The Department of Psychology is now home to the Masters in Counselling Program.
The Counselling Program is designed to prepare counsellors to provide professional services in counselling offered in social service agencies, community health organizations, non-profit societies’ supporting vulnerable populations, schools, and post-secondary institutions.  Students pursuing this degree focus on understanding and addressing the contemporary challenges and complexities of human behavior across the lifespan with special attention to the diverse nature of the clientele.  The program provides students with comprehensive, theoretical and experiential curricular and supervised clinical experiences to potentially meet the requirements of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) and the Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). 
 

Because the number of spaces in the MEd degree in Counselling are limited, the admission process is very competitive. Admission is by a selection process that is conducted annually during the winter semester. See below for information on how to apply.
 

The deadline for applications is December 15th
 

Students will be accepted into the Counselling Program under the Comprehensive Examination Route leading to the MEd degree. During the course of study, the student may apply for permission to the Program to transfer to the Project of Thesis route.
 

The comprehensive examination route of study requires the successful completion of a comprehensive examination that evaluates a candidate’s knowledge of theory, practice and research. The comprehensive exam route includes successful completion of all required courses a minimum of three electives and passing the written exam.
 

The project route emphasizes the study of theory and practice and the successful completion of an innovative applied research idea or development project that addresses a particular aspect of practice. The project route requires the successful completion of all required courses and a minimum of two electives and successful completion of the written project. 
 

The thesis route emphasizes academic study, research and the successful completion of a thesis. This degree route is designed to develop each student’s ability to evaluate theory and practice and conduct research that contributes to the discipline. The thesis route requires the successful completion of all required courses, a minimum of one elective and the completion of a thesis and the successful defence of it in an oral examination.
 

The Counselling Program includes an integrated set of required courses, elective courses and either a comprehensive examination, project or thesis. Students in the comp route must complete 8 required courses and 3 elective courses and a comprehensive examination.  Students in the project route would complete 8 required courses, 2 electives and a project. Students in the thesis route would complete 8 required courses, 1 elective and the thesis. 
 

EDUC 601-3     Education Research and Analysis Methods
EDUC 613-3     Interpersonal Counselling Skills
EDUC 711-3     Counselling Theory
EDUC 712-3     Counselling Practice
EDUC 714-3     Group Counselling Processes
EDUC 717-3     Ethics in Counselling
EDUC 719-6     Counselling Practicum (minimum 8 months full-time)
 

EDUC 610-4     Qualitative Analysis in Education
Or
PSYC 600-4     Univariate Statistics

EDUC 618-3     Working with Parents and Families
EDUC 619-3     Counselling for Aboriginal/Indigenous Peoples
EDUC 692-3     Special Topics including:
                           Assessment in Counselling 
                           Child and Youth Counselling
                           Substance Abuse Counselling
                           Trauma Counselling
                           Multicultural and Diversity Counselling

EDUC 693-3     Directed Reading
EDUC 715-3     Career Counselling
EDUC 716-3     Clinical Counselling
EDUC 795-3     Research Seminar
 

EDUC 797-3     MEd Comprehensive Examination
EDUC 798-6     MEd Project
EDUC 799-9     MEd Thesis

Students should consult the UNBC Registration Guide each semester concerning the availability 
of courses listed for the MEd degree.  Some of the elective courses listed may not be offered during a particular semester or sequence of semesters.  Course offerings will be determined by student program needs and the availability of instructors.

In addition to full-time students, the Counselling Program attempts to accommodate part-time students who may hold full-time jobs. For this reason, most of the courses are offered in the evening as well as during Summer Session so they can be accessed by persons who work full-time. It is also recommended that students who are in the project or thesis route complete their research courses during the first half of the MEd Program.
 

If you require additional information about the application procedures or your eligibility for admission to graduate studies, or you require an off-line application form, please contact the Graduate Studies Office.
 

Dr. Linda O’Neill, Associate Professor
Community Counselling Centre (CCC) Clinical Coordinator
Office 10-3594, Phone 250-960-6414 
loneill@unbc.ca