Master of Education in Counselling

48h non-thesis/51h thesis

Acadia University's Master of Education Counselling Program will build your skills for a career in counselling both in school and agency settings. Graduates of the M.Ed. Counselling Program meet requirements for the Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) designation with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and the Registered Counselling Therapist – Candidate (RCT-C) designation with the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists (NSCCT).

As a full-time student, you will begin the program in July and generally study for 18 months if you follow the non-thesis route. If you choose to study part-time, you will begin your program on campus in July and follow a cohort program that generally takes 3 years to complete. Either way, courses are sequenced to provide preparation for the practicum experiences - Practicum I (100 hours) and Practicum II (400 hours). If you enroll as a thesis student, you should expect to spend additional time in the program.

In our Counselling Program, you will:

  • Prepare to be a leader in the profession through your pursuit of disciplined inquiry; understanding of and respect for human diversity; and your development, use, and evaluation of effective counselling practices.
  • Devote yourself to the prevention, remediation, and amelioration of emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and interpersonal difficulties, and the enhancement of human potential and quality of life.
  • Build the awareness and skills to work with diverse populations from individual, social, and organizational perspectives. Our program is focused on integrating theory, practice, and research.
  • Explore a wide variety of counselling approaches including existential, person-centered, cognitive-behavioural, narrative, and family-systems.
  • Study a curriculum tailored for accreditation standards and designed to prepare you for a variety of work settings and for provincial registration in Nova Scotia and for national certification.

Notes:

Only students accepted into the Counselling Program are eligible to take core courses.

Students are responsible for contacting the teacher certification branch to determine if a program and constituent courses meet requirements for upgrades to licenses or new endorsations for a change in job designation.

 

 

Required Courses (all students)
  • EDUC 5033 – Counselling Theories
  • EDUC 5133 – Counselling Skills
  • EDUC 50D3 – Ethics in Counselling Practice
  • EDUC 5623 – Group Counselling: Theory and Practice
  • EDUC 5343 – Counselling for Social Justice and Culturally Responsive Practices
  • EDUC 50F3 – Counselling Pre-Practicum
  • EDUC 5353 – Crisis and Trauma Counselling
  • EDUC 5513 – Research Design in Education
  • EDUC 50P3 – Counselling Practicum I and Group Supervision
  • EDUC 50E3 – Counselling Across the Lifespan
  • EDUC 50J3 – Assessment in Counselling
  • EDUC 5543 – Theories of Career Development
  • EDUC 50N3 - Counselling Practicum II and Group Supervision
Required Courses (streams)
School Counselling Stream

Additional required course for School Counselling Stream (3h): 

  • EDUC 50C3 – School Counselling Programs

Additional recommended course for School Counselling Stream (3h): 

  • EDUC 5233 – Counselling Families;  OR...
  • EDUC 5553 – Topics in Counselling
Agency Stream

Additional required course for Agency Stream (3h): 

  • EDUC 50K3 – Clinical Mental Health Counselling

Additional recommended courses for Agency Stream (6h): 

  • EDUC 5233 – Counselling Families;  OR...
  • EDUC 5553 – Topics in Counselling
Required Courses (thesis and non-thesis)
Non-thesis students

Additional requirements:

  • 6h electives selected from graduate courses offered by the School of Education or approved graduate courses offered by other departments or schools.
Thesis students

Additional requirements (9h):

  • EDUC 5113 – Qualitative Research in Education or EDUC 5523 – Quantitative Methods in Educational Research
  • EDUC 5966 – Graduate Thesis

 

Please be aware that it is your responsibility to monitor your own program and to ensure that you have met degree requirements.