Graduate Programs of Study

M.A. or M.Ed, Human Services & Counseling:
Current students click here.

School Counseling Concentration

This Master's degree allows the student to become certified as a school counselor (Type 73 Certification). The sequence prepares Human Service professionals to work with in public and private K-12 school systems and gives the Human Service Professional skills and processes to provide individual and group counseling and to serve as a leader and advocate for students, schools, and the profession.

Illinois School Service Personnel Certification
Public Act 93-0125 was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich on July 10, 2003. As House Bill 514, this bill was written to provide alternative routes for professionals to become school counselors without having a current teaching certificate in the state of Illinois. The act gives the power to the Illinois State Board of Education Certification committee to write rules that will detail procedures and requirements for persons who wish to be certified (Type 73) as a professional School Counselor but who do not have a valid teaching certificate.

The Illinois State Board of Education has adopted the new rules allowing individuals to become certified as school counselors in the state of Illinois without teacher certification. This allows for two things: 1) those individuals holding a master's degree in a counseling related field, such as mental health or community counseling or social work, may become certified as school counselors without having to obtain a teaching certificate or another master's degree, and 2) those individuals holding a bachelors degree in any field may obtain a master's degree in school counseling without having to hold a teaching certificate.

The HSC School Counseling concentration meets the requirements for the new rules. Those students interested in certification who hold a master's degree in another counseling related field may apply for certification only. Those applicants' transcripts will be assessed individually for certification requirements.

For more information, please visit the following website, and scroll to pages 111-117. http://www.isbe.state.il.us/board/meetings/ apr04meeting/
042004_isbe_board_packet_print.pdf

Degree Requirements
To earn the Master of Arts or Master of Education degree, you must complete a minimum of 72 credit hours. Students without a teaching background or a certificate must complete 76 credit hours. The additional hours will be in HSC 523 (see below). A thesis and oral exam are required for th M.A. degree.

The following courses are required for the School Counseling Concentration. For a list of prerequisites, and schedule of courses click here.

• HSC 400 Technology in Counseling (1 credit)
  
• SCG 401 Advanced Developmental Psychology
  
• SCG 410 Introduction to Research: Purposes, Issues and Methodologies
  
• HSC 451 Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling
  
• HSC 452 Introduction to the Counseling Profession
  
• HSC 475 Career Counseling for School Counselors
  
• HSC 458 Group Counseling
  
• HSC 461 Testsing and Appraisal
  
• HSC 467 Counseling Theories
  
• HSC 489 Psychopathology
  
• HSC 501 Counseling Skills
  
• HSC 510 Multicultural Counseling
  
• HSC 513 Consultation for Counselors (1 credit)
  
• HSC 519 Special Education Issues for School Counselors (2 credits)
  
• HSC 520 Counseling Children and Adolescents
  
• HSC 521 Contextual Demensions of School Counseling
  
• HSC 522 Delivery of Developmental and Prevention School Counseling Programs
  
• HSC 552 Practicum
  
• HSC 553 Human Services and Counseling Internship I
  
• HSC 554 Human Services and Counseling Internship II
• HSC 523 Learning and Classroom Management for School Counselors (required for non-teachers only)

Thesis/Oral Examination Option
Master of Arts:

• HSC 559 Thesis Research in Human Services and Counseling (non-credit)
  

The master's thesis is written in conjunction with HSC 553 and 554 (above).
Registration for HSC 559 and an oral examination on the thesis are required.
HSC 559 is taken in addition to the required course work and clinical hours.
All students are initially registered for the MEd track.
Students must request to be switched to the MA track if they decide to complete a thesis.

Grade Requirements for All Concentrations
To receive graduate credit for an upper-level undergraduate course a grade of B- or better must be attained. A grade of C-, D+, or D is unacceptable for graduate credit in this program, and if earned in a required course must be repeated or substituted as directed by the department or program. Such grades remain on the academic record and are calculated into the cumulative GPA.

Course Descriptions
To view a complete listing of available courses or to see course descriptions, visit the online course catalog. Choose "guest" access if you don't have a User ID and password.

Learn about:

• Degree Requirements:
  • Community Counseling Concentration
    
  • Student Affairs Concentration
    
  • School Counseling Concentration
  
  
• Faculty
• Apply Now
• Application Deadlines

For More Information
Please direct questions to edgradadmissions@depaul.edu
or call (773) 325-4405.

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