The Rehabilitation Counseling option is a fifty-three credit hour program designed to prepare generalist rehabilitation counselors for employment in vocation rehabilitation settings serving persons with disabilities. The rehabilitation counseling program incorporates coursework in small 'n' research design and analysis, services for persons with disabilities, computer technology in rehabilitation, job development and placement, psychosocial aspects of disability, medical & functional aspects of disability, and foundations of rehabilitation counseling. The program includes a 600 hour supervised rehabilitation counseling internship in a vocational rehabilitation employment setting. This option leads to licensure as a professional counselor and eligibility for national rehabilitation counselor certification.
The rehabilitation counseling program is also offered in conjunction with the Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Teaching as a dual Master of Arts degree program in rehabilitation counseling specializing in blindness and low vision. The Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCT) dual degree program is a seventy-six credit hour program. The Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching degree program prepares a dually competent practitioner who is able to provide both rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation teaching skills.
Application for the Masters of Arts in rehabilitation counseling and dual Master of Arts degrees in rehabilitation counseling/teaching (RCT) is made through the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies. Upon completion of the RCT program, the individual earns a Master of Arts in Counselor Education: Rehabilitation Counseling and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Teaching.
The Rehabilitation Counseling programs admit approximately 7-10 students per annual cohort, with a majority of admissions occurring for the fall semester cohort. Some spring semester admissions are permitted pending special approval of the RC/RCT admissions committee. Please submit your application for the Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) through the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies.
If you have any questions about the admissions process or the timing of your application material, please contact the RC/RCT Program Coordinator, Dr. Jennipher Wiebold, at for support and guidance through the admissions process.
The Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (also known as Rehabilitation Counseling specializing in Blindness and low Vision) (RCTM) graduate level programs are fully accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education for the 2008-2016 cycle. The Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) programs are relatively small in number, with a total of 21 students registered during the 2012-2013 academic year. Seventy-six percent of the students are members of underrepresented populations based on the factors of race and/or disability. The current grade point average of students in the program is 3.72.
Two students successfully completed all clinical practica and graduated in the 2012-2013 academic year. One of the two graduates, or 50%, are currently employed with the Department of Veterans Affairs while the other recent graduate is seeking employment. Program alumni from years 1994-2010 are employed across the country and abroad in a variety of settings. The overall employment rate for graduates of the Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) program within one year of graduation is approximately 95%.
Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) students are required to participate in an annual review of student performance. The annual review occurs in March and April of each year. The annual review assures student progress by addressing milestones such as GPA monitoring, pre-requisite completion/course sequencing, professional identity development, and overall student development. In addition, students work closely with their academic advisor to assure timely progress through the program of study. Each student meets a minimum of one time per semester with their academic advisor.
The rehabilitation counseling programs are supported by an academic year-appointed Associate Professor/Program Coordinator who is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). The rehabilitation counseling faculty, including the program coordinator, is equivalent to three full time faculty members. The overall instructor to student ratio is 1:7.
The Program Coordinator manages the program internally in conjunction with the RC/RCT Management Committee. The RC/RCT Management Committee is composed of rehabilitation counseling program related faculty members, administrators, and a student representative. The Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) programs also support an Advisory Board with representatives from Federal, State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation, private, non-profit, and private for profit organizations. Members of the advisory board also serve on the Admission Committee.
Students in the Rehabilitation Counseling (CERM) and Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching (RCTM) programs are eligible to receive funding through a U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration Long Term Training Grant in Rehabilitation Counseling. The grant award is for 2010-2015 pending annual performance review assessments and receipt of continuation funding. The total five year grant cycle funding is $748,843. This grant provides academic course tuition funding for those students who commit to attaining and maintaining employment as rehabilitation counselors in the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation system and with qualified partners of the State/Federal vocational rehabilitation system. The University, Departments, and program are committed to identifying funding supports for students in the RC/RCT programs. Since 2000, the programs have yielded approximately $2.3 Million of grant support to fund the training of future rehabilitation counselors.
For more detailed information about the programs, please visit:
Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching Program Information
