Counseling, MA - School Counseling

The Department of Counseling and Human Services offers a Master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis on School Counseling.

The School Counselor training program meets the licensure requirements of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and is accredited by CACREP based on national standards for the preparation of school counselors.

In accordance with these standards, the school counselor program requires the completion of a 60-semester hour program. School Counselor students will complete the same foundational coursework as the Clinical Mental Health Counselor students and may be eligible for licensure as a Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

The Cohort Model

The Counseling and Human Services counselor training program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the adult learner. All students must begin the program in June of the summer semester. Students are admitted to one of two cohort groups: a day cohort or an evening cohort, each cohort admits approximately 24 students. Students must commit to taking all their classes in the specific cohort group to which they are admitted.

Exceptions to the Cohort Model

Students need to be aware that the 4:45 pm – 7:20 pm time slot is used for classes that combine students from the day and evening cohorts (COUN 5800, 5810, 5920, 5440, and others). Group Supervision Classes for Practicum (COUN 5120) and Internship (COUN 5700 & 5720) for both the day and evening cohorts will be scheduled in the evening in the 7:30 pm- 10:05 pm time slot to permit students to accrue hours for their fieldwork experience typically occurring during the day.

Post-master’s degree supervised counseling experience and successful completion of the National Counselor Examination are currently required for license eligibility. It is strongly recommended by the Departmental faculty members that school counselors seeking the LPC credential take additional coursework in psychopathology and diagnosis, clinical mental health counseling, and complete supervised field experiences specific to community counseling. Students graduating from the School Counselor program will also be immediately eligible to apply for National Certified Counselor (NCC) recognition and are encouraged to do so.

School counselors in Colorado are licensed Professional Special Services personnel who work in school settings with students, parents, educators, and others within the community. They may be licensed as Elementary School Counselors, Secondary School Counselors, or K-12 School Counselors. School Counselors design and manage comprehensive developmental guidance programs to help students acquire skills in the social, personal, academic, and career domains necessary for living in a multicultural society.

School counselors accomplish this by employing interventions including guiding and counseling students individually or in small groups and by providing information through classroom guidance. School counselors contribute to the development of effective learning environments through student advocacy, facilitating systemic change, and consultation and collaboration with others. Teaching experience is not a requirement for the Colorado school counselor license.

For details on program coursework, please visit the Academic Catalog.

The application deadline for this Counseling program is December 1st, 2024.

For details regarding program admissions, the application process, and more - please visit the program's Admissions Details page.