We offer a Master of Science in Counseling Program with concentrations in Clinical Mental Health, Clinical and Vocational Rehabilitation, and School Counseling. Students can expand their career options with our Graduate Certificate Programs, which include Graduate Certificates in Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician/Community (MHRT/C), or Culturally Responsive Practices, and a self-directed Certificate of Advanced Study in Counseling.
Many of our courses are offered both online and in-person on the Gorham campus — students can select which option works best for their learning style and for their schedule. The low-residency Rehabilitation concentration is a blended program, with 90% of courses offered online and a flexible schedule for the required in-person courses. The MHRT/C Graduate Certificate is fully online. The University’s online programs offer out-of-state students reduced e-tuition.
Our curriculum explores human development and behavior, individual counseling theory, group theory and dynamics, research methodology, and psychological measurement and evaluation, in addition to courses focusing on each area of concentration.
Our Faculty
Our faculty members are deeply committed to student success. Many have served as professional counselors and clinicians, and each strives to provide leadership for the counseling profession at the state, regional, and national levels.
Among their professional affiliations, our faculty hold memberships, or serve as representatives or board members of the following organizations:
- American Counseling Association
- American Mental Health Counselors Association
- American School Counselor Association
- Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors
- Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling
- Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling
- Maine Mental Health Counselors Association
- Maine School Counselor Association
- National Board of Certified Counselors
- National Council on Rehabilitation Education
- National Education Association
- Northern New England Association of Counselor Education and Supervision
Beyond the Classroom
Through our community partnerships, we have offered more than 125 agency sites and 110 school sites for students to select for their practicum and internship experience. We work with students to select practicum sites that align with their location, their schedule, and their career paths.
We assist our out-of-state students studying in the Rehabilitation concentration in selecting fieldwork sites that are close to their homes.
Read more about the student experience Beyond the Classroom.
Accreditation
Our Master’s of Science in Counseling program is fully accredited through the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP).
Read more about our Accreditation and Program Outcomes.
Mission & Philosophy
Our mission is to prepare counselors for ethical practice.
Our philosophy is to prepare our graduates to act as facilitators of change in the lives of individuals at all developmental levels. By modeling high standards of professionalism and offering a foundation of knowledge, skills, self-awareness, and practice, the Counselor Education program aspires to prepare counselors of the highest quality to work in schools, mental health agencies, businesses, hospitals, rehabilitation organizations, private practice, and other settings.
School of Education and Human Development
As a program within the School of Education and Human Development, the Counselor Education program is part of a rich history dating back to the Gorham Normal School, established by the state of Maine in 1878. Today, the School of Education and Human Development has a mission of preparing educators and human development professionals for responsible service that is as relevant to society today as it was more than a century ago.