Students should be advised that a substantial amount of time is spent in fieldwork to meet practicum and internship requirements. Although most of the courses are offered online, the fieldwork experiences are in person and most commonly completed during daytime hours. Program completion is not typically compatible with full time employment.

Eligibility for enrollment in Practicum and Internship requires admission to the Counseling Program and completion of all prerequisites. Due to limited space, students must apply to reserve enrollment for both practicum and internship prior to enrolling in each of these courses. Students cannot register themselves for practicum or internship and may not enroll in more than 4 semester hours of internship credit each semester without prior approval. Students must reserve enrollment by emailing the instructor the early in the semester before the semester for which they intend to enroll. Only currently accepted students in the Counseling program, who are preparing to begin the courses should complete the forms. The reservation due dates are: 

• March 1st, to enroll in a Fall semester practicum or summer & fall semester Internship.
• October 1st, to enroll in a spring semester practicum or internship.

COUN Practicum Reservation Form
COUN Internship Reservation Form
Background Check

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The Clinical Mental Health clinical field experience consists of a full-time practicum consisting of 100 hours, 40 of which will be in direct client contact and a full-time internship consisting of 600 hours, 300 of which will be in direct client contact. Clinical Mental Health Counseling students must take a total of 6 credits of internship over 2 semesters. The nature of this experience should be in a mental health counseling setting and similar to that of a regular counseling position, but with closer supervision. The field experiences will occur at the end of the training program, and the intern is expected to put into practice the knowledge and skills acquired in the program.

All prerequisites must be completed before students may enroll in Practicum in Counseling: Prerequisites are COUN 500, 502, 523, 533, 534, 535, 541, 634, 638, 641. This means these courses must be completed before practicum. Students must have completed all required prerequisite course work, including practicum, prior to enrolling in Internship I in Counseling: Internship II needs to be the last course(s) in your plan of study. A concise list of prerequisites can be found on the Practicum Reservation Form. Prerequisites are strictly enforced.

At least one (1) semester prior to enrolling in Practicum or Internship, the student will obtain approval for an internship site from the appropriate field experiences instructor. A major criterion for selecting a site is the credentials of the agency’s on-site supervisor, namely possession of at least a master’s degree in counseling, psychology, or clinical social work, licensure in such discipline, and two years of experience working in the field. The student must send a resume and arrange a meeting with the potential site contact for an interview. The student, Site Supervisor and Faculty Supervisor, will then complete an internship contract once the site is agreed upon.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling students must pass the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) prior to graduation. 

School Counseling

The School Counseling clinical field experience consists of a full-time practicum and Internship in counseling consisting of 450 hours, 180 of which will be in direct client contact. School Counseling students need 3 credits of internship per grade level endorsement (i.e. students seeking PK-12 endorsement must complete two 3-credit internships). The nature of this experience should be in a school counseling setting with responsibilities similar to that of a school counselor, but with close supervision. The field experiences will occur at the end of the training program, and the intern is expected to put into practice knowledge and skills previously acquired.

All prerequisites must be completed before students may enroll in practicum: COUN 500, 503, 533, 534, 535, 541, 634, 638, 641. This means they must be completed before practicum. Students must have completed all required prerequisite course work, including practicum, prior to enrolling in their first semester of Internship. If Pk12, the first semester of internship must be completed before the second and must be the last course(s) in your plan of study. A concise list of prerequisites can be found on the Practicum Reservation Form. Prerequisites are strictly enforced.

At least one (1) semester prior to enrolling in Practicum or Internship, the student will obtain approval for an internship site from the appropriate field experiences instructor. A major criterion for selecting a site is the credentials of the agency’s on-site supervisor, namely possession of at least a master’s degree in counseling, psychology, or clinical social work, licensure in such discipline, and two years of experience working in the field. The student must send a resume and arrange a meeting with the potential site contact for an interview. The student, Site Supervisor and Faculty Supervisor, will then complete a practicum or internship contract once the site is agreed upon.

For more information, please refer to the CSC Counseling Practicum & Internship Handbook.

For supervisor information and training, please refer to the following documents:
CSC Counseling Supervisor Handbook
CSC Counseling Supervisor Training

Before you can enroll in practicum or internship, you must have professional liability insurance. Please be sure that you have proof of insurance to show your professor the first day of class making certain the agreement lists your name as policyholder. You may obtain insurance from any provider; however, liability insurance is available at no additional cost with an American Counseling Association (ACA) or American School Counselor Association (ASCA) student membership.