CECP Master's Degree in Counseling Program
Master's Degree in Counseling
Our master’s programs in counseling include a variety of courses, practicum and training experiences that offer comprehensive preparation for professional practice as a counselor in various clinical and school settings. Training in counseling begins in the first semester, practicum usually begins in the second semester of the first year, and internships continue into the second year.
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Foundations of Early Childhood Mental Health 1
Program philosophy
Our programs use a developmental perspective that emphasizes growth and development, improving individuals' quality of life, and focusing on strengths and resources, in addition to psychological deficits and problems. The ability to diagnose and treat psychopathology is an essential skill in our graduates. Additionally, we emphasize prevention and the need for proactive systems interventions. For example, fighting poverty, racism and other destructive societal and community influences are more important in certain contexts than applying individualized counseling interventions.
Program Learning Outcomes
1. Apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social-cultural foundations of behavior and evidence-based counseling approaches to diverse individuals and groups.
2. Apply professional, ethical, and legal standards in their counseling practices.
3. Assume advocacy roles for the mental health care of underserved individuals and groups in urban settings.
4. Integrate self-awareness, counseling roles and reflective practices into a professional counseling identity.
5a. Lead the development and implementation of critical interventions of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program in culturally diverse, urban PK-12 schools.
5b. Provide clinical mental health counseling prevention and treatment services for diverse individuals and groups in community settings.
Statement about Diversity
The Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, as well as Marquette University as a whole, is committed to social justice. These commitments are reflected in the Marquette University Statement on Human Dignity and Diversity, which reads, "As a Catholic, Jesuit university, Marquette recognizes and cherishes the dignity of each individual regardless of age, culture, faith, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, disability or social class." Our department emphasizes the importance of diversity and multicultural influences on development in all of our programs, including our course work and research, as well as throughout our practicum and internship training. The department expects that all faculty and students will engage in respectful explorations of issues regarding diversity and multiculturalism as we develop more fully our commitment to social justice. In addition, faculty and students are all expected to explore their own attitudes, knowledge and behaviors with regard to various forms of discrimination so that the quality of our research, teaching and practice improves.
Marquette University Jesuit Tradition
Our counseling programs also exist within the context of the Jesuit educational tradition. This includes assisting students to develop a care and respect for self and others consistent with the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, or care for the person, and service to others. This 450-year-old tradition emphasizes a care for the whole person and the greater community, a tradition that is also very consistent with the history and emphases of counseling psychology. This orientation is also consistent with the mission and vision of the College of Education at Marquette, the graduates of which "will be 'men and women for others' who have a commitment to transforming social inequities in their schools, institutions and communities and who exhibit Marquette's hallmarks of excellence, faith, leadership and service."
Who Should Apply?
Students with a bachelor's degree who wish to pursue a license-eligible degree in the field of counseling, or who anticipate pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology should apply to this program.
Students with a variety of backgrounds are admitted to our programs. Some enter with a bachelor’s degree, others have completed some graduate courses, others have a master’s degree in a mental health field, and a few have even had doctoral degrees in another field but wish to retrain as counselors and counseling psychologists. All applicants must have at least attained a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
