Program Goals

The faculty of the Department of Counseling established the following goals in support of our mission and vision:

• To develop and maintain a curriculum based on current knowledge concerning the counseling and human development needs of a global community,
• To challenge and support student and faculty growth in human understanding, dignity, and positive interactions on all levels,
• To promote social justice, especially for groups that have been historically disenfranchised ,
• To develop collaborative partnerships that foster our mission,
• To provide excellent instruction, research, and community service, and
• To achieve excellence by maintaining CACREP accreditation at both the Master’s and Doctoral levels.

Commitment to Diversity

The Department of Counseling’s faculty is committed to integrating teaching, scholarship, research, clinical practice, and service, while promoting a climate of social justice, systemic change and advocacy. This commitment extends to training students to be practitioners and educators who actively engage in critical self-reflection, scholarship, and practice in an effort to effectively transform communities, institutions, and systems.

program objectives

In alignment with the 2024 CACREP Standards, key program objectives guide UNC Charlotte’s Masters in Counseling and Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision programs.

The Masters in Counseling objectives are:

1. Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice: Upon completing
   the program each student shall have knowledge and understanding of
   professional counseling credentials, ethical standards, and the ability
   to solve ethical problems which arise in the practice of counseling.

2. Social and Cultural Identities and Experiences: Upon completing
   the program each student shall have: an acceptance and respect for
   individuals of varying ethnic, cultural, religious, and economic
   backgrounds; developed appropriate counseling skills for work with
   clients from diverse populations;

3. Lifespan Development: Upon completing the program each
   student shall have knowledge and understanding of the major theories
   of human growth and development; counseling theories and their use
   in school and community mental health settings including the
   cognitive, affective, and behavioral approaches and the counseling
   interventions explained by these theories;

4. Career Development: Upon completing the program each student
   shall have knowledge and strategies required to facilitate client carer
   development that encompasses career planning and management;
5. Counseling Practice and Relationships: Upon completing the
   program each student shall have the ability to examine personal
   feelings, values, beliefs, and behaviors in relation to their professional
   development, be receptive to new learning and experiences, develop
   an individual style of counseling using various counseling models and
   techniques to work with clients demonstrated in closely supervised
   practice and internship settings appropriate to the student’s areas of
   interest;
6. Group Counseling and Group Work: Upon completing the
   program each student shall have the ability to design and conduct
   effective structured and unstructured groups in schools/ community
   agency settings;
7. Assessment and Testing: Upon completing the program each
   student shall have an understanding of basic concepts and principles of
   measurement and evaluation and ability to select, administer, and
   interpret interest, aptitude, personality, and intelligence tests;
8. Research and Program Evaluation: Upon completing the
   program each student shall have the ability to explain and critique a
   research model including problem identification, objectives,
   hypotheses, method and design, implications, and conclusions.

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision objectives are:

1. Research and Scholarship: Upon completing the doctoral
   program, each student shall have advanced knowledge, skills, and
   training required to interpret, analyze, and evaluate research data; and
   engage in counseling focused research and scholarship related
   activities that may lead to scholarly publications addressing diverse
   and multicultural issues in a global society.

2. Counseling: Upon completing the doctoral program, each student
   shall have advanced knowledge and understanding of professional
   counseling theories needed to provide effective individual and group
   counseling using skills and techniques to all clients from diverse and
   multiculturally backgrounds in a global society.

3. Teaching: Upon completing the doctoral program, each student
   shall have advanced knowledge, skills, and training required to teach
   graduate level counseling courses, assess students, and use appropriate
   evaluation methods with individuals from diverse and multicultural
   backgrounds in a global society.

4. Supervision: Upon completing the doctoral program, each student
   shall have advanced knowledge, skills, and training experience
   required to provide theoretically sound clinical supervision in
   counseling related and clinical mental health settings to individuals
   and groups from diverse and multicultural backgrounds in a global
   society.

5. Leadership and Advocacy: Upon completing the doctoral
   program, each student shall have advanced knowledge, skills, and
   training required to become involved in professional counseling
   organizations by delivering conference presentations, becoming
   involved division/organizational activities, and engage in
   professional activities addressing diverse and multicultural issues in a
   global society.
6. Multicultural and Social Justice Practice: Upon completing the
   doctoral program, each student shall have advanced knowledge, skills,
   and understanding of leadership development and multicultural
   counseling and social justice skills needed to support individuals from
   diverse and multicultural backgrounds in a global society.