What you will study
UCM’s Educational Specialist program gives you the counseling skills and knowledge
you need to provide individual and group counseling in care settings such as schools
and mental health care facilities. You’ll also develop analytical, research and leadership
skills to prepare you to develop and manage licensed professional counselor programs
in your chosen area.
Add electives to the core classes to build a curriculum personalized to your needs
and goals. Choose from classes such as:
- Qualitative Research
- Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
- Program Evaluation and Research in Counseling and/or Play Therapy
Excellence in Professional Leadership
- UCM is one of only 29 schools in the U.S. with a play therapy training program and
approval from the Association for Play Therapy. Our Play Therapy Training Institute fully prepares students with the educational requirements needed to seek a School
Based-Registered Play Therapist credential.
Unique learning opportunities in a licensed professional counselor program
UCM’s Education Specialist program in Counseling offers excellent hands-on learning
opportunities in how to become a licensed professional counselor designed to develop
your leadership, clinical and research skills.
- Internships: Gain practical hands-on training from a mentor with professional counselor licensure
or certification. As a graduate student earning an Education Specialist degree, you’ll
have the opportunity to complete one or more internships focusing on your specialty
area. UCM partners with local elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, clinics
and private practices to provide a variety of options.
- On-campus counseling clinics: UCM’s state-of-the-art counseling clinics offer you hands-on, supervised practice
to prepare for professional counselor licensure. These clinics are available at the
Warrensburg and Lee’s Summit campuses and students can use either or both locations.
- Research training: Choose an internship to further focus your required traditional thesis or paper/project
for your capstone. Both the thesis and readings course are research-focused and supervised
by faculty members. These capstones in UCM’s Education Specialist programs give you
the space for in-depth, personalized study not commonly included in traditional coursework.
What can you do with an Education Specialist degree in Counseling from UCM?
Students earning an Education Specialist degree with a concentration in school counseling
find work as elementary, middle and high school counselors. Graduates who pursue the
clinical mental health counseling concentration find work at community/clinical mental
health agencies, not-for-profit organizations, companies, hospitals or in private
practices.
Either way, UCM’s Education Specialist program in Counseling prepares you to sit for
the state exams necessary to obtain professional counselor licensure. Approximately
99% of our graduates with an Education Specialist degree in Counseling are employed
by the time they graduate from UCM.
How to become a licensed professional counselor
Use the interactive tool below to learn about salary potential, job growth, career
paths and more.
Financial assistance options for your Counseling Education Specialist degree
UCM strives to provide you with a variety of options for financial guidance and support to make your Education Specialist degree in Counseling more affordable. As a graduate
student, you may qualify for scholarships, grants, loans and work-study programs.
These funding opportunities make this graduate program a smart investment in your
future.
In addition to university-wide scholarships for students, we offer awards specifically
for students learning how to become a licensed professional counselor, including:
- Dr. K. Dale Helmick Memorial Scholarship
- William Burl Hammers Memorial Scholarship
- Maurice & Shirley How Johnson Education Scholarship
Use the UCM Scholarship Finder to learn more about program-specific scholarships.
Meet Dr. Lucy Phillips
Assistant professor of counseling
Dr. Phillips has her professional counselor licensure, as well as professional experience
in university counseling centers, private practices, crisis counseling centers and
a behavioral health agency. Her research interests include self-compassion and shame,
counselor development and education and empirically supported treatment.
Meet Victoria F.
EdS Professional Leadership - Counseling ’24 (anticipated)
“I love the graduate program UCM offers for School Counseling for many reasons, one
of them being how much we are truly engaged with the classes. The professors are very
passionate and understanding of any questions we may have and helping us find our
own path. Another reason I love this program so much is the relationships I’ve built
with my peers along the way!”
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