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Highlights For:
Professional Counseling and Psychology Programs
Track 1: Counseling and Psychological Services, M.S.Ed.
Track 2: School Counseling, M.S.Ed.
Track 3: Professional Counseling, M.Phil.Ed.
[For information about our Executive Model Counseling Program for Working Professionals, click here]
Track 1 - Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
M.S.Ed. (10 course units, equivalent to 30 credits)
This full-time, one-calendar-year master's program prepares graduates to work as mental health counselors, therapists, researchers, or school counselors. Graduates provide counseling and psychological services for children, adolescents, college students, families, or adults. The program's innovative format combines coursework with practical field experience. Students take core courses in counseling and psychological services. Further study is based on students' specialization.
The Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. Program requires a minimum of 10 course units of approved graduate work beyond the baccalaureate degree. In addition, all students must meet a distributional course requirement that demonstrates breadth within the field of education, take a written examination in the area of specialization, and complete a two-semester practicum assignment.
Satisfactory grades in Introductory Psychology and Introductory Statistics courses are prerequisites for matriculation into the Counseling and Psychological Services program.
A two-semester field placement provides the opportunity for students to learn and practice counseling skills in a professional and supportive environment. Students select placements from GSE's pool of high-quality training sites including mental health centers, schools, research centers, hospitals, and colleges. Students receive supervision both on-site and in a small seminar group format.
Many opportunities exist for student/faculty dialogue on professional issues. The coursework and practical experience work together to reinforce the development of the student's emerging professional identity and to prepare the student for a successful psychological career.
Students in the Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. track have options for further study and career goals. Toward the end of the first fall semester, students in the Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. program may:
- Apply to the School Counseling M.S.Ed. track (Track 2) in Elementary or Secondary School Counseling for the State of Pennsylvania counseling certification.
- Apply to the advanced, second-year Professional Counseling (PC) program (Track 3) leading to licensure as a Professional Counselor. This program involves an additional year immediately after the one-year Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. Program year. Taken consecutively, the two one-year programs are designed to give students a continuous two-year program and increased field experiences, as required for preparation toward licensure as a Professional Counselor. The PC track can also be done part time with immediate matriculation into the program upon completion of the Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. Program year (Track 1), and continuous course registration through degree completion.
- Choose to find employment or continue their studies by pursuing a doctoral degree at another institution after completing the Counseling and Psychological Services program (Track 1).
Track 2 - School Counseling
M.S.Ed. + Certification (16 course units, equivalent to 48 credits)
This program involves an additional six courses (two semesters) after the Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. program year (Track 1), in which students work in a full-time internship supervised by a certified school counselor, complete the additional academic courses, take the State of Pennsylvania Praxis examinations, and become certified as elementary or secondary school counselors for the State of Pennsylvania.
For answers to some frequently asked questions, click here.
Track 3 - Professional Counseling
M.Phil.Ed. (20 course units, equivalent to 60 credits)
The Professional Counseling (PC) program emphasizes supervised clinical skills-building, while addressing the emotional and behavioral health challenges facing individuals and group clientele in school, neighborhood, and community settings. This program involves an additional year of advanced study in the mastery of professional counseling, clinical assessment, and psychological consultation immediately following completion of the one-year Counseling and Psychological Services M.S.Ed. program (Track 1). Students may choose to complete the PC program at a slower pace through a part-time course of study. PC is a 10-course unit program with a required oral clinical comprehensive examination and a written report of that examination.
The PC curriculum prepares graduates for mid-level administrative and direct-service clinical, assessment, and consultation professional positions in education and mental health fields in public and private institutions, hospitals and health organizations, and state and federal criminal justice systems. Although prepared to pursue further graduate psychology study at the doctoral level, students who matriculate for the M.Phil.Ed. will be most interested in earning the M.Phil.Ed. to enhance their career prospects at this level, and not inclined to seek more advanced study at the doctoral level.
Graduates are prepared to design, apply, and interpret interventions for behavioral and emotional difficulties in school, home, and community settings; to provide psychological consultation to teachers, counselors, mental health professionals, and criminal justice professionals; and to address situations of life-course decision-making, family conflicts, academic engagement difficulties, and emotional distress as direct service professionals or as administrative and supervisory professionals. The curriculum is designed to prepare graduates to be eligible for licensure in professional counseling (LPC).
An integral part of the learning experience is the completion of an internship in a counseling setting. The nature of the internship will vary with the student's interests, and its purpose is to provide the student with practical clinical experience on an ongoing basis during the course of M.Phil.Ed. studies. The internship is arranged by mutual agreement of the student, the student's advisor, the PC internship course instructor, and the supervisor at the field site (who must be at least a licensed master's-level mental health professional). The student may or may not be compensated for services rendered under the internship experience, or may be compensated for part of the time. Performance in the internship experience must be satisfactory following the first semester evaluation, as certified by the field site supervisor, the student's academic advisor, and the PC program faculty. Satisfactory performance is a prerequisite for admission to the Oral and Written Clinical Comprehensive Examination for the M.Phil.Ed. degree.
The Oral Clinical Comprehensive Examination process for the M.Phil.Ed. program is designed to assess the student's active, working knowledge of the three major themes of the program: (1) applied psychology; (2) culture and contextual fit; and (3) human development. The examination assesses the student's competence in using and integrating applied skills in the setting where counselors work. The clinical examination will evaluate the student's ability to present one clinical case from her/his field placement experiences using videotape or audiotape analysis.
For answers to some frequently asked questions, click here.
Courses include:
EDUC 557 Interactional Processes with Adolescents EDUC 560 Human Development EDUC 580 Interactional Processes with Children EDUC 581 Advanced Psychology of Women EDUC 613 Group Counseling EDUC 617 Psychology of School-to-Career Transitions EDUC 663 Sociocultural Foundations of Applied Psychology EDUC 686 Psychological Intervention EDUC 725 Advanced Professional Development in Counseling Psychology EDUC 766 Advanced Professional Psychology Intervention EDUC 782 Advanced Psychological Assessment I
To view GSE course offerings, click here.
Program Faculty
Nichelle Davis Ahmaddiya, M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania Theodore R. Burnes, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara Davido Dupree, Ph.D., Emory University Suzanne Fegley, Ph.D., Temple University Douglas A. Frye, Ph.D., Yale University Helen Hamlet, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Michael Nakkula, Ed.D., Harvard Graduate School of Education Dianne S. Salter, Ph.D., Adelphi University, J.D., Rutgers School of Law Amy Sichel, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Diana Slaughter-Defoe, Ph.D., University of Chicago Jeanne L. Stanley, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Howard C. Stevenson, Ph.D., Fuller Graduate School of Psychology Duane E. Thomas, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University Daniel A. Wagner, Ph.D., University of Michigan Caroline Watts, Ed.D., Harvard Graduate School of Education
Program Contact
Evelyn A. Jordan, Division Coordinator
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education
Applied Psychology-Human Development Programs
3700 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216
evelynj@gse.upenn.edu
Visit the University of Pennsylvania Web site