The first special highlight of the Department of Counseling and Industrial/Organizational Psychology (DCIOP) is its broad offering of courses in counseling, I/O, and clinical psychology. This allows students to freely elect courses in these three areas, having the flexibility of not being divided into rigid groups. Students can find their own interests as well as build networks through this range of study for their future development.
Counseling psychology is mainly concerned with relatively simple and short-term psychological adjustment issues, career decision, and general promotion of mental health and counseling. The counseling concentration is targeted for high school students in the First Track who prefer social science sciences.
I/O psychology is psychology with regards to personnel management and leadership within organizations. This more business-oriented concentration is targeted for the First Track students with a preference for business administration.
Clinical psychology mainly focuses on the study of mental illness diagnosis, psychological assessment, and psychotherapy, primarily making use of a medical model. The clinical concentration is especially suited to high school students in the Third Track, but also for students in the First Track with interests in the Third Track options.
The second special highlight of the DCIOP is that it provides multiple special tracks designed for specific career paths. When combined with the Teacher Education Program, students graduating from the Bachelor’s or Master's Program can meet the requirements for secondary school guidance teachers or school counselors.
If interested, students can choose to participate in the military officers' training program at this university, which paves to a military career path.
Students graduating from the Master’s Program with concentrations in counseling psychology can obtain qualification to take the counseling psychologist license examination.
The third special highlight of the DCIOP is the outstanding establishment of academia-industry education models. All full-time faculty in DCIOP hold doctor degrees with years of practical experience. The Department also invites licensed professionals from hospitals, schools and related fields (such as clinical psychologists, counseling psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.) to support lecture, research and co-supervision of students; this extensively enriches the depth, breadth and extent of the courses contents.
The DCIOP also has established an academia-industry collaboration agreement with Taoyuan Psychiatric Center of Ministry of Health and Welfare. Students from the Master’s Program Counseling concentration can learn from psychiatrist in the professional practical training setting for one year. This is the only psychiatry academia-industry cooperative learning model for counseling psychology students in the country.
In addition, the DCIOP has established collaboration models with Taipei Prison, ShouShan High School, GuiShan Middle School, TianJin AnDing Hospital in China, and several other professional institutions. Students in both the Bachelor’s and Master’s Programs may apply to enter these institutions for research and practical training. This bridge between academia and industry effectively prepares our graduates for the job market upon graduation.
The fourth special highlight of the DCIOP is the diversity of international exposure. Many new students come from different countries. In addition, there are many opportunities for exchange learning with other institutions at home and abroad, ranging from a few days to one semester or one academic year. Opportunities for visiting teachers and students coming onto the MCU campus are common. The Department is committed to further development with more overseas schools, adding to the international curriculum for a master’s degree or dual bachelor’s degree program, for example, 3 + 1 or 4 + 1 programs, and etc., so that students can enjoy learning opportunities at home and abroad with Ming Chuan student tuition.