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The Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling Program provides a strong foundation in the profession and practice of rehabilitation counseling. It offers opportunities to develop expertise in the areas of counseling, the social and psychological aspects of disability, the vocational rehabilitation process, case management, ethical practices, independent living, disability management, transition from school to work, vocational assessment, career development and employment strategies.

MISSION STATEMENT AND PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The mission of the Michigan State University Rehabilitation Counseling Master of Art degree program is to prepare and promote the effective delivery of rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities by providing graduates who have demonstrated, through academic and practical achievement on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Such mastery includes the rehabilitation services provision to individuals with different types of needs, such as physical, mental, emotional, educational, developmental, and vocational needs in a variety of clinical and community settings.

The program is designed to: (a) provide a wide spectrum of evidence-based knowledge and practice of rehabilitation counseling profession, (b) prepare students to inform professional practice by generating new knowledge for the profession, (c) support students to provide effective interventions to individuals with disabilities and the community, and (d) equip students to assume positions of leadership in the rehabilitation counseling profession. CACREP accreditation denotes a commitment to program excellence and indicates to the public at large that the MSU Rehabilitation Counseling master’s program is fulfilling its commitment to educational quality.

The objectives of the Rehabilitation Counseling program at Michigan State University are:

1. To recruit and retain diverse students to be competent rehabilitation counselors in their knowledge, skills, and dispositional standards according to our professional certification body, the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) Code of Professional Ethics and Scope of Practice as well as our accrediting body, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
2. To train and prepare our students to conceptualize rehabilitation counseling services and interventions for people with disabilities from a holistic perspective and to be competent in working with a wide range of disabilities and rehabilitation settings and,
3. To train and prepare our students to be active community partners and leaders in our fields.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Michigan State University Master of Arts (MA) Rehabilitation Counseling Program are to provide students with the opportunity to:

1. Acquire a sound, basic education in rehabilitation;
2. Develop the lifelong habit of updating skills and professionalism;
3. Develop a commitment to assist individuals with disabilities in using their own resources and opportunities to meet their developmental, vocational, and educational needs;
4. Nourish a commitment to individual human values;
5. Exercise skills and competencies on a high ethical level and with personal integrity; and
6. Maintain a critical, questioning, and exploratory attitude.
7. Acquire a comprehensive understanding of the personal, social, vocational, and psychological needs of persons with disabilities.
8. Develop a strong knowledge of disability and rehabilitation service related community, social, and environmental needs.