If you already have a Master’s degree in counseling, you may be able to use your previously completed coursework and pursue school counselor certification by completing additional classes at UMSL.
This graduate certificate is designed for students who want to become professional school counselors and have already earned a Master’s degree in another counseling specialty. The goals of the Post-Graduate Certificate in School Counseling are: (a) to provide an academic program to help counselors increase their competency to design, implement, and assess comprehensive school counseling programs in K-12 settings and (b) to provide an academic pathway for counselors to pursue state school counseling certification.
The school counseling degree coordinator will act as the program director for this graduate certificate.
Requirements for admission to the Post-Graduate School Counseling Certificate program include:
Certificate students should have completed the following courses or their equivalencies from their previous counseling graduate program:
If any of these courses were not completed, the required course will need to be completed as part of the post-graduate certificate plan of study. The prerequisite courses do not have to be completed at UMSL.
Fifteen semester credit hours of graduate course work are required for the graduate certificate. Twelve of these semester credit hours must consist of the core courses. A minimum of three additional hours are to be chosen from the list of electives. All 15 credits must be completed at UMSL.
CORE | ||
CNS ED 6200 | Foundations of School Counseling | 3 |
CNS ED 6680 | School Counseling in the Classroom | 3 |
CNS ED 6280 | School Counseling Field Experience 1 | 3 |
SPEC ED 6412 | Foundations of Inclusive Education | 3 |
or ED PSY 6532 | Psychoeducational Differences | |
Electives | ||
Choose three hours from the list of courses: | 3 | |
CNS ED 6600 | Theories and Techniques of Counseling Children and Adolescents | |
CNS ED 6610 | Introduction to Play Therapy | |
CNS ED 6630 | Career Development in K-12 Schools | |
CNS ED 6730 | Counseling for Loss, Crisis, and Trauma | |
Total Hours | 15 |
A 300 hour internship must be accomplished in K-12 school sites. Course-embedded Department of Elementary and Secondary Education performance assessment occurs in CNS ED 6280. Students pursuing school counseling certification in Missouri will complete field experience placements at two different school levels, with 250 hours at a major placement level and 50 hours at a minor placement level. At least 50 hours must occur in K-5 settings.
Beyond completion of graduate course requirements, students will need to pass the Missouri Content Assessment (MoCA) in School Counseling and apply to the state department of education before they can be recommended by the university for school counseling certification.