Career Counseling Emphasis Information
Career Counseling Emphasis
The career counseling emphasis in the Counselor Education M.Ed. Program at Penn State is comprised of faculty members who are national and international leaders in the field of career development and career counseling. Specifically, faculty members have held such leadership roles as: President of the National Career Development Association, Editor of The Career Development Quarterly, Executive Board member of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, President of the American Counseling Association, President of Chi Sigma Iota, and Editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development, to name just a few. Faculty members have also received the Eminent Career Award, the highest honor of the National Career Development Association, the American Counseling Association’s Extended Research Award, the David Brooks Distinguished Mentor Award and have been designated as NCDA Fellows, ACA Fellows, and APA Fellows. Moreover, faculty members have over authored more than 400 journal articles, books, monographs, and book chapters addressing career development and career counseling issues. The emphasis requirements are in line with the accreditation standards of the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The curriculum also reflects training in all career counseling competencies identified by the National Career Development Association. It takes two-years of full-time graduate study, or its equivalent, to complete this 60 credit hour master’s degree. For additional information about this emphasis, please contact the Coordinator, Dr. Spencer Niles (phone 814-863-2412; Email: sgn3@psu.edu).
The purposes of this emphasis are to:
- prepare students to excel as career counselors working in the exciting and vibrant field of career development
- prepare students to provide career counseling services to children, adolescents, and/or adults
- provide students with the opportunity to specialize in a specific career counseling setting (K-12 schools, higher education, community settings, and private practice settings).
A well rounded program is provided by emphasizing:
- counseling skills (individual and group), assessment skills (formal and informal), providing developmentally appropriate career interventions to individuals and groups, research/evaluation skills, program promotion, management, and implementation skills, and the skills to use information resources effectively
- the skills necessary to help others develop a life-career plan, with a focus on the definition of the worker role and how that role interacts with other life roles
- the skills necessary to be an effective professional counselor, with specific expertise in career development across the life span and a specialization in providing career counseling in a specific practice setting (e.g., secondary, post-secondary and corporate/community settings)
