Masters of Education — School Counseling

Overview

The faculty of the Counselor Education Program, a CACREP accredited program, is dedicated to educating and training counseling professionals to function in culturally diverse settings. Students completing the M.Ed. program with an emphasis in elementary or secondary school counseling will demonstrate ability to effectively work with students, teachers, administrators, and other members of the community.

Objectives of the School Counseling program are:

1. To prepare counselors to effectively work with parents, students, teachers, administrators, and other members of the school community.
2. To qualify persons to be certified to counsel in schools.
3. To train counselors to act as consultants within the schools and with out-of-school entities or individuals.
4. To provide counselors with the understanding and skills related to counseling needs at the elementary and secondary school level.
5. To provide insight leading toward a high level of self-understanding.
6. To facilitate counselors in obtaining human evaluation skills.
7. To facilitate within counselors the development of a high degree of sensitivity and acceptance of diversity among people.
8. To facilitate counselors to be able to effectively communicate with all cultural groups.
9. To foster an awareness of the responsibilities of professional school counselors regarding the development and maintenance of a comprehensive developmental program.
10. To foster ethical practices on the part of all counselors

Admission Requirements

• Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution
• Approval from the Counselor Education faculty
• Admission to the Clemson Graduate School
  
  • Meet all requirements of the Graduate School
  • Two page personal statement addressing: a) your vision of the school counseling profession; b) why you desire to be a school counselor; and c) experiences working with children and adolescents.
  • Competitive GRE scores
• The application deadline for the Spring 2010 semester is October 1. After this date, no more Spring acceptances will be granted.
  The application deadline for the Fall/Summer sessions is February 1.

Program Requirements

The M.Ed. program in School Counseling requires 60 semester hours of required course work. The program typically takes two full calendar years (i.e., Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions) to complete, and the program must be completed in six years, minus one semester. The number of hours that applicants may transfer from another institution follows the University guidelines as specified in the graduate catalog. These courses must meet the equivalence requirements of a Clemson graduate course and have been taken within the last five years. Courses over five years old are not accepted. Please download and read the Student Handbook (pdf) and the Field Experience Manual (pdf).

The program is designed to be developmental in nature and appropriate course sequencing is required to ensure proper counseling skill development. Students are required to meet with their assigned advisor before enrolling in any course.

Course Requirements - 60 Hours

I. Counseling Core (24 Semester Hours)            
 EDF 701 Human Growth & Development (3)            
EDL 839 Research in Educ. Leadership (3)            
EDC 810 Theories/Techniques of Counseling (3)            
EDC 811 Multicultural Counseling (3)             
EDC 812 Career Counseling (3)            
EDC 813 Appraisal Procedures (3)            
EDC 814 Development of Counseling Skills (3)            
EDC 815 Group Counseling (3)                       

II. Area of Specialization (21 Semester Hours)            
 
EDC 801 Foundations of School Counseling (3)            
EDC 807 Child and Adolescent Counseling (3)            
EDC 818 Psychopathology for Counselors (3)            
EDC 851 Leadership in School Counseling (3)
EDF 702 Advanced Educational Psychology (3)            
ED SP 853 Legal/Policy Issues in Spec. Ed. (3)            
Approved Elective (3) – choose one from:

• EDC 816 Couples and Family Counseling
• EDC 821 Psychodiagnostics for Counselors
• EDC 822 Addictions Counseling
• EDL 710 Organizational Theory for Admin.
• EDL 715 School/Community Relationships
• ED SP 823 Teaching in Integrated Settings
• ED SP 854 Applied Behavior Analysis           

III. Field Experiences (15 Semester Hours)            

EDC 830 School Counseling Practicum, (3)             
EDC 841 School Counseling Internship, (12)
(taken as two, 6-credit classes over two semesters)

Additional Information

Testing Requirements:

Passing the departmental comprehensive examination is required for the degree. Upon completion of 33 hours in the program, students are eligible to take the program's Comprehensive Examination. This exam is given once every semester and is required for graduation. The Comprehensive Exam consists of comprehensive essay questions. The Comprehensive Exam must be passed prior to graduation. Each student is allowed to take the Exam twice. Failure on two admissions may result in dismissal from the program.

Certification:

State Department Certification in School Counseling is based on the completion of current school counseling degree requirements plus a passing score on the PRAXIS II Subject assessment test in School Guidance and Counseling. Clemson University also offers a School Counseling Certification program for those individuals with a Master's degree in Community Counseling or some closely related area, who wish to seek state certification. Contact Amy Milsom, (amilsom@clemson.edu, 864.656.0927) for further information regarding this certification program.

Clemson University
Counselor Education Unit
330 Tillman Hall
Clemson, SC 29632
(864) 656-3484 or 656-7508
FAX: (864) 656-1322

Clemson University
School of Education - Counselor Education
Tony Cawthon
305 Tillman Hall
Box 340710
Clemson, SC 29634-0710
(864) 656-3484
Fax: (864) 656-1322

Assessment:

The Counselor Education (EDC) program is committed to continuous program improvement. As such the department engages in numerous assessment activities and implements a comprehensive evaluation plan. This plan involves collecting program feedback from a variety of constituent groups, i.e. students, program graduates, site supervisors, employers, advisory board members, and other partners. The feedback gathered from these assessment tools is used to implement program changes, modifications, and updates.

As part of the comprehensive assessment plan, the following groups are surveyed to provide program feedback:

1. Exit Surveys-are collected each semester from graduating students. The spring 2006 and Fall 2005 exit survey results for EDC Community Counseling, EDC School Counseling, and EDC Student Affairs are available;
2. Alumni Surveys-are collected from program graduates one and three year after graduation. The 2004 alumni survey (xls) and 2005 alumni survey (xls) results are available;
3. Site Supervisor/Employer Surveys-are collected annually. The 2005 site/employer survey (xls) results are posted.

Prospective students are encouraged to read these survey results.
Hard copies of these surveys are also available the Counselor Education office, Tillman 330.

Contact Information

Amy Milsom
313 Tillman
864-656-0927
amilsom@clemson.edu