Rehabilitation Counseling, MS

The mission of the University at Buffalo master of science program in rehabilitation counseling is to provide high quality instruction and practical experiences, in order to develop competent and professional rehabilitation counselors who are committed to facilitating autonomy, inclusion and well-being of individuals with disabilities in employment and the community.

The program faculty will continuously assess the program and student progress to ensure our mission to develop competent and professional rehabilitation counselors. We will promote pluralism and ideals which are consistent with the rehabilitation counseling philosophy.

Program faculty have identified the following three objectives:

1. We will assure that our graduates achieve competence based on the latest knowledge, skills and dispositional standards.
2. We will make continuous and systematic efforts to attract and retain a diverse group of faculty and students to support an inclusive learning community.
3. We will aspire to program excellence through self-study, to ensure our rehabilitation counseling program meets the CACREP standards of accreditation and qualifications for CRCC certification. 

You must have a bachelor’s degree (BA/BS) in a related field.

Submit your completed online application, which includes:

• Application fee: A $50 non-refundable application fee, submitted electronically through UB's ePayment system.
• Contact information for at least two individuals who will each be asked to provide an electronic recommendation letter.
• Unofficial transcripts from all colleges attended. (UB transcripts are automatically submitted for current UB students and alumni.)
• Statement of intent regarding why you want to become a rehabilitation counselor.

Admission Interview: An interview is required to be considered for admission to this program.

Former/Maiden Name: Please provide us with your former/maiden name if you have one. When requesting transcripts, please ask the sending institution to indicate your current name and former/maiden name.

Admission Decision: The admission decision will be communicated to you as soon as review is complete. The decision is based on a number of factors and is the result of a thorough and deliberate process. All decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

The rehabilitation counseling program is fully accredited by the New York State Education Department (NYSED), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP). The program was accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Counselor Education (CORE) until that organization merged with CACREP in July 2017. As a result, the rehabilitation counseling program at the University at Buffalo is accredited by CACREP. This accreditation is separate from CACREP accreditation for the 60-hour Licensed Mental Health Counselor programs.

Students of CACREP-accredited programs are eligible to take the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) examination in their final year of the program. Seventy-five percent of coursework needs to be completed at least one to two months prior to taking the exam. Students who pass the CRC exam are eligible to submit their transcript after degree conferral to the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) under Category One. This will allow students to immediately hold the credential as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) without the need for prior supervised employment in the field, as required for other certification categories.