School Counseling

Master's of Education: Counseling

School Counseling Degree Track

Overview

With a strong background in human growth and development, as well as communication skills, counselors assist clients in developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strengths.

Wichita State University's M.Ed. in Counseling, school counseling track, is designed to prepare students to meet the requirements of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for Licensed School Counselors.

Licensure

The M.Ed. in Counseling, school counseling track meets the licensure requirements of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for Professional School Counselors for licensed teachers.

School counseling licensure is available in Kansas to individuals without a teaching license. These students pursue the counseling degree plan, and complete the requirements for direct entry or parallel pathways licensure. Parallel pathways students are required to complete a one year, four credit hour post-degree internship.

The program coursework prepares a student for the PRAXIS licensure exam required by the State of Kansas for application for a School Counselor license. Completion of the PRAXIS licensure exam with a passing score is required by the State of Kansas for a candidate applying for a School Counselor license.

Licensure Requirements

The counseling faculty does our best to keep students apprised of the licensure requirements. However, licensure rules or requirements can change at any time. It is the student's responsibility to know the requirements for the particular license they are interested in pursuing post-graduation and make certain the academic and assessment requirements for licensure are met.

Please be aware: The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) requires a background check for licensure (including criminal record).

The following information is provided as an overview of the licensure process in Kansas. There are two pathways to become licensed as a professional school counselor in Kansas.

1. Licensed teachers:
Kansas school teachers who wish to become licensed school counselors:

• Successfully complete the Master's program in counseling including all required assessments with a minimum GPA of 3.25.
• Pass the Praxis II Exam given by Educational Testing Services. The current required exam is: Test 5421: Professional School Counselor.
• Complete all KSDE requirements for the professional school counselor licensure. Contact the College of Applied Studies Licensure Officer for more information

2. Direct entry/Parallel Pathways:
This licensure option is for those who wish to become licensed school counselors, but do not have a Kansas teaching license. These students use the direct entry or parallel pathways option.

• Successfully complete the Master's program in counseling including all required assessments with a minimum GPA of 3.25.
• Pass the Praxis II Exam given by Educational Testing Services. The current required exam is: Test 5421: Professional School Counselor.
• Complete all KSDE requirements for the professional school counselor licensure. Contact the College of Applied Studies Licensure Officer for more information.

In addition to the Master's degree, students using the parallel pathways option to school licensure have to complete two semester post-degree (4 credit hours) internship while working in a school counseling position as an initial school specialist.

Degree Requirements

The M. Ed in Counseling, school counseling track consists of 60 graduate hours, 48 of those hours being required core courses. Each course is linked to its syllabus below. All syllabi are provided for prospective, current and past students, but it should be noted that each is subject to modification by the individual instructor when the course is taught. Syllabi for the following courses can be viewed here.

Admission Requirements

When applying for admission to the Master's in Counseling program, you must submit to the Graduate School:

• A completed graduate school application
• Official transcripts with 3.00 GPA for the last 60 hours

Once the Graduate School forwards the application to the Department, it will request:

• A statement of professional goals
• A resumé
• The names, addresses and phone numbers of three professional references to provide reference information

Upon receipt of this information, the departmental screening committee will make recommendations concerning admission decisions for the master's program in counseling.

Application Process
You can view the progress of your admission status by navigating to Step 5 here. Click here for information on how you will be notified of your admission decision.

Background Check Requirement

Upon admission and prior to their first semester, all students admitted to the Counseling program must clear a criminal background check. Click here for instructions.

School Counseling Assessment Dashboard

The School Counseling Assessment Dashboard contains systematic program evaluation data as well as the aggregate assessment of student learning outcomes. Click here for viewing the Assessment Dashboard.

School Counseling Site Supervisor Resources

In order to meet CACREP accreditation requirements, all school counseling supervisors must show proof of receiving some form of supervision training.  If you have not received supervision training, or cannot provide proof of receiving supervision training, please Click Here for instructions.