2011-2012 Catalog

MASTERS OF EDUCATION IN COUNSELING

Masters of Education in Counseling

The Professional Counselor Program offers a program of study leading to the Master of Education degree with a major in counseling. The degree enables graduates to pursue certification as a school counselor. The program also enables students to be eligible for the Professional Counselor License (LPC). Before school counseling certification can be granted, students must have accrued at least two years of teaching experience in public schools, grades K-12.

Any student pursuing a degree, certificate, or license in counseling must be admitted to the Professional Counselor Program. Applicants must meet both graduate school admission requirements and program admission requirements. Students pursuing school counseling certification must hold a valid permanent teacher’s certificate. Students who are not pursuing school counseling certification should have an undergraduate degree in a field related to counseling, such as psychology, social work, or sociology. If their undergraduate degree is in a field not closely related to counseling, these students may be required to take additional coursework.

Curriculum

The master’s degree with a major in counseling consists of 48 semester hours of study as follows:

School Counseling Certification Requirements

Students who pursue School Counseling Certification follow the same procedures for admission to the counseling program. A student who has a master’s degree and wants to pursue School Counseling Certification may be admitted as a special non-degree-seeking student. Alternatively, the student who already has a master’s degree may choose to seek the master’s degree with a major in counseling. No more than six hours of study completed as a special non-degree-seeking student may be applied to a second master’s degree program. A student who does not have a master’s degree must seek the degree concurrent with the certification.