Minor in Counseling
Undergraduate Minor Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Toporek rtoporek@sfsu.edu
The Minor in Counseling program and related elective courses emphasize student services in relation to a college campus as well as provide an introduction to the field of counseling across many different specializations. The minor offers four areas of study for all students.
- The Field of Counseling. Students are introduced to the counseling profession through an overview of role and functions in career, college, marriage, family and child, mental health, and rehabilitation settings; historical perspective; professional identification; ethical considerations; and self-awareness.
- Psychological Understandings. Students receive a general introduction to the field of counseling and psychological dynamics.
- Multicultural Understandings. Students examine cultural influences and identities including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical and learning abilities, socioeconomic status, sex, and gender. The review includes knowledge, skills and attitudes to support effective work with groups and individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
- Skills Training. The development of basic skills includes attending, responding, interpretation, and decision making. The training includes experience in interviewing skills.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Understand self and others including intrapersonal factors such as skills, values, motivations as individuals and as community members, members and how these factors influence goal behaviors, goals and decision making regarding career choice, academic pursuits, health and wellness and interpersonal relationships.
- Recognize cultural and contextual influences on intrapersonal psychological and physical development and interpersonal relationships in families, communities, and society.
- Comprehend psychosocial perspectives on attitudes, knowledge, and insights essential to effective multicultural relationships and the examination of culture as it relates but is not limited to ethnicity, gender, physical and learning abilities, race, sexual orientation, age, and class.
- Develop and apply professional interpersonal expertise such as listening skills, interviewing skills, peer advising, and leadership in multiple fields of study.
Counseling, Minor – 18 units minimum
- A minimum of 6 upper-division units are required to complete the minor.
- All coursework used to satisfy the requirements of the minor must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
- All coursework must be taken at SF State except for the general psychology course, which can be transferred from a community college.
Required Core Courses (12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| COUN 690 | Field of Counseling I | 3 |
| COUN 691 | Multicultural Human Relations | 3 |
| PSY 200 | General Psychology | 3 |
| Select One: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Applied Child and Adolescent Development | ||
| Developmental Psychology | ||
| Child Development | ||
| Human Development and the Social Services | ||
Electives (6-8 units)
Social Justice Elective
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AIS/WGS 420 | Native Genders and Feminism | 3 |
| AIS/SXS/WGS 440 | Native Sexualities and Queer Discourse | 3 |
| AIS 470 | American Indian Ethnicity: Problems in Identity | 3 |
| AFRS 515 | Black Family Studies | 3 |
| COMM 541 | Critical Approaches to Culture and Communication | 4 |
| COMM 557/LS 403 | Performance and Pedagogy of the Oppressed for Educators | 3 |
| COUN 110 | Critically Thinking About Career Choice: Self, Community, Society, and the World | 3 |
| RRS 303 | Health and Wellness among Pacific Islanders | 3 |
| RRS/SOC 410 | Grassroots Organizing for Change in Communities of Color | 3 |
| RRS 571 | Women, Race, and Class | 3 |
| RRS/LTNS/SOC 580 | Educational Equity | 3 |
| S ED 300 | Education and Society | 3 |
| SOC/RRS 330 | Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.: Class, Gender, and Nation | 3 |
| SOC/SXS 400/PSY 450 | Variations in Human Sexuality | 3 |
| SPED 330 | Introduction to Disability | 3 |
| WGS 220 | Introduction to Feminist Disability Studies | 3 |
| WGS 511 | Women and Violence | 3 |
General Elective
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFRS 525 | Black Child Development | 3 |
| C J 550 | School Violence and Discipline | 3 |
| CAD 400 | Community Youth Development | 3 |
| CAD 450 | Understanding and Working with Diverse Families | 3 |
| CAD 560 | Loss and Grief: Children, Youth, Families and Community | 3 |
| COMM 502 | Interpersonal Communication | 4 |
| COUN 110 | Critically Thinking About Career Choice: Self, Community, Society, and the World | 3 |
| FCS 220 | Young Children and Families | 3 |
| FCS 321 | Adolescents and Families | 3 |
| LTNS 380 | Afro/Latina/o Diasporas | 3 |
| PSY/SXS 320 | Sex and Relationships | 3 |
| PSY 464 | Psychology of Career Pursuit | 3 |
| PSY 465 | The Psychology of Work-Life Stress | 3 |
| SOC 464 | Families and Society | 4 |
| SOC 467/SXS 667 | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Cultures and Society | 4 |
| SOC 469 | Gender and Society | 4 |
| S W 350 | Services to Children, Youth, and Their Families | 3 |