requested.

Admission is competitive.

Approximately 40 new students are admitted for fall matriculation each year.

Return to: College of Education and Human Development