Check out the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training (RLTT) Scholarship Program
Overview
The master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling is designed to prepare rehabilitation counselors to serve persons with disabilities in a variety of work settings. The rehabilitation counseling program is a 60 hour credit program and is fully accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The curriculum provides both didactic and experiential learning and culminates in a 600 hour internship.
Professional rehabilitation counselors encourage and support persons with disabilities and their families to fully participate in their community by providing individual and group counseling, vocational assessment, case management, advocacy, assistive technology, and consultation services to help meet their personal, social, vocational, psychological, independent living, and quality of life goals. The mission of the Rehabilitation Counselor Education (RCE) distance-based program at the University of Alabama is to prepare professional rehabilitation counselors who will provide quality rehabilitation counseling services for persons with disabilities from diverse backgrounds and their families. In addition to objectives of the Program in Counselor Education, the RCE Program has the following objectives:
- To introduce the philosophy and historical tenets of rehabilitation counseling through new literacies of technology and interpersonal communication.
- To deliver a 21st century, distance-based curriculum of didactic and clinical experiences that encourages active learning and adheres to the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) standards.
- To prepare qualified rehabilitation counselors to work in both public and private settings located in rural and urban communities to facilitate the needs of all persons with disabilities and their families.
- To recruit, select, and matriculate rehabilitation counseling graduate students who represent minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities.
- To provide our rehabilitation counseling graduate students with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop a philosophical orientation and approach reflective of their commitment to meeting the needs of persons with disabilities and their families, as well as employer and community needs.
- To foster our university’s mission in advancing the intellectual and social condition of the people by communicating to our rehabilitation graduate counseling students the need for advocacy, community integration, and social responsibility.
- To prepare our rehabilitation counseling graduate students to become ethical rehabilitation counselors by understanding and following the Code of Professional Ethics for rehabilitation counselors.
- To promote the involvement of our rehabilitation counseling graduate students in rehabilitation counseling professional associations (e.g., National Rehabilitation Association, National Rehabilitation Counseling Association, American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, National Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Association) to enhance awareness of professional issues and service that are important to the growth of our field.
Admission Requirements
- An undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher (last 60 hours of undergraduate study)
- A score of 300 or higher (verbal and quantitative combined) on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or a score of 50th percentile or higher on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
Application Process
Admission to the RCE program can either be unconditional or Conditional
Unconditional Admission
Unconditional admission to the RCE program involves the following elements:
- A completed graduate application (apply at the following website: http://graduate.ua.edu)
- A statement of goals and purpose in seeking graduate training (to be submitted to the Graduate School when completing the graduate application)
- One Copy of official transcripts from other academic study (to be submitted to the Graduate School)
- Three (3) letters of recommendation from persons who can attest to your potential for success in graduate school. Letters of recommendation should be uploaded through Graduate School Online Application.
- Virtual live interview with faculty
- Dates and times of interviews will be determined
- An undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher (last 60 hours of undergraduate study)
- A score of 300 or higher (verbal and quantitative combined) on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or a score of 50th percentile or higher on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
Conditional Admission
You may be eligible to be considered for conditional admission if you do not fully meet the GPA or admission test score requirements. A decision to admit you conditionally into the RCE program will be based upon a number of factors including the combination of your GPA and admission test scores, your goals, previous work experience and virtual live interview with faculty. Students admitted conditionally into the RCE program will be considered for unconditional status if they maintain a “B” average during their first 12 hours of study.
Admission Deadlines
Admissions decisions are made each semester. Admission decisions may be made in the summer if openings remain after May admission decisions have been completed. Please attend to the following deadline dates to allow adequate time for your application to be reviewed:
- Fall April 1st
- Spring October 1st
- Summer March 1st
Program Requirements
The Rehabilitation Counselor Education program is an on-line program. Similar to all Counselor Education Master’s degree programs, RCE students have a planned program of study. The plan follows the appropriate requirements for accreditation in Rehabilitation Counseling. Once an academic advisor has been assigned for your program of study, you should make an appointment to discuss your preferences and career aspirations. Some rehabilitation courses are offered as synchronous courses and will require weekly participation via live virtual classroom.