M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling – Online Program Delivery

Space in our online program is limited. Apply now for Fall 2008 matriculation.

If you live outside of the Buffalo area and are interested in earning your master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, our online program option is for you. Designed with the working professional and career changer in mind, this challenging curriculum will be offered completely online on a part-time basis (typically 2 courses per semester). Degree completion is typically achieved within a 3-year period.

All online coursework is completed via UBlearns, the university's Internet learning platform. When applying, please select "online" as your delivery option. Information on the online delivery option is outlined below. Please note, all practica, field work, and internships will be coordinated within your community.

• Program Overview and Schedule
• Clinical Training Experience
• Comprehensive Examination
• Academic Procedures and Deadlines
• Advisement and Communication

Program Overview and Schedule

The Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling is one of several programs in the Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology (CSEP). The online curriculum is delivered over two and a half years of part-time study (approximately 6 credits per semester), requiring a minimum of 48 credit hours.

Online Program Schedule

Fall 2008:
CSEP 649 Rehabilitation Foundations
CSEP 653 Foundations of Counseling Theory

Spring 2009:
CSEP 503 Tests & Measurements in Counseling
CSEP 596 Field Work (Counseling Techniques)

Summer 2009:
CSEP 680 Career Development
CSEP 683 Vocational Placement

Fall 2009:
CSEP 532 Intro to Statistical Research
CSEP 597 Counseling Practicum (150 contact hours)

Spring 2010:
CSEP 658 Intro to Group Work
CSEP 661 Medical Psychosocial

Summer 2010:
CSEP Special Topics Course
Comprehensive Exam

Fall 2010:
CSEP 600 Internship (600 Contact hours)

Continuous Registration:

The program must be completed within five years of the date of matriculation. An extension of this time limit may be petitioned, but students may be required to take additional course work or show currency in other ways. Students need to maintain continuous registration each academic year (fall and spring semester) from the time they matriculate until they graduate. Students who have not registered for at least one credit per semester will have to reapply for admission to the program. Illness or other personal reasons may require an interruption in study. Students can petition for a leave of absence, usually one year in length, when it is impossible for them to maintain registration. Time on leave of absence does not count against the five-year limitation, and the requirement for continuous registration is waived. If students anticipate the need to be absent, it is to their advantage to file a request for leave, prior to the beginning of the semester beginning their leave period. Petitions filed after leave has begun may be denied. Leave forms may be obtained in within your online student program information area (you are enrolled in this upon admission).

Within the department certain courses cover foundations, knowledge, and skills that are common to all programs. These courses constitute a professional counseling core and may be taught by CSEP faculty from other programs. The counseling core include the study of the history of counseling, counseling theory, ethical and professional issues, vocational development, working with groups, tests and measurements, and research methods. Rehabilitation counseling students are also required to take courses specific to the field of rehabilitation, introducing them to the basic principles, history, institutions, and resources within the field of rehabilitation, and to the medical and psychosocial problems faced by persons with disabilities and their families. All of these courses are taught by the rehabilitation faculty. Transfer courses must be approved by your advisor.

Clinical Training Experience:

All Field Work, Practicum, and Internship placements must be arranged through the use of the Department's Clinical Coordinator. The Clinical Coordinator is a part-time staff member in the department who is responsible for securing and maintaining Affiliation Agreements between the University and cooperating agencies (e.g., rehabilitation facilities, mental health clinics, substance abuse treatment centers, private rehabilitation companies). The online program clinical coordinator will contact you at least one semester prior to your participation in any training experience.

1. Field Work

In Field Work, the expectation is that the student may not have had much training or experience working in rehabilitation. Prior to being placed in the field, students get basic training in counseling skills. For some students, this brief training and the introduction to rehabilitation in the community gained from the lectures and field visits given during the first half of the semester will be the only specific background they have. Students go to their field work placements for the second half of the semester, arranging their schedule so that they spend a total of about 50 hours in the field. The field portion of the Field Work course should afford the student the chance to learn about one particular agency, its clientele, and the method of operation. Students should get as thorough an introduction to the agency as possible. Their client contact may be a pre-counseling, informational kind of meeting, observation of a session involving an agency counselor, participant observation in a group, etc. Supervision of Field Work is through a supervisor at the site, and group supervision on campus, augmented by individual supervision as needed.

Many students come to Field Work with considerable experience in counseling and rehabilitation, gained through previous employment. It should be remembered that students are at the agency for an educational experience, not to serve as unpaid employees, though they will help in the delivery of services. Occasionally, students want to do field work at a site at which they are currently employed, or where they have worked. If the site meets the other requirements for suitable placement, the fact that students are current or former employees will not disqualify the site. Generally students should not do more than one field placement at a site where they are or have been employed and their time there must constitute a learning experience such as working in a new program or with different clientele (the program does not give credit for work experience).

2. Practicum

Ordinarily, but not necessarily, the student stays on for the Practicum at the Field Work site. Such continuity reduces the time required for introduction and orientation. In Practicum, it is expected that the student begin counseling with a small caseload under the close supervision of their on-site and on-campus supervisors. Caseload responsibilities should include program planning and implementation, again under close supervision. The student's time schedule should be worked out by the student and the on-site supervisor. The total number of hours expected for both the Practicum and the Internship is 300 hours per semester (600 hours total). Ordinarily, this can be met by scheduling the equivalent of three eight-hour days a week on site. University supervision is done through weekly sessions with faculty or advanced doctoral students, plus a weekly Practicum seminar. This is in addition to the supervision done by the site supervisor.

3. Internship

Students are required to do their Internship at a site different from their Practicum. Ordinarily, students must get at least two different experiences during their education. The Internship should take a counselor-in-training with basic skills in counseling and experience in one setting, and provide additional experience and practice. At the end of the Internship, the student should be able to function as well as beginning agency staff. Supervision is provided by the on-site supervisor, and by weekly individual supervision on campus. The student should be given responsibility for a small caseload to be handled with only somewhat more supervision than a beginning employee.

Comprehensive Examination:

Information regarding the comprehensive examination for our online program will be posted in early 2009.

Academic Procedures and Deadlines:

You will find that there are a number of academic procedures and deadlines that you are responsible for in this program. All of these procedures and deadlines will be linked within the Graduate School of Education website (see the current students section) and within your online program information section. If you do not adhere to these procedures and deadlines you might find that your diploma is delayed. The major procedures are outlined below:

1. Application to Candidacy:

This is your statement of program and is the most important document required for you to graduate. This form must be completed and approved by the semester before the one in which you intend to graduate. To be sure that there is time to do this, we ask that you complete the procedure during your second semester. Watch the announcements on your email for specific dates. Students can obtain the form here: Application to Candidacy (ATC)

2. Grades:

Grading practices follow certain Graduate School and University guidelines which you should read in the Bulletin. Each instructor will announce specific grading policies in each class. At least 75% of the student's program (credit hours) must consist of graded (not S-U) courses. There are a few other points you should especially note:

Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory (S-U) Grades: Most instructors are reluctant to use S-U grades in graduate level courses for students majoring in the Department.. One exception is in the Field Work/Practicum/ Internship sequence, where S-U grades are the rule. If you want to be graded S-U in an academic course, you should talk to the instructor prior to entering the course. As indicated above, the Graduate School policy on S-U grades requires that no more than 25% of your grades (clinical courses excepted) can be S-U.

Incompletes: All instructors will announce their specific policy about incomplete (I) grades. You should avoid incompletes if you possibly can. If unavoidable events (illness, accident) require an incomplete, contract with the instructor, in writing, specific dates and procedures for completing the course. Be aware of the current Graduate School policy for Incomplete Grades, or you may find yourself with an "U" in your transcript.

Advisement and Communication:

The online program has a dedicated academic advisor. The incoming student is expected to initiate and maintain regular contact with his/her advisor. The advisor, in addition to helping guide the student through the program, is responsible for supervising the student's internship and research project. Students may change advisors at anytime in their program, but must do so with consultation and permission from their current and proposed advisors.

Upon beginning the program, rehabilitation counseling students are required to obtain and activate their UB email addresses (this service is provided at no additional cost to you). You may activate your email address by contacting Computing and Information Technology (CIT) at http://ubit.buffalo.edu/students/. You may access your email from any of the computer labs or libraries on campus. Students who have their own computers may dial into the UB server and access at home as well. Students are responsible for checking their email on a regular, if not daily, to get announcements/information about deadlines, program changes, internship and job opportunities, and so forth. In many instances, email is the only vehicle used for announcements.