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UMUC-Europe Syllabus
UMUC EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

Common Syllabus for PSYC 502

Course Title:

Principles and Philosophy of Counseling

Required Texts and Readings:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC.

Neukrug, E. (2007). World of the Counselor (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Neukrug, E. (2007). World of the Counselor Workbook (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Sperry, L., Carlson, J., and Kjos, D. (2002). Becoming an Effective Therapist. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. [Chs. 1-3 of this text, which is also used in PSYC 734, PSYC 714 and COUN 610, will be covered in this class.]

Supplementary Readings:

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/.The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available.  The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students’ research and writing skills.

Recommended Journals:

A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are available from the UMUC Europe online library at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/library/

Course Description:

This course is not offered online but must be taken onsite.  Historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological basis of counseling in different settings(school, agency, and community) and with different populations will be explored. Intervention strategies, theoretical models, working contexts, relationships to other professions, ethics, obstacles to service delivery, and personal qualities of counselors are reviewed.

Course Goals:

This course introduces students to the field of counseling including specializations, professional ethics, relevant credentialing legislation, and current issues. It also provides an introduction to the basic counseling theories and skills.

Course Objectives:

The objectives of this course are for students to gain an information base and demonstrate competence in:

  1. The historical antecedents and current definitions of the counseling profession.
  2. The standards of counseling as a regulated profession including awareness of professional issues, ethics, and credentialing.
  3. The theories and basic counseling and interpersonal skills of communication associated with the counseling relationship.
  4. An understanding and appreciation of various populations with whom counselors work and a multicultural and diversity focus in counseling skills and advocacy.
  5. Familiarity with appropriate assessment procedures, community resources and intervention strategies and skills, and awareness of the specialty areas of counseling and their various settings.
  6. An awareness of future trends, particularly the expanded role of technology, and emerging concepts and theories in counseling.
  7. Enhanced self-awareness of personal strengths, interests, and abilities.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:

   A    90 - 100%
   B    80 – 89%
   C    70 – 79%
   F    69% and Below

 

Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade "F" is used to designate academic failure. "FN" is used to designate failure for non-completion.  Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.

Course Requirements:

Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.

 

In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:

 

Participate in classroom discussions            10%

Write graduate level papers or case studies     30%

Orally/visually present prepared material       20%
Complete one or more written examinations       40%

Description of Course Requirements:

Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the onsite classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an eight-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most ten-week graduate distance education courses require at least ten hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.

 

Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.

Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of coursework from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment. APA style is mandatory for all graduate counseling course work.  Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level work.

Orally/visually present prepared material:You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In an onsite course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In an online class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.

Complete one or more written examination(s):The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used in this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.

Course Schedule:

This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.

Initial meeting:
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements Orientation to subject

Second meeting:

Third meeting:

Fourth meeting:

Fifth meeting:

Sixth meeting:

Seventh meeting:

Eighth meeting:

Ninth meeting:

Tenth meeting:

Eleventh meeting:

Twelfth meeting:

Thirteenth meeting:

Fourteenth meeting:
Examination

Fifteenth meeting:
Student presentations

Sixteenth meeting:
Student presentations
Course evaluations

Academic Policies:

Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Course Withdrawal: The last day to withdraw from a DE course is Friday before the last full week of the course. The last day to withdraw from an on-site course is the last business day before the last class meeting.

Students with disabilities should contct:

Director of Student Services
UMUC Europe, UNIT 29216
APO AE 09102
Or:  Im Bosseldorn 30, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Phone: +49-6221-378-299
Email: edstudent_svc@ed.umuc.edu


Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

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