Northern Virginia Center

Counselor Education

The Counselor Education Program offers the master’s program (M.A.) with concentrations in School Counseling or Community Counseling, and the doctoral program (Ph.D.) in Counselor Education and Supervision.   

Master’s Program

The Virginia Tech Counselor Education Master’s program offers both School Counseling and Community Counseling. Part-time students generally complete the Master's program in three years: full-time students generally complete in two years. Students attend classes year round including Fall, Spring and two Summer sessions.  The Master’s degree CACREP curricular experiences include the following eight common core areas:

  • Professional Identity

  • Social and Cultural Diversity

  • Human Growth and Development

  • Career Development

  • Helping Relationships

  • Group Work

  • Assessment

  • Research and Program Evaluation

Additional course work is completed in substance abuse counseling, school counseling or community counseling.  Clinical training includes a one-semester Practicum and a two-semester Internship.  For the school counseling internship, one semester is completed at the elementary level and one semester is completed at the secondary level.

Doctoral Program

The Virginia Tech Counselor education doctoral program prepares students as counselor educators, clinical supervisors, or advanced clinicians.  Students are required to complete 100 hours of advanced study beyond the undergraduate degree.  Learning experiences beyond the entry-level include the following content areas:

  • Theories of counseling

  • Theories and practices of counselor supervision

  • Instructional theory and methods relevant to counselor education

  • Pedagogy relevant to current social and cultural issues

  • Quantitative and qualitative research and methodology

  • Methods and models of assessment

  • Ethical and legal considerations in counselor education and supervision

  • Issues of diversity in counselor education programs

Doctoral students develop an area of professional counseling expertise, develop collaborative relationships with program faculty, participate in professional organizations, complete doctoral-level internships (teaching, supervision, clinical), and complete scholarly research.

Accreditation

Degree programs are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and by the National Commission of Accreditation and Teacher Education (NCATE).  The master’s degree in school counseling includes all course work and clinical experiences that satisfy licensure as a professional school counselor in Virginia.

Additional Information:

The Graduate Students Services Office (GSSO) is the Graduate School’s office in Northern Virginia. The GSSO’s website includes links to information on tuition and fees and the timetable of classes. Please visit the GSSO’s website for additional information about graduate study in the National Capital Region. If you are a practicing teacher/counselor, look at the SPECIAL FEES table to find the rate applicable to you.

 

Contacts for Program Information

Dr. Pamelia E. Brott
Counselor Education Program
e-mail: pbrott@vt.edu
phone: 703.538.8347

Joanna Kelly
Academic Program Assistant
e-mail: edustaff@nvc.vt.edu
Phone: 703.538.8481

 

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