Department of Counseling and Higher Education

Main Office
Stovall Hall, Room 155

Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #310829
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-2910

Jan Holden, Chair

Advising:
Counseling - Stovall Hall, Room 155
940-565-2910

Higher Education - Mean Green Village, Building B
940-565-2045

The Department of Counseling and Higher Education provides programs designed to prepare professionals for leadership positions in schools, colleges, universities and the public sector.

Counseling offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Education, the Master of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy, all with a major in counseling.

These programs are designed for people who wish to become professional counselors and/or counselor educators and supervisors in schools, colleges, universities and community agencies or to become student services professionals.

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) (1001 North Fairfax Street, Suite 510, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703-535-5990), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, has conferred accreditation on the following program areas in counseling at the University of North Texas at Denton: clinical mental health counseling (MS; accredited as same), elementary and secondary school counseling (MEd, MS; accredited as school counseling), college and university counseling (MEd, MS; accredited as student affairs and college counseling) and the PhD program in counseling (accredited as counselor education and supervision). All accreditations are effective through March 2019.

Higher education offers graduate degree programs leading to the the Master of Education, the Doctor of Education and the Doctor of Philosophy, all with a major in higher education.

The program’s faculty believe that higher education as a field of doctoral study may be presented in a cohesive, disciplined and scientific manner; that issues, activities and problems in higher education can be formally studied and taught through courses in foundations, research, teaching, curriculum, finance, law, administration, comparative education, learning theory, student affairs, business affairs, human development, resource development and others; and that study in higher education is strengthened and enhanced through administrative and research practicums, internships, assistantships and independent study.

Research

Research interests of the counseling faculty are directed toward providing a strong academic and applied counselor preparation program and advancing the body of knowledge in counseling and human development. Research is focused on counseling methods and techniques, theoretical perspectives, measurement and evaluation, and current issues within the discipline. Specific areas of research are counselor effectiveness, cognitive style and personality type, descriptive longitudinal study of child and adolescent maturity, employability skills, group counseling, human relations training, human resources development in business and industry, measurement and evaluation of characteristics associated with student success in counseling, play therapy and filial therapy, relationship and family therapy and assessment of family functioning, single-parent and stepparent family functioning, transpersonal counseling and animal assisted therapy.

Current research interests of the higher education program faculty include studies of statewide coordination and control of higher education; data informed bases for decision making by higher education administrators; effects of colleges on student cognitive and social development; transfer issues in state policies and college procedures; access and equity issues in higher education; graduate student needs and services; higher education financing strategies for the 21st century; strategies for improving the quality of college teaching; measurement of educational outcomes in higher education; and the use of qualitative and quantitative research methodology in the study of higher education subsystems and in the evaluation of teaching and administrative effectiveness.

The quality of graduate study in the higher education program is enhanced by the program’s close affiliations with the Bill Priest Center for Community College Education, the Center for Higher Education and the North Texas Community College Consortium. The Higher Education program has been represented on the editorial boards of six scholarly journals, including the College Student Affairs Journal; Journal of College Student Retention: Research and Practice; Reading Psychology; Journal of Applied Research in the Community College; Journal of Staff, Program and Organization Development; African Higher Education Review; Journal of College Student Development; and Journal of College and Character.

Centers

The higher education program’s Don A. Buchholz Endowed Chair in Community College Education in the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education began its service to two-year colleges and to the linkage between two- and four-year colleges and universities in the fall of 2000. While the chair and the center’s primary function is to provide graduate education, research and development activities for institutions, administrators and faculty in two-year colleges, the chair and center seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the linkage between two- and four-year colleges and universities in the provision of education to students in post-secondary education.

The Center for Higher Education was established in 1972 with foci to provide professional development activities to graduate students and to disseminate research findings through books, journals and monographs. The center expanded its goals to include support of the UNT Law Conference and comparative international studies.

The counseling program’s Center for Animal Assisted Therapy (CAAT) trains professionals and volunteers to work with their pets to: (a) facilitate the development of students in kindergarten through 12th grade with pet-assisted educational programs; and (b) enhance the emotional well-being of persons of all ages though positive human-animal interactions. Workshops and courses are offered for national certification training for persons who wish to work with their pet to perform animal-assisted volunteer service or provide professional animal-assisted therapy.

The counseling program’s Center for Play Therapy exists to facilitate the unique development and emotional growth of children through the process of play therapy. The center carries out this commitment by providing graduate courses in play therapy, a play therapy summer institute, an annual play therapy conference, research, scholarships, a directory of play therapy training in the United States and Canada, a bibliography of play therapy literature, an international clearinghouse for play therapy literature, play therapy for children and training for parents.

The Counseling and Human Development Center (CHDC) and the Child and Family Resource Clinic (CFRC) are instructional facilities in which master’s and doctoral level counselors-in-training provide counseling under faculty supervision. The CHDC and CFRC serve individuals of all ages, couples, families and groups. Fees are based on a sliding scale, making counseling affordable to a segment of the population that otherwise might not have access to mental health services.

School certification non-degree program

Individuals with a master’s degree from a CACREP-accredited program may complete course work that constitutes the substantial equivalent of the elementary or secondary school counseling program area to meet the educational requirements for public school counselor certification in Texas. Certification also requires at least two years of teaching experience in an accredited school.

Programs

Master’s Degree

Doctorate

Courses

Counseling

Higher Education

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