One of Boston College's greatest assets is the vibrancy and research productivity of its faculty. Research specialties of the faculty include racial identity development, gender role socialization, career development and the school-to-work transition, domestic violence, inter-professional collaboration and non-academic barriers to learning, feminist theory, spirituality and mental health, social influence, mentorship, and relational health. Students in the Counseling programs have the benefit of learning from leaders in their fields in the context of both bringing cutting-edge scholarship into their classes and through faculty-led research teams.

Many faculty welcome Masters students as volunteers on their research teams. Occasionally, paid research assistantships are also available.

Noteworthy among the scholarly opportunities available to Masters students are involved in the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture (ISPRC) and the Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships (CCFCP). ISPRC was founded in 2000 by Dr. Janet E. Helms, to promote the assets and address the societal conflicts associated with race or culture in theory, research, and practice in mental health and other fields. Among its activities include sponsoring the annual Diversity Challenge conference attracting leading scholars from around the globe to address issues of race and culture.

The mission of the CCFCP, directed by Dr. Mary Walsh, is to integrate the strengths of the University and of the community in order to, together, promote the positive development of children, youth, and families. Through activities such as technical assistance, asset mapping, needs assessment, evaluation, consultation, demonstration research, life-long education, program design, and assessment, the Center collaborates with all sectors of the community--including schools, local and state government, business and industry, community organizations, agencies, and NGOs--to envision, enact, and sustain effective and appropriately-scaled programs and policies that promote development in ways valued by the community.

The Center terms this approach to community-university partnerships outreach scholarship, and pursues such work in order both to make a direct contribution to the lives of individuals and families and develop a model of how universities may use their abilities to generate, transmit, preserve, and apply knowledge to enhance the life chances of diverse children and families. The Center forms partnerships at local, state, national, and international levels in order to understand the generality of the model that it is building.

Adding to the richness of the academic environment accessible to Master's students, Boston College also has a Doctoral Program in Counseling Psychology (Ph.D.) that is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association.