3 plus 2 Rehabilitation Services Counseling Program

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The University of Maine at Farmington’s 3 + 2 agreement with the University of Southern Maine offers an accelerated and more affordable pathway to earning a Master of Science in Counseling degree.

With a shortage of counselors across the nation, the new 3+2 Counseling (B.S. to M.S.) program offered collaboratively between the University of Maine at Farmington and the University of Southern Maine lets you complete your Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in just 5 years, rather than the typical 6 - allowing you to work in the counseling field helping individuals with disabilities one year sooner and one year less expensive.

The Accelerated Pathway to a Master’s Degree in Counseling

You complete the first 3 years of undergraduate study at UMF, where you earn a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Services, then move on to the University of Southern Maine to begin your M.S. in Counseling program, where you’ll complete the remaining requirements in just 2 years - a total of 5 years rather than 6.

This unique fast-track arrangement saves you both time and money, allowing you to pursue your dream of becoming a counselor quicker - and more affordably.

A Career Focused on Helping Others

If you want to help individuals with autism, veterans with PTSD, persons with brain injuries, or others, then this is the program for you. Some of the settings our graduates may work in include: alcohol and drug treatment facilities, counseling agencies, correctional facilities, employee assistance programs, independent living programs, mental health centers, public and private rehabilitation programs, university offices for students with disabilities, and more.

In the Counseling 3+2 program you’ll complete a short candidacy application during your second year at UMF.

This early application process allows you to gain acceptance through a streamlined graduate application process in your senior year. With your bachelor’s degree, you may apply for the Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician Community (MHRT/C) certification, allowing you to gain practical experience in the field while earning your Master’s degree.

At the University of Maine at Farmington

In years one through three at UMF, you’ll take coursework to satisfy the academic requirements for your Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation Services as you gain practical skills with three field experiences, including a full-time 450-hour internship. This also helps you explore different populations you may wish to work with.

At the University of Southern Maine

At the University of Southern Maine you can choose a track in:

Master of Science in Counseling (MSC) - Concentration in Rehabilitation

Then in years four and five at USM, you gain advanced expertise and valuable hands-on experiences in your Master of Science in Counseling program providing counseling services in your practicum and internship, under the supervision of faculty and experienced agency professionals with appropriate licenses or certifications.

Upon graduation, you will earn your Master’s of Science degree in Counseling and can qualify for both state licensing for counseling and national certification for rehabilitation counseling, making you highly employable in many settings.

All students will be required to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE) and the international Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) examinations in order to acquire state counseling licensure and national CRC certification.

Some students may customize their internship to work with individuals in the substance abuse field and may also qualify to take the national Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) examination to become licensed as a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor.

Your advisor will work with you to ensure that you can be licensure-eligible and can pursue certain specialty areas.

With national accreditation from Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), the UMF / USM Counseling 3+2 program upholds the highest academic standards and allows for ease in licensure.