Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

at Northeastern Illinois University USA

The major in Special Education is designed to meet state teacher licensure requirements by training students to be knowledgeable and skilled regarding the education of all school aged children and adolescents with disabilities. Majors are selected during October to begin studies during the following Spring semester. Majors progress through the program as a cohort. Most coursework is offered during daytime hours.

The Bachelor of Science in Earth Science prepares students for graduate study, or a wide range of positions in Environmental Geoscience fields, including industry, consulting, or state/federal agencies. In addition to required and elective ESCI courses, additional courses in cognate fields (math and science) are required for completion of the degree program. All students are urged to plan their program with the help of ESCI faculty advising.

The graduate program in English develops skills in critical thinking, writing, and research, encourages intellectual curiosity, and provides training for careers and professional advancement in related fields such as teaching, editorial work, journalism, publishing, writing, and research.

Students pursuing the MA in English choose between two degree concentrations, Literature or Composition. The two-track curriculum provides two separate fields of study within English, offering multiple career opportunities as well as preparing students for doctoral work.

NEIU offers a Master of Arts degree for those individuals seeking an advanced degree in Community and Teacher Leaders. The program is designed to develop knowledge, dispositions, and skills to foster reflective, collaborative and transformative leaders in both community and school settings. Specifically, students will learn to harness the collective knowledge of community members and educators to have a positive impact on community and school success in both traditional and non-traditional settings; promote collaborative governance and leadership in communities and schools with a consistent focus on improved outcomes; model excellence in community leadership and teaching with a strong foundation in transforming the climate; and provide coaching, mentoring, and support to educators and community members to promote and influence change.  Instructional strategies include research, inquiry, analysis, and evaluation as well digital literacy and technology skills.  

Students may select one of two concentrations: community leadership or school-based teacher leadership. While both the Community and Teacher Leaders concentration lead to a Master of Arts degree, the Teacher Leader concentration also leads to a Teacher Leader Endorsement as recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education. Teachers who already have a Master's degree and an Illinois teaching license may take a subset of these courses to earn only the Teacher Leader endorsement. This school-based teacher leader concentration provides knowledge and skills related to leadership and mentoring, professional development, promoting school culture that focuses on student learning, using data to improve educational outcomes, and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders. The community-based leader concentration provides knowledge and skills that foster leadership in ethical and culturally sensitive public engagement, acknowledgement and consideration of the complexities of local and global communities, and leverages community assets to promote social justice.

The Department of Counselor Education offers a 48 credit hour program (16 courses) leading to the Master of Arts in Counseling: Rehabilitation Counseling.

The degree in Rehabilitation Counseling fulfills the educational requirements for the two levels of licensure as professional counselors in the State of Illinois:  Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). Graduates of the Rehabilitation Counseling program can also obtain Certified Rehabilitation Counseling (CRC) certification.

On July 1, 2017, the Council for Rehabilitation Education (CORE), the accrediting body of this rehabilitation counseling program, merged with the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).  CACREP will now have the responsibility for the review of Rehabilitation Counselor graduate programs. Find out more information at Counselor Education accreditation, licensures, and credentialing.

The Accounting MS Program prepares students for the changing accounting profession of the new millennium. The Accounting MS Program provides students with a balanced, rigorous, and in-depth core-course exposure that covers financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, income taxation, and research methodology. The Accounting MS program also exposes students to non-accounting fields so that graduates from the program can make decisions in multi-disciplinary business environments. In addition, the program enables students to meet the 150 credit hours requirement for the CPA exam in the states which have enacted this legislation. The program consists of curricular studies of 30 credit hours in the Accounting Core and Elective Curriculum.

Northeastern Illinois University offers a two-phase Master of Science in Accounting program.

• The first phase consists of a set of foundation courses, some or all of which may be waived depending on your prior academic preparation. If your bachelor's degree is not in accounting, you will also need to show proficiency in six undergraduate prerequisite courses: Cost Accounting, Auditing Theory and Problems, Federal Income Tax (Individual), Intermediate Financial Accounting I, Intermediate Financial Accounting II and Business Calculus. You may demonstrate proficiency either through competent coursework or by passing a proficiency examination. Please note that these six courses are program prerequisites. They are not part of the M.S. in Accounting program and cannot be applied to the degree requirements.
• The second phase is made up of 30 hours of advanced core courses and is required of all students in the program. Among these advanced courses are six hours of accounting elective classes and nine hours of non-accounting elective classes.

Northeastern Illinois University is the only four-year public university in the Midwest federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and as such our Latino and Latin American Studies Program (LLAS) builds on the University’s commitment to diversity and community partnerships. We strive to combine classroom learning and active involvement in the community. LLAS classes are taught by faculty from an array of disciplines in education, the social sciences and humanities, who are committed to active learning through discussion, research and community engagement.

The B.A. in Art with a concentration in Studio Art introduces students to a wide variety of art and design media, provides a strong foundation in art history and allows a student to have an extended area of emphasis in a single medium. This major gives students breadth and experience with an array of studio disciplines and classes place emphasis on both technique and ideas in their work. All studio courses use critiques as vehicles for discussion, analysis and evaluation and are appropriately tailored to the course level. Students in the Studio Art concentration have the opportunity to show their work in multiple student exhibitions each semester, including the annual juried student exhibition in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. The Northeastern Art + Design Association (NADA), our student art and design organization, frequently plans and implements shows on campus and all majors mount a senior capstone exhibition in one of our student galleries. Studio areas in the department include:

• Art + Technology
• Ceramics
• Drawing
• Graphic Design
• Painting
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Sculpture
• Letterpress (part of the B.F.A. in Graphic Design)

The Community Health (HSCI) program prepares students to work in a variety of settings that include: city, county, and state health departments, hospitals, worksite wellness, college campuses, parks and recreation departments, non-profit organizations (American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, YMCA, Boys and Girls Club), and more.  Example programs community health majors work with include: nutrition and exercise, alcohol and other drugs, sexual transmitted infections and contraception awareness, social and emotional health, environmental awareness, disease prevention, health disparities, immunization awareness, and many more. Graduates use their knowledge and skills to focus on how best to reach vulnerable community members and to better allocate resources to under-served populations. They may initiate wellness programs, write policies, implement educational and primary prevention activities, or create resources to promote healthy living.

Community Health students complete an internship. The internship is comprised of a semester-long fieldwork experience and a weekly seminar with assignments. Community Health students complete 200 clock hours of work (typically unpaid) in a community health related agency. Community Health students must be admitted to the Goodwin College of Education to start the internship.  Moreover, it is highly recommended that Community Health students gain admission to the Goodwin College of Education early in the program, as some courses require admittance to the Goodwin College of Education.

The Early Childhood Education Program offers a course of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The major in Early Childhood Education consists of 51 credit hours, including two 100-hour clinical experiences
at different age levels of early childhood. Each clinical includes a 3-credit weekly lecture to provide more in-depth examination of field experiences and on time field relevant topics.

In addition, students are required to pursue endorsement in TESL or BLBC (please contact the TESL program advisor or ECED program advisor for BLBC endorsement requirements)

Students who complete this program qualify for Early Childhood licensure. Upon licensure, they are eligible to teach early childhood (birth-2nd grade).