Program Overview

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Overview of the Rehabilitation Counseling and Disability Sciences Program

The Rehabilitation Counseling and Disability Sciences (RCDS) major, within the Department of Child and Family Studies, trains counselors to work with persons with physical, mental, emotional, and chemical disabilities. This 60-credit, fully online master’s program offers training that emphasizes psychological, social, medical, and vocational aspects of disability, and the development and refinement of personal adjustment counseling skills.

Program Description

Rehabilitation counseling is a counseling specialty focused primarily on disability advocacy and vocational rehabilitation counseling for individuals with physical, mental, and/or developmental disabilities. This program prepares professionals to work with the growing population of people with disabilities in the U.S. with an emphasis on contemporary, state of art research and assistive technology in disability science.

Career Opportunities

Students with this degree may find jobs as:

• Rehabilitation Counselor for State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, Veteran’s Affairs, or private industry
• Certified Vocational Evaluator
• Directors for Rehabilitation agencies
• Accessibility Services or Equity Employment Managers within corporations
• ADA Coordinator
• ADA Compliance Officer

Ideal Candidates

Prime candidates for this program include students who:

• are interested in working to change the lives of individuals with disabilities
• see themselves as advocates for social justice and societal change
• seek to remove barriers and stigmas associated with people with disabilities
• are interested in working in vocational rehabilitation in the public or private setting

Admissions Requirements

Applicants are required to submit the following information for consideration:

1. undergraduate transcripts
2. statement of purpose
3. three letters of recommendation
4. GRE or GRE waiver
5. resume

GRE Waiver

We allow waivers to students who request consideration based on relevant experience and/or previous academic performance.

Transcripts

Yes, you will need to submit transcripts from your Associate’s Degree and any/all institutions you may have attended since high school.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose provides you an opportunity to introduce yourself to the admission committee and describe why you believe this degree is a good fit with both your professional background and professional aspirations. It also will serve as a writing sample. Be sure to proofread accordingly. There is no set length, but most are between 1-2 pages.

Letters of Recommendation

Your letters of recommendations should come from individuals who know you in a professional and/or academic setting.

• It is required that at least one of the recommenders is someone who can attest to your academic abilities and should be a former instructor or professor.

Program Details

• This program has a fixed tuition rate of $600 per credit hour regardless of where you live.
• The RCDS program is a cost-recovery master’s program at USF. We are not eligible to accept state tuition waivers.
• After completion of this program, students are eligible to become credentialed as Certified Rehabilitation Counselors.
• The program is fully online, with some courses requiring synchronous learning.
• Most courses are offered in 8-week sessions. Two courses per 8-weeks is considered full-time. Internship and Practicum courses are offered in 10-week and 16-week sessions.

Field Placement Experiences

Each student will complete a minimum of 800 field experience hours. Field placement experiences may be state vocational rehabilitation agencies, veteran’s administration, and other agencies servicing people with disability. It is the student’s responsibility to identify an agency that meets program criteria.

Application Deadline and Start Dates

• June 1 for Fall semester start and October 1 for Spring semester start.
• New graduate students are accepted on a rolling basis.
• For Fall admission, students begin courses in mid-late August. For Spring admission, students begin courses in early January.

Program Completion

This program will take 2 years to complete when attending full-time. Students must complete the program within 5 years. Yes, students can attend on a part-time basis.

Accessibility and Support

• All courses are developed utilizing Universal Design, meeting ADA Accessibility guidelines.
• USF also provides students with disabilities additional support through the Student Accessibility Services office.
• Instructors will provide instruction through course lecture, group projects, discussion posts, and more. Faculty are available to students via email and Microsoft Teams during their scheduled office hours.

Accreditation

This online master's program in Rehabilitation Counseling is not currently CACREP accredited. However, we are in the process of seeking accreditation.

Non-Degree Seeking Students

Yes, students can take courses as a non-degree seeking student. Students who already have a master’s degree and would like to take only the classes needed for the CRC exam are also allowed to do so.