School Counseling Graduate Programs

School Counseling Graduate Programs and Curriculum

Many school counseling graduate students have the following traits:

• Genuine interest in helping other people, especially children
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Superior communication skills
• Driven to succeed
• Resourceful and imaginative with “outside the box” thinking

A comprehensive graduate degree program for a master’s degree in school counseling will typically include the following types of courses:

• Group counseling
• Special issues in school counseling
• Ethics
• Career counseling
• Psychopathology & psychopharmacology
• Child and adolescent counseling
• Human growth & development

Students in a school counseling master’s program may also be required to complete an internship, externship or practicum in a supervised setting. Additionally, school counselors may need to be licensed in order to work. Licensure requirements differ greatly by state, occupational specialty and work setting. Some states require school counselors to hold a state school counseling certification and to have completed at least some graduate coursework; most require the completion of a master's degree. Some States require school counselors to be licensed, which generally entails completing continuing education credits. Some states require public school counselors to have both counseling and teaching certificates and to have had some teaching experience.

School Counselor Career Paths

Most students with a master’s degree in school counseling will work in an educational environment such as elementary post-secondary schools.

Data according to

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Ed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median annual wages of educational, vocational and school counselors in May 2008 was $51,050

Data according to

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Ed.

School Counselor Future Job Outlook

The BLS predicts by 2018 the employment for educational, vocational and school counselors is expected to grow by 14 percent. All states require elementary schools to employ counselors, and additional responsibilities of school counselors are likely to lead to increases in their employment. For example, counselors are becoming more involved in crisis and preventive counseling, helping students deal with issues ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to death and suicide. The BLS reports that although schools and governments realize the value of counselors in helping their students to achieve academic success, budget constraints at every school level will dampen the job growth of school counselors. Federal grants and subsidies may help to offset tight budgets and allow the reduction in student-to-counselor ratios to continue.