Master of Arts in Education - School Counseling

This degree prepares students for careers as school counselors in public and private elementary, middle school and secondary settings. With the exception of a few courses and practicum experiences this program may be accessed in an online format. The students will be expected to be on campus for some of the program.*

Entrance requirements for the School Counseling based program

• Complete application

• Earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a grade point average of 2.75 or better on a 4.00 scale

• Official transcripts from the college/university which issued bachelor's degree

• Official transcripts from any institutions attended after receiving bachelor's degree (if applicable)

• Application to the Counseling program is a 2-step process.  All students are required to:

  1. Successfully complete the interview for the purpose of assessing candidate qualities in the areas of motivation for professional development, communication skills, self-awareness, confidence, and experience working with diverse populations, and
  2. Attend the Counseling Program's Orientation.

Students must successfully complete the Counseling Interview prior to completing their first semester of the Counseling Program.  The Counseling Interview is an individual student interview with the Counseling faculty.  Only Counseling students accepted by the Counseling faculty following the Counseling Interview will be invited to attend the Counseling Orientation.  The Counseling Interview is conducted in Chadron, NE while the Counseling Orientation is offered each semester in both North Platte and Chadron, NE.  Graduate Counseling students must attend both meetings (Counseling Interview and Counseling Orientation) to continue to be a degree seeking student.

Program of study for the School Counseling based program

 The School Counseling Program prepares students to work professionally as school counselors. CSC offers three academic paths toward school counseling endorsement in Nebraska.

Path 1: Students holding a valid Teaching Certificate (including the NE State Human Relations and Special Education Training Requirements) seeking an MAE in School Counseling must complete: (a) the 39-hour School Counseling Master of Arts in Education program, and (b) the Praxis Professional School Counselor (5421) Subject Assessment.

Path 2: Students without an undergraduate degree in teacher education, or a valid teaching certificate, seeking an MAE in School Counseling must complete: (a) the 39-hour School Counseling Master of Arts in Education program, (b) the 12-hour School Counseling Alternative Option coursework, (c) the Nebraska State Human Relations Requirement, (c) the Nebraska State Special Education Training Requirement, and (d) the Praxis Professional School Counselor (5421) Subject Assessment.

Path 3: Students without an undergraduate degree in teacher education, or a valid teaching certificate, seeking an MAE in Clinical Mental Health Counseling must complete: (a) the 60-hour Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master of Arts program, (b) COUN 635: School Counseling, (c) COUN 640: Internship in the school setting (3 credit-hours), (d) the 12-hour School Counseling Alternative Option coursework, (e) the Nebraska State Human Relations Requirement, (f) the Nebraska State Special Education Training Requirement and, (g) the Praxis Professional School Counselor (5421) Subject Assessment.

COUN 640 INTERNSHIP IN COUNSELING, requires affirmation by the graduate student under oath that he/she has no felony or misdemeanor convictions involving moral turpitude (Guide to Nebraska Teacher Education Institutions, Nebraska Department of Education, Code Section 004.01, subsection 004.11D). Furthermore, enrollment in COUN 640 INTERNSHIP IN COUNSELING requires a student’s affirmation under oath that he or she does not have any order or determination currently in effect by a court or any other government body of criminal charges because of insanity; or of incapacitation and in need of a guardian; or of an inability to manage his or her property due to mental illness, mental deficiency, chronic use of drugs or chronic intoxication; or because he or she is currently an in-patient or resident in a mental health facility due to a determination by a qualified mental health professional (Guide to Nebraska Teacher Education Institutions, Nebraska Department of Education, Code Section 004.01, subsection 1004.01L).

• 4 Year Course Rotation

Courses:

1. Students can elect to take COUN 536 FAMILY DEVELOPMENT OR COUN 629 COUNSELING CHILDREN OR COUN 630 CRISIS COUNSELING.

2. For PK-8 school counseling endorsement, students must take one 450-hour elementary school counseling internship. For 7-12 school counseling endorsement, students must complete one 450-hour secondary school counseling internship. Students seeking PK-12 school counseling endorsement must complete a 900-hour internship. Regardless of the number of hours, students should register for COUN 640 INTERNSHIP IN COUNSELING. Students may need to take additional credits for completion of this requirement.

School Counseling MAE students who wish to also obtain a Clinical Mental Health Practitioner license from the State of Nebraska will need to complete the following courses:

*See Practicum/Internship Coordinator for internship requirements.

Contact a Counseling faculty member for additional information.

Course requirements for the School Counseling Alternative Option:

The State of Nebraska requires all endorsement candidates to acquire Human Relations Skills Training and Special Education Training Requirements. The following is a list of CSC courses to fulfill this requirement.

Nebraska Human Relations Skills Requirement:

 Nebraska Special Education Training Requirement:

School Counseling Endorsement To be recommended for School Counseling endorsement, the student must have

• Met all course and credit requirements for endorsement

• Met all graduation requirements for the appropriate degree or added endorsement program

• Successfully pass the Praxis Professional School Counselor (5421) Subject Assessment3

A candidate seeking an additional endorsement after completing his or her degree program must complete the appropriate course work and officially notify the Certification Officer upon completion of the endorsement program/course work.

Graduation Without Endorsement or Certification

 In rare cases, permission may be granted for a student to graduate without a recommendation for endorsement or certification. This provision is for students who do not qualify for or are removed from their curricular program. However, there are times when, because of illness or other extreme situations, a candidate will decide not to complete all professional requirements. In this situation, the candidate should contact his or her advisor, and then complete a formal request to the Graduate Dean to be allowed to graduate without completing all endorsement or certification requirements. The Graduate Dean and the Vice President for Academic Affairs will determine the merit of the request. If permission is granted, an appropriate amended plan of study will be determined.

Any candidate who graduates without a recommendation for certification will not be recommended for school counseling endorsement or certification in any state. If, at some future time, the student wishes to complete certification requirements, he/she must first reapply for readmission to the CSC graduate program.