Master's degree earns national Outstanding Counselor Education Program Award

Youngstown State University’s master’s program in Counseling has received the national 2015 Outstanding Counselor Education Program Award. The recognition from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision honors a counselor education program that exemplifies the importance of excellence through standards and innovation. The award will be presented at the ACES Awards Luncheon noon Saturday, Oct. 10 in Philadelphia.

“This is a tremendous honor for our program, the Beeghly College of Education and for YSU,” said Matthew Paylo, associate professor and director of YSU’s Counseling program. “It reflects the high standards that we set for our faculty, our students and our graduates.” The award is the latest honor for the program, which last year was recognized as a national model by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The program also recently received the Innovative Counselor Education Program Award from the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and also was listed among the top 25 most affordable programs in the Midwest by “Best Counseling Degrees.” The latest award is based on faculty members’ commitment and contributions to ACES and the counseling profession, the program’s commitment to standards and their improvement and development, faculty members mentoring a clear and strong counselor and/or counselor educator identity, the program’s influence and relationship to students, the university and surrounding community, and the program’s unique and innovative ways to provide education and supervision. With nearly 130 students, Counseling is the single largest master’s degree program at YSU, offering tracks in clinical mental health counseling, addiction counseling, school counseling and student affairs/college counseling. More than 1,500 students have graduated from the program since its start more than 40 years ago.