Counseling & Mental Health Counseling Graduate Programs

School Counselor, MSEd

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The preferred application deadline for the fall semester is August 15 and for the spring semester is January 15. All others will be reviewed based on available space.

Conceptual Framework

School Counselor, MSEd

Associate Professor Weber, Graduate Program Director, 516-463-6658

The Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in School Counseling is designed to provide students with the educational preparation to qualify for initial certification as a school counselor in New York State. To earn the MSEd degree, students will be required to complete a minimum of 48 semester hours, including a 600-hour internship in a supervised school counseling internship in a K-12 school counseling program.  The in-person MSEd curriculum is designed to provide students with a critical knowledge base comprised of six core content areas identified by the New York State Education Department in compliance with the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, which oversees programs leading to certification as a school counselor.

Admission Requirements

Application for admission is made to the Graduate Admissions Office, where directions are given for securing transcripts of previous schooling and other necessary information. The review of the application and the admission decision is made by program faculty and is based on a comprehensive review of multiple criteria, including the following:

  1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3. 0.
  2. Three letters of recommendation for academic and character references.
  3. Personal essay describing professional intent, goals, and objectives.
  4. Personal interview with the program director.

Note: The preferred application deadline for the fall semester is August 15 and for the spring semester is January 15. All others will be reviewed based on available space.

Prerequisite Requirements - Semester Hours: 9

Students must complete nine semester hours in psychology and behavioral sciences (e.g., peer counseling, human services, human development, social psychology, cross-cultural issues, human sexuality, selected sociology, and psychology courses by program director approval). All prerequisite course work must be completed prior to beginning the first sequence course of the counseling curriculum. The prerequisite courses may be satisfied at either the undergraduate or graduate level, and online courses are accepted as long as they are from nationally accredited institutions and documented on official transcripts.

Elective Course Work for Additional Certification

In addition to the required MSEd curriculum, students pursuing CASAC must take two of their three or four program electives focusing on Addictions:

Program Requirements – Total Semester Hours: 48

Required Courses - Semester Hours: 39

Required courses include the following, which totals 39 credits:

Electives - Semester Hours: 9 (with advisement) chosen from the following:

Students will complete 9 semester hours of elective courses (with advisement) that can be chosen from any of the following:

School-Based Knowledge:

Substance Use Disorder Counseling:

Advanced Counseling Skills:

Leadership/Administration:

Comprehensive Examination

Students must successfully pass a comprehensive exam to qualify for graduation and successful completion of degree requirements (in their final or penultimate semester). The exam is an essay-based assessment of the student's proficiency in the primary curricular areas.

Educational Law Seminars

Students may complete the Educational Law Seminars at any time throughout the program and must have completed all seminars prior to graduation.

Graduation Requirements

  • Completion of all program requirements.
  • A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in overall graduate course work.
  • Successful passing of the Comprehensive Exam.
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