Counseling

COUN | EDUC | PSYC | SPED

COUN 608 Career Counseling and Development (3)

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of career development as it impacts on individuals throughout the life span. A basic assumption of the course is that understanding the adjustment of individuals is highly dependent upon understanding the choices they have made throughout their lives. Emphasis is placed on career and vocational choice theories, counseling delivery systems, career information, and social and psychological factors in career decision-making. Formal and informal occupational classification systems are covered. A great deal of emphasis is placed on practical applications of career theory to school counseling, individual counseling, group guidance, job search and placement, and career adjustment.

COUN 610 Appraisal, Assessment, and Evaluation (3)

This course explores the basic concepts of quantifying behavior including validity, reliability, norms, and methods of expressing test scores statistically. The course emphasizes standardized and non-standardized instruments, methods of communicating test results, and planning the school and non-school testing program. Practice in test interpretation is provided.

COUN 612 Counseling for Optimal Health Throughout the Life Span (3)

This course surveys research focusing on the relationships between activities and health. Specific topics will be: changing longevity patterns, the changing nature of disease in Western society, the allocation of health resources, the psychological correlates of healthy adult life, the role of stress in current patterns of illness, the relationship of diet and exercise to optimal adult health, and the implementation of active preventive measures.

COUN 633 Multicultural Counseling (3)

This course is designed to develop appropriate skills, competencies, and knowledge bases and to examine the beliefs of counselors working with people across cultures. The course focuses on researching, reading, and developing an understanding of cultures, customs, languages, traditions, religions, and spiritualities of people across cultures. Emphasis is given to the understanding of counseling students and individuals in a very diverse world.

COUN 731 Group Counseling (3)

Prerequisites: PSYC 502 and PSYC 734. The primary objective of this course is to acquaint students with important skills that are considered to be prerequisites for effective group counseling as well as working with other kinds of groups, both in schools and in community mental health facilities. These skills include the basics of group dynamics and an introduction to the laboratory training method of working with groups.

COUN 732 Family Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course provides an opportunity for students interested in counseling and mental health to study basic theories and application for the principles of family counseling. By using various theories, students will learn how the application of family theories is used in developing a holistic understanding of the dynamics of a family. Through an in-depth comprehension of family behavior, students will use various family counseling theories demonstrating their skill development in counseling families.

COUN 762 Drug and Alcohol Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. Students will develop skills in the application of counseling techniques that are used with individuals of all ages who abuse drugs and alcohol. The importance of philosophical assumptions about "drug abusers" will be examined; students will examine their own philosophies of counseling individuals who abuse drugs. Basic counseling techniques will be demonstrated, and students will participate in exercises and case consultations to develop their own skills.

COUN 836 Practicum in School Counseling (3)

Prerequisites: PSYC 502, PSYC 734, PSYC 780, COUN 610, COUN 731, COUN 840; attendance at a practicum orientation. This course emphasizes practical counseling with supervised experience in school guidance programs, the role of the teacher and/or administrator of community services in the guidance program, and consideration of the problems and issues in consultation in the counseling relationship. Students are required to complete 300 hours of supervised practical experience to successfully complete this course, which is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and conducted over two sessions.

COUN 837 Internship in School Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: COUN 836. This course continues to develop skills and places in-depth emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in school guidance programs, the role of the teacher and/or administrator of community services in the guidance program, and consideration of the problems and issues in consultation in the counseling relationship. Students are required to complete 400 hours of supervised practical experience to successfully complete this course, which is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and conducted over two sessions.

COUN 840 Counseling Children and Adolescents (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course addresses the specific developmental stages, needs, and problems of children and adolescents in school and in the community at large. Techniques for counseling these groups will be illustrated through demonstrations and personal growth and development activities.

COUN 843 Marital and Couples Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course explores theoretical applications regarding marital and couples counseling with a strong focus on clinical application, including case conceptualization, hypothesis building, and therapeutic technique.

COUN 861 Seminar in School Counseling (3) (Capstone)

Prerequisites: 30 credits of graduate coursework. A capstone course is designed to measure comprehension and knowledge gained from the program. The first four weeks will be a review of materials covered, culminating in a comprehensive exam. The second portion of this course will be development of a professional paper and will give the student guidance and practice in research writing. This portion of the course will focus attention on a review of relevant literature on current trends, issues and problems with presentations, and class discussions. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

EDUC 507 Human Growth and Development (3)

This course places emphasis on the study of the characteristics of human growth at each stage of development. Special emphasis will be placed on counseling in various settings, including schools. Instruction and practice in the writing of a case study report is also given.

EDUC 706 Introduction to Research (3)

This course is designed to provide the graduate student with an understanding of the various kinds of behavioral research and to develop an understanding of various research designs appropriate to behavioral sciences. Use of basic statistical techniques appropriate to these designs is included.

PSYC 502 Principles and Philosophy of Counseling (3)

Historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological bases of counseling in different settings (school, agency, and community) and with different populations will be explored. Intervention strategies, theoretical models, working contexts, consultation, relationships to other professions, ethics, obstacles to service delivery, and personal qualities of counselors are reviewed.

PSYC 710 Psychometric Testing (3)

Prerequisites: 15 credits of graduate counseling courses, including COUN 610. The course emphasizes the administration, scoring and interpretation of intelligence, academic, projective and personality assessments. Included will be a survey of their development, their underlying theories, and current trends in their use. The course will review such tests as the Wechsler Scales, Woodcock Johnson Tests, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Appreciation Test, Gestalt Test of Visual Perception, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

PSYC 714 Clinical Assessment in Counseling and Psychotherapy (DSM-IV) (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course integrates various assessment methodologies for a comprehensive process of assessment. The purposes, techniques, and process of clinical assessment will be explored. Techniques for understanding of non-verbal, verbal, and interpersonal transactions, including the recapitulation of the family structure and dynamics, are examined. Students are introduced to situational assessment, psychological inference, and report writing.

PSYC 734 Counseling Theory and Practice (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. In this course, several of the major approaches to counseling will be examined. The theoretical bases and major concepts of these approaches, as well as the process of counseling proposed by the advocates of different schools, will be studied. The theories studied will include client-centered, Gestalt, Behaviorist, Adlerian, etc.

PSYC 775 Psychopharmacology (3)

Prerequisites: 21 credits of graduate counseling courses. This course is designed for non-medical psychotherapists and counselors. Students will be presented an overview of the current therapeutic use of psychotropic drugs. A neuroanatomy, a survey on current research on neurotransmitters, and a review of pharmacological terminology will be given. Specific drugs to be considered include the narcotic analgesics, the sedative hypnotics, stimulants, neuroleptic, anxiolytics, antidepressants, and lithium.

PSYC 780 Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling and Therapy (3)

This course is designed to provide the helping professional with the knowledge of the major ethical and legal issues in counseling, school counseling, and psychotherapy today. Students will be exposed to such topics as ethical theory, laws and court decisions, incompetence, malpractice, licensure and certification, privileged communications, DSM-IV and family therapy, legal liabilities affecting psychologists, and legal obligations of psychotherapists. Ethical standards for individual practitioners will be examined in detail. Participants will be involved in case research, group discussions, group reports, and individual presentations of ethical and legal issues in the field of counseling, school counseling, and psychotherapy.

PSYC 806 Internship in Mental Health Therapy (3)

Prerequisites: COUN 837 or PSYC 858 and permission of the director, Graduate Programs. This course builds on the experiences gained from the prerequisites courses and has a similar structure. Students are required to complete 300 hours of supervised practical experience to successfully complete this course, which is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and conducted over two sessions.

PSYC 836 Practicum in Counseling Psychology (3)

Prerequisites: PSYC 502, PSYC 734, PSYC 780, COUN 610, COUN 731, COUN 732; attendance at a practicum orientation. This course places emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in community and/or agency programs. The role of the administrator of community counseling services is considered. Problems and issues in consultation and in counseling are examined. Students are required to complete 300 hours of supervised practical experience to successfully complete this course, which is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and conducted over two sessions.

PSYC 858 Internship in Counseling Psychology (3)

Prerequisite: PSYC 836. This course continues to develop skills and places in-depth emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in community and/or agency programs. The role of the administrator of community counseling services is considered. Problems and issues in consultation and in counseling are examined. Students are required to complete 400 hours of supervised practical experience to successfully complete this course, which is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and conducted over two sessions.

PSYC 861 Seminar in Counseling Psychology (3) (Capstone)

Prerequisites: 30 credits of graduate coursework. A capstone course is designed to measure comprehension and knowledge gained from the program. The first four weeks will be a review of materials covered culminating in a comprehensive exam. The second portion of this course will be development of a professional paper and will give the student guidance and practice in research writing. This portion of the course will focus attention on a review of relevant literature on current trends, issues and problems with presentations and class discussions. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

SPED 511 Special Education Perspective (3)

Students examine the historical development, philosophies, research, legislation, and current difficulties that have emerged relative to the education of exceptional children. The characteristics of children with disabilities and the principles of effective instruction, management, and intervention are addressed as they apply to special education. Family empowerment concepts are explored relative to the diversity of our schools and communities. Professional, community, and parent organizations and local, state, and federal agencies dealing with exceptional children are also identified.

Management information systems

INSS 510 Computer Concepts (3)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate programming and college algebra. Provides an overview of basic computer concepts as they apply to MIS professionals. Emphasis is on basic machine architecture including data storage, manipulation, the human-machine interface including the basics of operating systems, algorithms, and programming languages. In addition, the basic concepts of data organization including data and file structures are examined. Emerging trends in computer technology and their impact on organizational information systems are also discussed.

INSS 620 Software Structures (3)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate programming and college algebra. Provides an in-depth look at software from a design and implementation perspective. Language semantics and syntax issues are explored. Specification and implementation of data structures are examined. Characteristics of non-procedural, heuristic, and object-oriented languages are discussed. Current developments in software engineering methodologies are reviewed as well as research into the improvement of those practices. Software project management concepts and software quality issues are also addressed. Students will be required to complete programming projects.

INSS 630 Information Systems in Organizations (3)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate management and economics. Introduces basic management information systems concepts and examines the fundamental types of information systems. Personal, work group, and enterprise information systems are discussed. The use of information to gain competitive advantage are also examined. Other topics to be discussed include the economics of information, use of value-added concepts to evaluate information system effectiveness, and the application of system theory to information system architecture.

INSS 638 Data Communication Systems Networks (3)

Provides analysis of data communication technology and its application within the public and private sector enterprise. Gives an in-depth view of the communication environment, data communication and telecommunication equipment, and local and wide area networks. The student is involved in case studies of communication systems design in educational, industrial, governmental, and military environments.

INSS 640 Information Systems Analysis and Design (3)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and quantitative methods. Provides an in-depth look at all phases of information systems development. Requirements acquisition methodologies are reviewed and evaluated with respect to different application areas. Logical design is reviewed and implementation issues are addressed. Data-centered as well as process-centered approaches to system design are reviewed. Particular design methodologies including structured design and object-oriented design are discussed. Life-cycle as well as heuristic approaches to system development are examined and discussed. Organizational and behavioral issues with respect to information system development are examined. An analysis and design project will be required.

INSS 650 Database Management and Decision Systems (3)

Examines database concepts and practices as they relate to business environments. Various database structures including relational and object-oriented are discussed. Concepts of distributed database architecture are explored. Design, development, and implementation of databases are examined. Organizational issues concerning the implementation of databases and the role of data in the decision-making process are examined. Decision support system architecture is reviewed with emphasis on the database component. Issues of intelligent databases are discussed. A database project is required.

INSS 720 Information Systems Policy (3)

Prerequisites: All undergraduate program prerequisites. Examines the issue of linking business performance with information systems technology. Alternative structures for matching the information system organization with the overall organization are discussed and evaluated. Planning mechanisms and strategies are examined. Behavior and legal issues that relate to information systems management are addressed. Case studies are used to expose students to information systems policy issues.

INSS 880 Information Systems Practicum (3)

Provides the student with practical experience in analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating an information system in educational, industrial, governmental, or military environments. The student completes a systems development project in which all of the systems development cycles can be experienced. Students can be placed in practicum sites independently or in a team to acquire practical experience. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is normally conducted over two sessions.

INSS 890 Professional Seminar (3) (Capstone)

Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of graduate coursework. A capstone course is designed to measure comprehension and knowledge gained from the program. The first four weeks will be a review of materials covered, culminating in a comprehensive exam. The second portion of this course will be development of a professional paper within the student's chosen area of interest that will give the student guidance and practice in research writing. This portion of the course is designed to expose the student to the various areas of information systems in the organization where concepts from other core courses can be utilized. The focus is on information science research and on policy formation and issues. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

Public Administration

ECON | MGMT | PUAD

ECON 522 Public Finance (3)

Prerequisite: Undergraduate economics. An analysis of the elements, structure, functions, and processes of public finance. This course covers theory and practice of the allocation, distribution, and stabilization roles of the government at national, state, and local levels.

MGMT 511 Organizational Behavior (3)

Presents basic concepts of formal organizations. Students become acquainted with the major conceptual models which purport to explain organizational behavior, acquire an understanding of the methods used to study organizations, and analyze research which has been produced. While the emphasis is placed on critical analysis of literature which deals with "what is," attention is given to views about "what should be" in order for people to derive maximum satisfaction and other benefits from organizational activity.

MGMT 571 Human Resource Management (3)

Provides students with an understanding of the problems, issues, and opportunities in managing the procurement, development, utilization, and maintenance of an effective, productive, and satisfied work force.

MGMT 584 Management Statistics (3)

Prerequisite: Undergraduate statistics. Provides the knowledge necessary to interpret published research results and to permit elementary research in business and public administration. Content includes descriptive statistics, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, sampling, correlation, linear regression, and multiple regression.

MGMT 585 Quantitative Methods for Decision-Making (3)

Prerequisite: Undergraduate statistics. Acquaints students with the quantitative techniques commonly used in the decision-making process. Sample topics include concepts of decision-making and decision analysis, linear programming, sensitivity analysis, transportation and assignments, problems forecasting and time-series analysis, inventory concepts, PERT, and mathematical simulation.

MGMT 640 Strategic Management (3)

Focuses on strategic management process (model): strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Key strategies such as differentiation, cost leadership, integration, and diversification are emphasized.

MGMT 741 Organizational Development (3)

Prerequisites: MGMT 511 and MGMT 571. This course is designed to provide an understanding of the underlying theory of organization change and intervention; to explore how various change strategies can be applied to problems involving people in intact systems; and to analyze successful approaches and techniques in organizational development, to include materials, techniques, designs, current issues, and practices in organizational development. Other topics covered in the course include the organization as a system, organization assessment, team building and inter-group work as OD intervention, entry strategies, internal/external change agents, and third-party consultation.

PUAD 502 Qualitative Research Methods (3)

The study and application of research methodology for organizations for use as a tool in decision-making. Emphasis is on applied research theories and designs for methodological approaches that apply non-experimental and quasi-experimental research designs as part of the research strategy.

PUAD 524 Public Budgeting (3)

Prerequisite: Undergraduate economics. Covers concepts, principles, and practices, and their specific application to the development of resources in support of programs and the allocation of these resources against the demands at national, state, and local levels. The student evaluates performance budgeting, PPBS, and zero-base budgeting.

PUAD 601 Concepts of Public Administration (3)

Prerequisite: Undergraduate American political science or American government. A survey of the fundamentals of public administration, management strategies, and management techniques at the national, state, and local levels.

PUAD 603 Public Policy Analysis (3)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate economics and American government. Focuses on the analysis of costs and benefits in the selection of public policy choices. Students analyze public policy alternatives, factors, and processes involved in policy development, including the rulemaking that occurs after legislative enactment of public programs.

PUAD 704 Evaluation Research (3) (Capstone)

Prerequisites: 30 credits of graduate coursework. A capstone course is designed to measure comprehension and knowledge gained from the program. The first four weeks will be a review of materials covered, culminating in a comprehensive exam. The second portion of this course will be development of a professional paper and will give the student guidance and practice in research writing. This portion of the course will explore the methods and models for policy analysis and program evaluation; methods of collecting and analyzing evaluation data; and processes for linking evaluation to policy formulation and program management. Emphasis is on how to conduct formative evaluations of government programs.This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

PUAD 710 Intergovernmental Relations Seminar (3)

Prerequisite: PUAD 601. Focuses on the complexities and inadequacies of the federal-state-local system with conflicts and cooperation between the three levels; with changing roles of government; with the development of structures, processes, and management to strengthen the intergovernmental system and improve performance; and with increasing student problem-solving and managerial capabilities.