Rehabilitation Counseling, MS (online)
*If you are applying to the online version of a program, please be aware that your start term should be summer (e.g. Summer 2012). If you put start term fall (e.g. Fall 2012), you will be taking summer courses as a non-degree student which means you will not be eligible for financial aid until the fall semester. The starting term and program cannot be changed once you submit the application. Thank you.
**Students must check with the licensing board in the state in which they want to be licensed to verify that our program meets their state's requirements for licensure.
Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling
The Department of Counseling and School Psychology offers a primarily online Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) fully accredited Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. It is a 60-credit degree which meets the academic requirements for national certification as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. Students complete a series of general counseling courses and courses specific to rehabilitation counseling. In addition, students complete supervised field experiences in rehabilitation counseling settings through practicum and internship. The program requires a 100-hour practicum in approved placement sites. A 600-hour internship, divided evenly between two semesters, is also required. While engaged in the field work placement, students attend on-line seminars and receive group supervision through synchronous web conferencing. The field experiences may be completed in local agencies where students reside and they must be supervised via an approved internship site supervisor.
Rehabilitation Counseling Online Program Coordinator:
Sheila Fesko, sheila.fesko@umb.edu
Program Information
* The University of Massachusetts Boston is regionally accredited through NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges), and the MS online degree program in rehabilitation counseling is accredited through CORE (Council on Rehabilitation Education). To ensure superior quality, the online program is modeled after the on-campus program, offering many of the same instructors teaching the courses.
* Upon completion of the program a student will receive the same degree as any on-campus student.
* The MS online program in rehabilitation counseling meets the national certification requirements for the CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor) and the Massachusetts educational requirements for licensure as a rehabilitation counselor (LRC). Students are eligible to take the CRC exam after having successfully completed 75% of the rehabilitation counseling curriculum courses. Additional post-graduate supervised employment hours within the field are required for licensure as an LRC. The CRC is a national certification and may be accepted in other states. For licensure (LRC) requirements in other states, we recommend checking the state’s Board of Registration and Licensure website or contacting them directly.
* The online program in rehabilitation counseling follows a cohort model and is completed in two years, full time. The program begins every summer with one online course and two face-to-face courses, which are completed over a two-week period at UMass Dartmouth. Students must be present at UMass Dartmouth to complete this work. The remaining program coursework is completed online. Our online courses are run using both synchronous and asynchronous teaching methods. Synchronous meetings entail weekly one hour to one and a half hour classes in which students have the opportunity to verbally participate in an online classroom with their peers and professor. Typically, synchronous meetings are held from 5pm EST onward during the week. Each online course runs for a total of 13 weeks.
Admissions
Deadline to apply is January 2nd*; program begins every summer
* Rehabilitation Counseling Program Applications received after this date will be considered on a space-available basis.
Admissions requirements may be viewed at
http://www.umb.edu/academics/cehd/counseling/admissions/counseling
Within your application personal statement, please address your interest in pursuing the Online Rehabilitation Counseling Program (please indicate summer start-term).
RSA Training Scholarships
Training scholarships are now available to eligible graduate students of the University of Massachusetts Boston Rehabilitation Counseling program. These scholarships are made available from a Long-Term Training grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Please contact program director, Dr. Sheila Fesko, for information and scholarship application materials.
Program Outcomes Information
The University of Massachusetts-Boston (UMB) offers a campus-based and an online Rehabilitation Counseling Masters of Science program, both fully accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) through 2014 (www.core-rehab.org)
The online program admits students to begin each summer semester and the campus-based program admits students each fall semester with a goal of admitting 8-10 students annually for the graduate cohort. There are currently 24 students enrolled in the graduate program. The grade point average of the current students in the program is 3.8/4.0.
Across academic years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, a total of 13 students graduated from the program. Of these students, 100% passed their clinical coursework and capstone projects. As graduates, 100% are now employed in the rehabilitation field. Nine of the thirteen graduates elected to take the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam and 100% passed (www.crccertification.com).
Thank you for your interest in the rehabilitation counseling online degree program. Please contact Program Coordinator, Dr. Sheila Fesko sheila.fesko@umb.edu for more information.
