History of the Division of Counseling Psychology and Education
The current Santa Clara University Division of Counseling
Psychology and Education began in 1951 as the Department of
Education when the University decided to employ a full-time
instructor to offer the necessary professional education courses
for a California state teaching credential. Previously, adjunct
faculty had offered courses in the history of U.S. schools
and in educational psychology to interested students and to
prospective teachers. The Department of Education remained
a small teacher preparation unit until 1964 when guidelines
were established for a credential and Master of Arts in School
Counseling. At that time, three full-time faculty became responsible
for an expanded fifth-year teacher preparation program and
for the newly created Master of Arts degree and credential
program in school counseling.
In 1970, the teacher preparation program was expanded to
include elementary teacher training. In 1973, the University
began offering a master's degree in special education with
a credential program in teaching the learning handicapped.
In 1977, a group of Santa Clara County superintendents, who
had been meeting regularly to recommend various program improvements
for the Department of Education, recommended the development
of an advanced-degree program in school administration. That
program began in 1979 and was followed by an administrative
internship program in 1982.
The counseling psychology programs at Santa Clara, also begun
in 1964 as a part of the Department of Education, experienced
a period of rapid growth in programs, faculty, and enrollments
when a decision was made in 1970 to train counselors for the
license in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, a new specialty
in counseling psychology. The program continued to expand
to meet the many needs of entering students, including a general
counseling program. In 1979, an emphasis program in health
psychology was begun; in 1990, an emphasis and certificate
program in early intervention services was implemented; and
in 1995, emphases in career development and correctional psychology
were started.
In 1981, the Department of Education became the Division
of Counseling Psychology and Education. The Division currently
offers six master's degree programs, seven credential programs,
and professional enhancement workshops through a continuing
professional education program. The Division also designs
and implements grant proposals to provide training programs
for school administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals
in the field of education.
