Get Started on Your Graduate Degree Online Today!

Master of Science in Counselor Education with a concentration in Rehabilitation Counseling prepares graduates for certification as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor in all fifty states and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Mississippi.

The M.S. program in Counseling with a concentration in Rehabilitation Counseling degree is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Mission Statement

The mission of the counseling programs is the development of students who can practice in a variety of professional settings including K-12 schools, clinical mental health settings, and rehabilitation counseling settings.

Objectives of the Counseling Master’s Programs

The counseling programs mission statement serves as the basis for the development of program objectives and curriculum.

Program objectives and curricula are derived from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) eight common core areas that include studies in Professional Identity, Social and Cultural Foundations, Human Growth and Development, Career Development, Helping Relationships, Group Work, Assessment, and Research and Program Evaluation.

The objectives of the programs are divided into the following areas: (1) counseling core objectives, (2) concentration areas objective

Counseling Master’s Program Core Objectives

  1. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the multiple professional roles and responsibilities of counselors and the ethical standards that apply to those roles and responsibilities.
  2. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of diversity though the application of multicultural, advocacy, and social justice practices and skills across client populations, settings and concerns.
  3. Student will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of factors that affect human development and abilities across the lifespan.
  4. Students will demonstrate knowledge, skills and strategies for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality and other factors that influence career development across the lifespan.
  5. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills to include application of theoretical frameworks and ethically and culturally relevant strategies for establishing and maintaining in- person and technology assisted relationships.
  6. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of types of groups related to client’s goals and other considerations that affect group work across varied counseling settings.
  7. Students will demonstrate knowledge of statistical concepts and psychometric properties necessary to understand and utilize assessment information for diagnosis and treatment planning.
  8. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of evidence -based counseling practices used to inform counseling outcomes.
  9. Students will engage in multicultural, advocacy, and social justice practices in counseling.

Rehabilitation Counseling Objectives

Students will demonstrate skills in the application of theories, models, interventions, and practices in rehabilitation counseling necessary for clients to achieve personal, social, psychological, and vocational goals.

Program highlights:

  • The Master of Science degree program in Rehabilitation counseling is a planned program consisting of 60 semester hours.
  • Our program provides unique training experiences for students by incorporating a university-based and community practicum and internship training sites which provides opportunities to develop professional counseling skills working with persons with disabilities in a variety of medical facilities, clinics, rehabilitation centers, private practices, community organizations, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, and other government agencies.
  • Our program offers flexibility and options for students who are interested in being full-time or part-time students.
  • Licensures: Graduates from our program meet the educational qualifications for:
    • certification as Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRC), a nationally recognized credential
    • immediate eligibility for licensure as Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Mississippi. It is the responsibility of the student/graduate to register and complete the required supervision hours and exams for the LPC after graduation. LPC requirements are available on the Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors website

With the increasing demands for rehabilitation counselors to work with and improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities and their families, this online RC program trains and equips working professionals and students from within and outside Mississippi with the requisite skills, knowledge, and qualities required to become highly qualified, ethically and culturally responsive rehabilitation professionals working in the field of human services.

What are some potential careers?

Rehabilitation Counselors work in multiple setting to include but not restricted to:

  • State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies
  • Nonprofit rehabilitation programs
  • High schools and college settings
  • Independent living centers
  • Medical rehabilitation centers
  • Veteran’s Affairs, or private industry
  • Substance abuse treatment programs
  • Mental health agencies
  • Corrections facilities

2021 Salary Report- Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification

Who should pursue this degree?

Individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of human services and have a passion to help improve the quality of lives of persons with disabilities, through the provision of person-centered assessments and delivery of appropriate rehabilitation service provisions to achieve client goals of employment, return to work and/or independent living.

Program Structure

Degree Requirements

Every student in the counseling program is expected to meet the program common core, concentration area knowledge, and skill requirements. Opportunities for students to meet these requirements will occur in the online classroom and during the practicum and internship experiences.

To graduate with a Master of Science in Counseling degree with a concentration in rehabilitation counseling students must:

  • Complete a minimum of 60 hours
    • 39 core counseling, practicum, and internship hours
    • 6 elective course hours
    • 15 rehabilitation counseling concentration hours
  • Students must pass a comprehensive master’s examination
    • Graduate students must have a graduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher to be eligible to take the comprehensive examination and to be awarded any graduate degree.
    • No exceptions to this policy are granted by the Office of Graduate Studies.
  • “Gatekeeper” Courses in the Counseling Master’s Program
    • “Gatekeeper” courses are those foundational courses that are considered integral to success in the Counseling Program.
    • Unless otherwise approved by the program graduate coordinator, students are required to earn a grade of “B” or better in each counseling “gatekeeping” course before they are permitted to progress to the next course in the sequence. These specific courses and their required sequence include:
      • COE 8023: Counseling Theory
      • COE 8013: Counseling Skills
      • COE 8043: Group Techniques and Procedures
      • COE 8633 Psychosocial Rehabilitation (not a requirement for rehabilitation counseling students)
      • COE 8053/8153: Practicum
      • COE 8730/8740: Internship

A standard rubric, the Comprehensive Disposition Review Form, is designed to assess students’ performance in these courses.

Required Courses

COE 6903 Developmental Counseling and Mental Health: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. One-hour laboratory. Methods of identifying and meeting children and adults' normal emotional and social needs. Emphasis on maintaining better mental health conditions in the schools

COE 8023 Counseling Theory: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Study of the major counseling theories and their applications to the counseling process

COE 8013 Counseling Skills Development: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: COE 6013 and COE 8023). Three hours lecture. Theory and practice of counseling with an emphasis on the development of advanced skills required for assisting clients

COE 8043 Group Techniques and Procedures: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: COE 8013). Three hours lecture. Group counseling theory, dynamics, processes, and leadership functions

COE 8053 Practicum: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: COE 8013, 8023, and consent of department). Seminar and supervised field experience

COE 8063 Research Techniques for Counselors: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Methods of research and evaluation in counseling

COE 8083 Assessment Techniques in Counseling: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Principles and techniques involved in selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting tests of personality, interest, vocational aptitude, achievement, and intelligence

COE 8073 Cultural Foundations in Counseling: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Examination of individual differences due to socialization acquired in distinct cultural and socioeconomic environments. Implications for counseling

COE 8303 Family Counseling Theory: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. (Prerequisite: COE 8023). Study of the theory and practice of family counseling

COE 8633 Psychosocial Rehabilitation: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Counseling techniques that assist in the community adjustment of seriously mentally ill clients

COE 8703 Principles of Clinical Mental Health Counseling: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Overview of the history, philosophy, trends, and practice of mental health counseling

COE 8730 Internship: 1-9 hours.
(Prerequisite: COE 8053.) Supervised field experience

Rehabilitation Counseling Concentration

COE 6373 Vocational Assessment of Special Needs Persons: 3 hours.
Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. (Prerequisite: EPY 8263 or equivalent). Comprehensive vocational assessment, counseling, and individual planning for special needs persons. Job/training analysis, vocational interest/aptitude tests, work samples, and situational assessment. (Same as TKT 8653)

COE 8353 Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Rehabilitation legislation and the rehabilitation counseling process

COE 8363 Psychological Aspects of Disability: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Psychological and social factors influencing adjustment of disabled persons

COE 8373 Medical Aspects of Disability: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Involves a detailed survey of physical disabilities, their resulting functional limitations and rehabilitation implications. It also includes discussion of appropriate rehabilitation technology

COE 8383 Job Placement in Rehabilitation: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Process of job placement for disabled persons

Admissions Process

Applications for master's and educational specialist programs are due by July 1. Counseling applications will be considered until total enrollment is attained. Scholarships available. For further information, contact the Rehabilitation Graduate Coordinator.

A student accepted into the Master of Science in Counselor Education with a concentration in Rehabilitation Counseling program must hold a baccalaureate degree and a minimum GPA of 3.00 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Applicants for all counseling degree programs must also produce all other application requirements detailed by the Graduate School (e.g., letters of recommendation, statement of purpose).

Courses in the rehabilitation counseling concentration have been developed and sequenced by counseling program faculty. Students will be admitted into a cohort and the cohort will follow the pre-determined course sequence each semester.

When is time to enroll in practicum/Internship courses, your advisor will need to approve and verify that your practicum/internship site meets the necessary qualifications for providing appropriate clinical rehabilitation experiences in the field of rehabilitation counseling as well as determining appropriate on-site supervisors for the site.

Admission Options

Domestic/International Classified Admissions

  1. Submit online application. You will choose Counselor Education with a concentration in Rehabilitation Counseling as your Program of Study and Online Education as your campus.
  2. Statement of Purpose
  3. Three letters of recommendation
    • You will be asked to submit three names and three email addresses of individuals you are using as references. Once you click submit, these individuals will be sent an email from MSU, which will provide a link to an online form for completing their recommendations.
  4. TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for international students.
  5. One official transcript showing bachelor’s degree or progress toward degree. (For international students, please submit a copy in native language along with translated copies, if appropriate.)
  6. One official transcript showing ALL work after bachelor’s degree. (For international students, please submit a copy in native language along with translated copies, if appropriate.)
    • Electronic transcripts should be sent to: gradapps@grad.msstate.edu Mississippi State University, Graduate School. Only one copy of an electronic transcript is required.
    • Paper Transcripts Address (USPS):
      Mississippi State University
      The Office of the Graduate School
      P.O. Box G
      Mississippi State, MS 39762
    • Physical Street Address (for DHL, Fed Ex, UPS, DHS, etc.):
      Mississippi State University
      The Office of the Graduate School
      175 President Circle
      116 Allen Hall
      Mississippi State, MS 39762
  7. Payment of $60 non-refundable application processing fee for domestic students.
    Payment of $80 non-refundable application processing fee for international students.
  8. Once you are admitted, you will receive an email with complete instructions on registering for classes and contacting your advisor.

Academic Advising

After gaining admission to the university, you must contact your advisor to determine the courses that are most appropriate for you to take. Before the upcoming semester, your advisor will send an email to your MSU account, making course recommendations based on your program of study. Virtual individual and group advising sessions may also take place.

Mississippi State University uses email as its official means of communication with all MSU students. Please check your MSU email account (NetID@msstate.edu) daily. Information on setting up your MSU email can be found at the link for student services.

Headshot of Dr. Ahonle

Dr. Zacchues J. Ahonle

Counseling, Educational Psychology & Foundations

  • Coordinator/Primary Advisor

Contact Information

Photo of Anusha Rijal

Anusha Rijal

Online Education

  • Coordinator
662-325-8876
Daniel Gadke Headshot

Dr. Daniel Gadke

Counseling, Educational Psychology & Foundations

  • Department Head
Headshot of Dr. Ahonle

Dr. Zacchues J. Ahonle

Counseling, Educational Psychology & Foundations

  • Coordinator/Primary Advisor