The Department of Counseling and Higher Education has two academic program areas and two centers. The Counselor Education program area offers master's and doctoral degrees in Counselor Education. Higher Education and Student Affairs offers master's degrees in College Student Personnel and Higher Education, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education. The two centers are The George E. Hill Center for Counseling and Research and The Center for Higher Education. Students from across the country as well as from outside the United States come to study at both of these highly respected programs. Though different in many respects, they both share a commitment to excellence in scholarship, leadership and professionalism in their respective programs.
Counselor Education
The Counselor Education Program at Ohio University was established in 1948 by George E. Hill, a national leader in Counselor Education. The first Ph.D. degree from the program was granted in 1962. All degree programs in Counselor Education are nationally accredited. Specialty areas of focus include clinical mental health counseling, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, and counselor education & supervision.
Our graduates are employed throughout the country and abroad in a variety of positions devoted to service and leadership. There is a long history of outstanding professional accomplishments of both faculty and graduates that is promoted by the program’s emphasis on a holistic approach to the integration of counseling training with a high level of professional commitment and involvement.
Faculty, graduates and students contribute to their own professional development and the growth of the profession by their leadership in professional positions in national and state professional counseling organizations. They practice counseling, conduct research, make professional presentations, publish professional materials and continually strive for their own improvement.
Higher Education and Student Affairs
The area of higher education and student affairs consists of graduate programs in college student personnel and higher education administration. The primary mission of this area is to prepare people for leadership roles in colleges, universities and other agencies devoted to adult learning. Adult learning occurs not only in traditional institutions of higher education, but also in business and industry, social and government agencies, the military and health care organizations.
