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Colleges Partner To Prepare Students For Counseling & School Psych. Careers

WAMC composite image by Dave Lucas

The College of Saint Rose and the State University of New York at Cobleskill  are teaming up to prepare students for careers in the fields of counseling and school psychology. 

In these days of spiraling tuition fees and student loan debt, it pays to know your options — in this case, three joint programs of study between the two colleges will enable qualified SUNY Cobleskill graduates in applied psychology to transition seamlessly into specific master’s degree programs at Saint Rose.

Dr. Margaret McLane is interim dean of the Thelma P. Lally School of Education at Saint Rose:    "This seemed like a natural partnership. Allow students at the undergrad level to focus their coursework in preparation for a master's degree in either counseling or school psychology."

Saint Rose will waive its graduate school application fee for SUNY Cobleskill applied psychology graduates.  In addition, successful students will be eligible to apply for scholarships and graduate assistantships.

SUNY Cobleskill provost Dr. Susan Zimmerman says the program is in high demand for students both in and outside the upstate area the two colleges serve.   "What's appealing about this partnership with St. Rose is that it provides students in our applied psychology program an opportunity to transfer into a program that allows them to pursue careers in perhaps school counseling, school psychology, so it opens up another avenue in terms of career paths for them."

Zimmerman adds this isn't the first time the schools have partnered.    "We had students probably most commonly in our early childhood program pursue graduate work at St. Rose, and now we're seeing it with applied psychology, so it's a nice connection."

Officials say the partnership concept enhances the experiences for the student while embellishing the opportunities afforded by the colleges. There's also a faculty-to-faculty connection, and the partnership allows SUNY Cobleskill students to continue their courses in the Capital Region.

St. Rose's Dr. McLane says the agreement streamlines the process of moving from graduate to undergraduate study.    "For the students it takes away some of the anxiety about knowing whether or not they're going to be accepted in a graduate program. It allows for them to do some long-range planning and anticipating where they'll be able to complete their studies in order to enter their chosen career."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Occupation Projection Data,”  three fields, school psychologist, school counselor and mental health counselor, are expected to grow through 2020.

An information session about the program is scheduled for October 30th on the SUNY Cobleskill campus.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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