| The Rehabilitation Counseling programs (masters and doctoral degree programs) are located within the Office of Rehabilitation Studies in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education. In addition to the two graduate degree programs, the area's continuing education and outreach arm, REACH, is also located within ORDS. Since 1955, when it was first established, the program has received extensive national recognition for its faculty and the outstanding contributions of many of its 1500 master's and doctoral graduates. In 2006, U.S News and World Report ranked the program number one in the nation among all graduate rehabilitation counseling programs.
The Office of Rehabilitation and Disability Studies is committed to providing students with a wide range of professional, educational and research opportunities. Students also profit from strong ties to the rehabilitation community and service delivery systems, and through the Office's affiliation with national and international professional associations and service institutions. Fellowship awards (masters and doctoral level) are available on a competitive basis to qualified students from a Rehabilitation Services Administration Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The master's degree program, nationally-accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), provides a strong foundation in the profession and practice of rehabilitation counseling. It offers opportunities to develop expertise in counseling, the social and psychological aspects of disability, the vocational rehabilitation process, case management, ethical practices, independent living, disability management, transition from school to work, vocational assessment, career development, and employment strategies. Graduates are prepared to work as counselors specializing in disability issues in the public, private, and non-profit sectors of rehabilitation as well as other diverse organizations within the community. Graduates are immediately eligible for state counselor licensure and national certification.
The doctoral program in Rehabilitation Counselor Education is designed to prepare individuals for careers as university-level educators and researchers. There currently exists a critical shortage of leaders in these fields. Recent graduates have secured faculty positions at such institutions as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Penn State University, and the University of South Carolina.
The Office of Rehabilitation and Disability Studies' faculty members have diverse professional experiences and interests in rehabilitation, and each is a distinguished member of the rehabilitation counseling profession. By design, the student-faculty ratio is low. Faculty members are accessible, and there is extensive interaction between individual faculty members and students.
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