News and Events
Counselor Education Program
Annual Report for Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Counselor Education
The revised doctoral program in Counselor Education concludes its first academic year with a long list of successes. During the Fall Term 2003, four students began their doctoral studies. They were involved in academic advising, coursework, research, and practicum and internship experiences. Two students attended UT full time and two attended part time. All four live in the surrounding area. There were nine faculty who supported the doctoral program. Four of these nine provided day-to-day support for the development of the program. This support included developing materials to support student progress in the program.
Academic Advising
We established a unique academic advising system. Each student was paired with two advisors to help students be more quickly integrated into the program. Each faculty member has a unique perspective on doctoral education and the student benefited from this dual advising.
Coursework
During the fall semester all four students were enrolled in COUN 650, Foundations of Counselor Education (3 Hours) and EDUC PSYCH 693 Special Topics: Professional Seminar (1 Hour). Spring Semester we offered COUN 660, Advanced Theory and Practice in Counseling (3 Hours) and COUN 665 Group and Systems Theory and Interventions (3 Hours).
Research
The faculty involved students in research activity early in their academic program. Both COUN 650 and COUN 665 required students to complete research papers that became the basis for presentations and submitted publications. During Spring 2005 the faculty and the doctoral students meet monthly to discuss potential and on-going research efforts. Several students submitted proposals for presentations and presented ideas for future research projects. One student is already working on his research competencies and several students are exploring Counselor Education issues such as Spirituality and Counselor Education, Constructivist Supervision, Gender Issue and Counseling, and System Theory as it Applies to the Counseling Environment.
Practicum and Internship
Spring Term 2004 we had one student enrolled in COUN 655, Practicum in Counselor Education and COUN 659, Internship in Counselor Education. The practicum experience represented working with a challenging population, male batterers. The internship focused on teaching one undergraduate class and one graduate class.
Program Development
Faculty has been involved in developing materials that support the program. Syllabi for four new courses provided the foundation for the teaching of those courses. A Handbook for Practicum and Internship and Counselor Education guides the student and the supervisor through their clinical, teaching and supervision experiences. A Student Handbook provides information about the doctoral program and the process from entry to completion of the program. We revised the description of the program to clarify the advising process and the comprehensive exam.
Our Counselor Education Advisory Board helped us review our program mission and goals for the doctoral program. We developed objectives for our students and are beginning to integrate these into our program.
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP)
We have been working all year on an accreditation document mailed to CACREP in May. This document presents self-study information for re-accreditation of the Mental Health and School Counseling programs and for accreditation of the doctoral program in Counselor Education. We hope to have a review team visit the campus in the Fall of 2004 to examine our programs.
In Conclusion
We are fortunate to have excellent students enrolled in our program. In March 2004 we accepted six new students into our program. One student is from Middle Tennessee, one from the local area, three are from North Carolina, and on is from Virginia. We believe that these students will make considerable contributions to our program.
If you have any questions about our program, please let us know. You can contact any of the following faculty:
Dr. Joel Diambra: jdiambra@utk.edu
Dr. Bob Kronick, rkronick@utk.edu
Dr. Tricia McClam, mcclam@utk.edu
Dr. Marianne Woodside, mwoodsid@utk.edu
Updated 02/23/2005
Contact EPC
525 Jane & David Bailey Education Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3452
Phone: 865-974-8145
Fax: 865-974-0135