The Department of Counselor Education at the University of Montana provides a stimulating, safe, and academically rigorous learning environment. We prepare students to function as competent, ethical professional counselors who can work sensitively with culturally diverse consumers in a wide range of school and mental health settings. Our program recognizes the need for client advocacy and the importance of social justice.
The Department of Counselor Education at the University of Montana educates students for employment in school (K-12 and higher education) and community mental health and human service settings. Counselors are systems, family, and individual consultants, practitioners, and coordinators who assist in problem solving, decision-making skills, personal growth and development, and individual, family, school, and/or career issues. Counselors receive training in the eight core areas identified by the American Counseling Association Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs: human growth and development, social and cultural foundations, the helping relationship, group theories and methods, career and lifestyle development, client assessment and evaluation, research and program evaluation, and professional orientation.
Students may focus on School Counseling or Agency (Mental Health) Counseling (M.A.). Each track requires additional specialty courses and comprehensive written and oral examinations focused on the student's career track. The more advanced graduate degrees (Ed.S. and Ed.D.) develop depth, supervisory, and leadership skills in these areas.
Counselor Education Highlights |
Contact the Department of Counselor Education at counselored@mso.umt.edu.
CACREP
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), has granted accreditation to the following programs in the Counselor Education Program in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at the University of Montana School of Education: Mental Health Counseling (M.A.) and School Counseling (M.A.).
