Master of Education Program
COUNSELING

Mission: The mission of the Counselor Education program at the University of Houston-Victoria is to educate, train and mentor students from diverse backgrounds to earn a master’s degree in School Counseling or Community Counseling. UHV students are primarily drawn from urban and rural areas close to Victoria, Texas or the Greater Houston region. The UHV Counselor Education faculty members expect our students to engage in academic and experiential learning, and to develop a strong professional identity and multicultural sensitivity. The faculty members are committed to promoting the development of student competence in the provision of counseling, professional advocacy, and community outreach. The School Counseling Program and Community Counseling Program require 48 semester hours of course work which satisfy the educational requirement for the Texas LPC, Licensed Professional Counselor.

Comprehensive Examinations for Counselors
Students in both programs must pass a comprehensive examination on the content of one education core course and the content of two counseling courses, one of which must come from a theory course. One counseling question must come from the student’s advisor. Students are eligible to take the comprehensive exam either the semester before or during the semester they intend to graduate. Students who fail one part of the exam may re-take the exam within the same semester in which it was first attempted. Students who fail more than one part of the comprehensive examination must wait until the next semester before they may re-take the examination. A subsequent failure will result in required remedial work and may delay graduation. After three failures, students will be withdrawn from the program and, therefore, be deemed ineligible for graduation.

Admission Requirements
Applicants for admission to the Counseling Program must first satisfy requirements for admission to University of Houston – Victoria graduate studies as described in the Admissions section of the catalog.

Send the following to the office of Admissions and Records:

1. Completed application for graduate admission
2. Official transcripts of all coursework completed and baccalaureate or higher degrees conferred, sent directly from each institution to UHV
3. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Miller's Analogies Test (MAT) directly from the testing center to UHV

Admission to the Counseling Program is provisional until the following procedures are completed.

1. Students show evidence of achieving an index score no lower than 1400
2. Students submit three professional or academic reference letters that speak to the students' academic achievement, their potential to successfully complete graduate work, and their professional characteristics.
3. Students submit a writing sample that describes why they want to pursue professional counseling as a career. In addition, the statement should include what the student thinks his or her strengths are for counseling, and any other information that would be helpful in evaluating the students' potential for success in the counseling program. Limit the statement to no more than two pages double-spaced.
4. Students whose application materials are deemed satisfactory will be invited to interview with the admissions interview committee. The admissions interview committee will always be composed of at least two faculty members and one current student. The purpose of the interview will be to further assess the applicant's personal qualities that are useful for graduate and eventual professional work as a counselor, to clarify any questions that the committee members have about the applicant's materials, to determine if the applicant's professional goals are in alignment with the objective of the program, and to share more information about the program with the applicant.

Return the complete application file in one envelope to:
School of Education and Human Development

Counseling Program
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, Texas 77901

Applicants will be notified in writing for the committee’s decision. Admissions decisions occur in the spring and fall semesters.

The faculty members of the Counseling Program at UHV share a commitment to diversity and to pluralistic education and training, and therefore do not discriminate.

Program Options:

The Community Counseling option prepares students for counseling positions in various community agencies such as mental health centers, private counseling agencies, drug abuse centers, centers for counseling the elderly, child protective services, family counseling centers, business and industry.

The School Counseling option prepares students for the TExES exam and the Texas School Counselor certificate.

Both the Community Counseling option and the School Counseling option meet the academic specifications for Texas licensure as a Professional Counselor (LPC).

Degree Requirements: 12 semester hours from the core courses; 33 semester hours from the plan; and 3 hours of elective courses as approved by faculty advisor.

SCHOOL COUNSELING

Core:	CED 6311 Multicultural Counseling CED 6318 Assessment in Counseling FED 6321 Foundations of Educational Research FED 6331 Human Growth and Development
Plan:	CED 6310 Counseling in the Schools CED 6317 Couples and Family Counseling CED 6321 Professional Orientation to Counseling CED 6322 Abnormal Human Behavior CED 6325 Career Education: The Counselor’s Role CED 6327 Theories of Counseling CED 6329 Group Counseling: Theories and Techniques CED 6333 Counseling Techniques CED 6303 Practicum in Counseling CED Elective CED 6348 Internship I CED 6348 Internship II

COMMUNITY COUNSELING

Core:	CED 6311 Multicultural Counseling CED 6318 Assessment in Counseling FED 6321 Foundations of Educational Research FED 6331 Human Growth and Development
Plan:	CED 6317 Couples and Family Counseling CED 6321 Professional Orientation to Counseling CED 6322 Abnormal Human Behavior CED 6325 Career Education: The Counselor' Role CED 6327 Theories of Counseling CED 6329 Group Counseling: Theories and Techniques CED 6333 Counseling Techniques CED 6350 Community Agency Counseling CED 6303 Practicum in Counseling CED Elective CED 6348 Internship I CED 6348 Internship II

Practicum
All students enrolling in a practicum must have successfully completed 24 hours in the counseling program to include CED 6321, CED 6327, or CED 6317, and CED 6311

• Counselors seeking school certification must have completed CED 6310.
• Counselors seeking Texas LPC must have completed CED 6322.

Additional Requirements for the School Counselor certificate:

1. Hold a valid Texas teaching certificate.
2. Masters degree in counseling or a related educational field.
3. A minimum of two years of teaching experience in an accredited school.
4. Admission to graduate study within the School of Education and Human Development and to the Counseling program must precede the completion of coursework.
5. Completion of 39 semester hours of approved courses related to the program for counseling.
6. Pass the TEXES #152.

UHV-Counseling Evaluation, Remediation, and Retention Policy
The Counselor Education faculty members participate in an ongoing review of student progress in order to make decisions about student retention in the program. This review process helps to ensure that students, a) are completing program requirements successfully and making reasonable progress toward graduation, and b) have achieved an adequate level of professional and personal development in keeping with their future role as professional counselors. Faculty recourse to student's failure to meet the academic or professional expectations may be either remediation or removal from the program. More detailed information is available from the faculty advisor or in the Student Counseling Handbook.