Our Mission
To enhance the quality of life of persons who have physical or mental disabilities, including addictions, or who are disadvantaged by cultural differences and educational and economic impoverishment, through educational, scholarly, and service activities.
Our Degree Programs
Master of Counseling and Rehabilitation and Specialized Practice Areas
We train our graduates to be professional counselors with a specialized understanding of disability and disadvantagement-related issues. With a specialization in clinical rehabilitation counseling, our curriculum and service activities are focused on providing counseling and employment-related support to persons who have physical or mental disabilities, including addictions. Additional service perspectives focus on individuals who are disadvantaged by cultural differences and educational and economic impoverishment throughout the state and beyond.
We train our graduates to be professional counselors with a specialized understanding of a broad range of addictive behavior, including substance related and behavioral focused, as well as the environmental, social, and cultural contexts related to addiction. With a specialization in clinical addiction counseling, our curriculum and service activities are focused on providing counseling and support to persons who live with addiction as well as those who have physical or mental disabilities. In addition, the M.A. in Counseling Rehabilitation also includes a service perspective focus on individuals who are disadvantaged by cultural differences and educational and economic impoverishment throughout the state and beyond.
We train our graduates to be professional counselors with a specialized understanding of career development, theory, and strategies for working with individuals with and without disabilities. This specialized practice area also delves into organizational behavior within businesses and organizations. With a specialization in career counseling, our curriculum and service activities are focused on providing counseling and support to individuals to build life skills and achieve their career goals and with businesses to promote workplace health and wellbeing. As throughout our program, additional service perspectives focus on individuals who are disadvantaged by cultural differences and educational and economic impoverishment throughout the state and beyond.
Our Certificate Program
Earning a graduate certificate can enhance your professional career and we want to make it easy for you, especially if you already have a busy schedule to manage. We offer both in-person and online options for this 18 credit-hour certificate that's designed for post-bachelor’s degree students and helping professionals who want to gain more knowledge and skills in working with individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Whether you are new to the field of psychiatric rehabilitation or a skilled practitioner, this program can be highly individualized to meet your personal and professional interests.
Program Highlights
- Accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP).
- Program meets educational requirements for licensure as a professional counselor in South Carolina and most other states.
- Program of Study is flexible, courses can be taken as a full-time or part-time.
- Distance learning option.
- Most courses are offered in the evenings to accommodate students’ work/life schedules.
- Learning Community.
- The small-sized program gives students extensive opportunities for interaction and collaboration with faculty throughout coursework and clinical experiences.
Program Objectives
To provide high quality professional education that includes classroom learning, field experiences, and other applied learning opportunities to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary for successful, effective, and responsible participation in changing diverse state and national rehabilitation counseling environment. Specifically,
- Education/Program Objective # 1. Students will demonstrate current knowledge and competencies required for successful practice in the field of professional counseling.
- Education/Program Objective # 2 (Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling). Students will be able to demonstrate specialized clinical and technical knowledge in working with individuals with disabilities to achieve their personal, social, psychological, and vocational goals.
- Education/Program Objective # 2 (Clinical Addiction Counseling). Students will be able to demonstrate specialized clinical and technical knowledge in working with individuals with and without disabilities who experience substance-use disorders and addictions to achieve their personal, social, psychological, and vocational goals.
- Education/Program Objective # 2 (Career Counseling). Students will be able to demonstrate specialized clinical and technical knowledge in working with individuals with and without disabilities to build life skills and achieve their career goals and with businesses to promote workplace health and wellbeing.
Through research and scholarship activities, to advance knowledge and understanding of the effects of disability on the lives of persons with disabilities, the effectiveness of programs and services for people with disabilities, and the role of individuals with disabilities in society, the workplace, and the world.
- To provide consultation and training to agencies and programs to enhance the abilities of their personnel serving disabled and disadvantaged persons in South Carolina and throughout the southeast.
- To provide rehabilitation services while offering students the opportunity for hands-on learning under the supervision of qualified, experienced professionals.
- To support the operations and activities of the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, School of Medicine, and University
To actively demonstrate respect for cultural and individual diversity in areas of education, scholarship, and service.
The U.S. Bureau Labor Services reports that roles for rehabilitation counselors will grow 10% from 2020-2030.
- Mental Health Counseling
- Substance Use/Addictions Counseling
- Career Counseling
- Vocational Rehabilitation
- Vocational Evaluation
- College or University Student Disability Resources
- Life Care Planning
- Employee Assistance Program
- VA Mental Health Counselor
- Veteran’s Vocational Rehabilitation
- Private Practice
- Community and State Agencies
- Colleges and Universities
- Public and Private Treatment Facilities
- Hospitals
- K-12 Education
- Independent Living Centers
- State Vocational Rehabilitation
- Private Rehabilitation Companies
- Insurance
- Government
Distance Learning
To accommodate our students who have multiple responsibilities, we have a distance learning option to make it easier for you to pursue your education and career goals without having to move to Columbia. At USC, this is considered Distributed Learning. All Counseling and Rehabilitation Program coursework is online with most being offered in a hybrid format, so you can attend synchronously in-person or online. A few courses are offered as asynchronous online classes. There are also a few required in-person meetings for specific classes and program events each academic year.
Program Outcomes
- 2023-2024: 16 MA graduates (60 credit hour degree)
- 2022-2023: 16 MA graduates (60 credit hour degree)
- 2021-2022: 10 MA graduates (60 credit hour degree)
- For students who started the 60 credit-hour program in 2021-2022 (N=10):
- 7 graduates in 2.5 years
- 2 are on track to graduate in 3.5-4 years
- 1 left the program for non-academic reasons
- For students who started the 60 credit-hour program in 2020-2021 (N=24):
- 16 graduates in 2.5 years
- 5 are on track to graduate in 3.5-4 years
- 3 left the program for non-academic reasons
- For students who started the 60 credit-hour program in 2019-2020 (N=16):
- 3 graduated in 2 years
- 4 graduated in 2.5 years
- 5 are on track to graduate in 3 - 4 years
- 2 transferred to other professional programs
- 2 left the program for non-academic reasons.
Licensure
- In 2023-2024, 9 recent program graduates took the National Counselor Examination (NCE), and of those who took it, all (100%) passed the exam on their first attempt. Not all program graduates seek licensure.
- In 2022-2023, 11 recent program graduates took the National Counselor Examination (NCE), and of those who took it, 10 (90.9%) passed the exam on their first attempt. Not all program graduates seek licensure.
- In 2021-2022, 8 (100%) recent graduates took and passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE). All 8 of these program graduates are seeking licensure (Note: 2021-2022 is the first year reporting this statistic).
Certification
- In 2023-2024, 1 of 2 program (50%) graduates took and passed the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam.
- In 2022-2023, no program graduates reported taking the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam.
- In 2021-2022, 1 of 1 (100%) program graduates took and passed the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam.
- Academic year 2023-2024: 100% of program graduates (N=16) who were actively seeking
employment are employed.
- Eleven of 16 (69%) graduates are employed as professional counselors in rehabilitation agencies or community mental health centers.
- Five (31%) of the graduates are employed in private practice.
- Academic year 2022-2023: 100% of program graduates (N=15) who were actively seeking
employment are employed. One (1) graduate opted to delay their job search.
- Eleven of 15 (73%) graduates are employed as rehabilitation counseling professionals in rehabilitation agencies or community mental health centers or practices.
- Two (2) graduates are employed in a school setting.
- One (1) is employed at a family community agency, and one (1) is self-employed.
- Academic year 2021-2022: 100% of program graduates (N=8) who were actively seeking
employment are employed.
- Two (2) graduates opted to delay their job search.
- 6 of 8 employed graduates (75%) are employed as rehabilitation counseling professionals in rehabilitation agencies or community mental health centers.
- One (1) graduate is employed in a school setting and one (1) is employed at a victims’ advocacy agency.
Important Information About Programs Leading to Certification and Licensure
Because the M.A. in Counseling and Rehabilitation with a specialty in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling is CACREP accredited, students in this specialty who have successfully completed 75 percent of their coursework and all graduates of the counseling and rehabilitation program are eligible to take the exam administered by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) that leads to the nationally recognized Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) credential. This credential is available to all students and graduates from the clinical rehabilitation counseling specialty, including those students who do not live in the state of South Carolina. Students in the Clinical Addiction Counseling specialty will take coursework required to be eligible for addiction counselor certification in the state of South Carolina. While students completing the Career Counseling specialty are eligible to apply for the Certified Career Counselor (CCC) credential through the National Career Development association.
In addition, the National Certified Counselor (NCC) is the national credential for professional counselors through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). This credential is available to all students and graduates whose programs are CACREP accredited.
Each state has its own licensing board with its own counselor licensure requirements. The 60-credit hour MA in Counseling and Rehabilitation includes coursework and field experiences required by the state of South Carolina for graduates to be eligible to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE) that leads to counselor licensure in South Carolina. The Clinical Addiction Counseling specialized practice area includes coursework required by the state of South Carolina for graduates to be eligible to take the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) Exam or the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (AADC) Exam. We cannot confirm that the program meets the requirements for professional licensure in another state. For students not living in South Carolina, click here for contact information for licensure in specific states. If a current student is considering relocating to another state after being admitted into the program, the student must contact the Program Director to discuss how the move may impact their ability to participate in academic courses (distributed learning) and clinical practicum and internship (experiential learning) opportunities in a different state.
The U.S. Bureau Labor Services reports that roles for rehabilitation counselors will grow 2 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Current societal and populations trends indicate that Clinical Rehabilitation Counselors with their significant training in mental health counseling see higher growth potential. Employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorders, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18 percent over 2022-2032 and Career Counseling is projected to grow 5 percent during this same period.