Program Description

This full-time master’s program, which has been in operation since schoolyear 1971-72, stresses professional service orientation, development in guidance and counselling skills and training in relevant content areas. Originally aimed to produce secondary school counsellors in the Philippine setting, the program has expanded to include specialization in career counselling, testing and counselling, and counselling psychology for an Asian and Ecumenical clientele.

Objectives

The MS program aims to train competent, professional research- oriented counselors who are able to:

  1. Prevent problems and promote optimal human development
  2. Help counselees learn the decision- making process;
  3. Help people alter their maladaptive behavior; and
  4. Apply scientific research methods to find improved ways of helping counselees.

Admissions Requirements

  1. A Bachelor’s degree with 15 units of required subjects in psychology (i.e., 3 units each of general psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, theories of personality, and abnormal psychology);
  2. A college grade-point average equivalent to 2.5 or 85%;
  3. Passing the admissions test administered by the ITEO;
  4. An interview with the department chairperson;
  5. For non- English speaking applicants, enrollment in an English language course at the Center for English Language Learning (CELL) prior the first trimester of the program.

An additional of six (6) units of Advanced Technical Reading and Writing 1&2 will be required for applicants with a low score in the essay part of the entrance examination.

Retention in the Program

Students must not obtain any grade lower 2.0 in order to remain in the program. They are expected to finish the program in 2 years.

Program Requirements

Academic Courses 30 units Practicum 6 units

Total 42 units

An additional of six (6) units of Advanced Technical Writing 1&2 will be required for applicants with a low score in the essay part of the entrance exam.

Program Curriculum

YEAR 1

Term 1

CPS 596M Development and Management of Counseling Programs (3 units)

This course studies in-depth the organization, management, and evaluation of guidance and counseling programs in school (elementary, high school and college levels) and community settings. The curse emphasizes development of counselor competencies in designing, implementing and evaluation psychoeducational programs.

CPS 554M Techniques of Counseling 1 (3 units)

This course focuses on selected theories of counseling, their philosophical bases, and their applicability to Filipinos and other Asians. It includes laboratory training in basic counseling skills and practice of counseling techniques.

CPS 501M Quantitative Data Analysis for Counseling Research (3 units)

This course focuses on the fundamental principles and techniques of inferential statistics as applied to counseling research. The course covers the definition, data requirements and interpretation of standard statistical analysis. Each standard statistical analysis is performed through the process of hypothesis testing. Part of the course is training the students in performing statistical analyses using the software STATISTICA.

CPS 521M Research Methods for Counseling (3 units)

The course will provide an opportunity for students to review concepts and skills covered from their previous research and statistics classes and use these in the development of their thesis proposal. The course will comprise of several workshop session that will further hone the knowledge and skills of the students in the conduct of research.

Term 2

CPS 561M Testing in Counseling (3 units)

Introduction to the selection, administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological tests.

CPS 555M Techniques of Counseling 2 (3 units)

Continuation of Techniques of Counseling 1, stressing the use of simulation and modeling for the study of selected counseling approaches; focus on advanced counseling skills, with the aid of audio/video recording; focus on normal development.

CPS 605M Career Development and Counseling (3 units)

This course allows the students to examine the different career development theories and their use in understanding the individual’s personal and career needs across work settings.

CPS 901M Directed Research in Counseling (1 unit)

A course that will allow students conceptualize and undertake research project on a selected topic in counseling.

CPS 593M Group Process (3 units)

This course deals with the theoretical and experiential understanding of the group, purpose, development, dynamics and group counselling methods and skills and other group approaches. Students will be exposed to various group activities/exercises to learn how to become effective members and facilitators of groups in different settings.

Term 3

CPS 923M Counseling Practicum (3 units)

Course which provides a closely guided and supervised experience in counseling; and actual training in the use of different counseling techniques and skills in varied school settings/practicum sites.

CPS 924M Guidance Practicum (3 units)

A course which offers actual field experience and practice in organizing and implementing guidance services under the direct supervision of practicum coordinators. Emphasis is placed on observation and performance of counselor functions.

CPS 545M Foundations of Guidance and Counseling (3 units)

This course provides an overview of the concepts, principles, and practices of guidance and counseling. It provides a study of the rationale for the elements of the guidance and counseling principles in both school and community setting.

CPS 902M Advanced Seminar in Guidance and Counseling (2 units)

This is a seminar course that will survey recent developments in the field of guidance and counseling to assist the students in further developing their personal research plans for guidance counseling.

Summer

Comprehensive Exam CPS 851M Thesis Writing (Proposal)

YEAR 2