MS in Counseling – School Counseling Concentration
Working in schools as a counselor can be an inspiring career. School counselors guide K-12 students through various challenges to support learning and career choices. School counselors provide individual support, group counseling, classroom guidance lessons, and crisis intervention, to mention just a few. It is a career of excellent service, variety, and flexibility that can fulfill a desire to help and give to a community. The M.S. in Counseling offers a specific concentration for those interested in school counseling as a professional program.
Coursework in this concentration prepares students to become counselors in grades K 12 by applying for the California Pupil Personnel Services School Counselor Credential (PPS) after their studies. The MS in counseling with a concentration in school counseling is a 60-semester degree. Still, as core courses overlap, it can also be combined with the professional counseling concentrations to be eligible for both the LPCC certification and PPS credential.
In addition to the breadth of coursework in the program, which includes innovative and topical classes, a concentration in school counseling is supported by hands-on placement experience. Students work towards their PPS credential by fulfilling 800 hours of practice in school settings at a minimum of two separate K-12 levels. This provides students with the best opportunities for learning in a supported and safe learning environment.
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | |
| Year 1 |
15 Units COUN 6220: Intro to Counseling (3 units) COUN 6221: Intro to Research & Evaluation (3 units) - Online COUN 6222: Law & Ethics in Education (3 units) COUN 6230: Human Development in Counseling (3 units) COUN 6223: Learning Theories (3 units) - Online |
12 Units COUN 6224: Advanced Counseling (3 units) COUN 6227: Counseling Theories (3 units) COUN 6235: Crisis & Trauma in Counseling (3 units) COUN 6240: Professional School Counseling (3 units) |
| Year 2 |
12 Units COUN 6229: Socio-Cultural Counseling (3 units) COUN 6231: Group Counseling (3 units) COUN 6239: Family Counseling (3 units) COUN 6233: Practice-Based Placement (3 units) |
9 units COUN 6226: Conflict Resolution (3 units) COUN 6238: Aging, Death & Grief in Couples & Families (3 units) COUN 6233: Practice-Based Placement (3 units) |
| Year 3 |
9 units COUN 6232: Career Counseling (3 units) COUN 6237: Appraisal (3 units) - Online COUN 6233: Practice-Based Placement (3 units) |
9 units COUN 6241: Gender & Sexuality (3 units) COUN 6225: Systems Consultation (3 units) COUN 6233: Practice-Based Placement (3 units) - Optional COUN 6980/6960: Culminating Experience (0 units) - Online |
The Counseling Program, School Counseling Concentration, is accredited by:
