School Counseling (M.A.)

Getting Started

Applicants must submit an application online at apply.fgcu.edu. Please contact Graduate Admissions at 239-745-GRAD or graduate@fgcu.edu for additional information about the application process. Satisfaction of minimum University and program requirements does not guarantee admission to a graduate program. Applicants should check with the program for the most up to date admission requirements prior to commencing the application process.

See program website at URL listed above.

Admissions Information for 2020-2021 Catalog Year

The Counseling Department offers an M.A. in School Counseling that is Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited and approved by the Florida Department of Education. The M.A. program is designed to prepare graduates to implement comprehensive, research-based school counseling programs that reflect national standards; specifically those of the American School Counselor Association. The program is designed for the continued professional development of persons presently serving or who have an interest in serving children and adolescents in a school setting as professional School Counselors.

Students in the School Counseling program take coursework in the areas of human development, legal and ethical issues of the profession, career development, appraisal methods, counseling theories, group work, practicum, and research, and program evaluation. Additional specialized courses focusing on school counseling are offered in areas such as internship, special populations, consultation, supervision, and professional development.

Students are engaged in field-based activities during almost every enrollment. Students without prior training as teachers who wish to become certified school counseling professionals must complete additional courses in classroom management, curriculum and instruction, and reading. Students make progress through the program as a cohort and may complete this program on a full- or part-time basis.

Entering students are expected to establish competency as educators by providing copies of Florida certifications or transcripts that document educator preparation as part of their application packets. Students who do not establish competency at the outset of the program are required to complete all FTCE subsections and additional courses in Reading and ESOL. The program begins in the Fall term, students who need to take additional courses are encouraged to do so in the summer prior to entry or during the first year of enrollment. All graduates meet all requirements for certification as PK-12 school counselors and are ready for employment upon graduation.

Program Admission Requirements

• A four year undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester hours attempted accruing to the undergraduate degree;
• Any one of the following:
  1. A combined score of 1000 or higher on the quantitative and verbal sections of the GRE general exam if taken prior to August 1, 2011, or 151-153 Verbal and 143-144 quantitative if taken on or after August 1, 2011; or
  2. 400 or higher on the MAT.
     
     Note: All applicants must submit GPA and graduate admission (GRE or MAT) test scores regardless of which of the above criteria are met for admissions. Students may be required to take specific undergraduate course(s) if they do not have the necessary prerequisites for the graduate level course or program.
     
     
• Applicants with Florida Teacher or Educator certification are required to submit evidence of their certificate. 
• Submission of three recommendations from professionals in the field using the department's recommendation form. Note that letters of recommendation submitted in addition to the form are optional. 
• Performance in courses taken post baccalaureate will be taken into consideration for admission to the School Counseling Program.
• Submission of a written statement of career goals will be reviewed for admission to the program.
• Participation in a personal interview is required by the admissions committee. Responses to the interview will be evaluated for admission.
• Counseling Criminal Record Policy Statement: All applicants are advised that in order to complete the program they must complete internships. Most internship facilities do background checks and will not permit the placement of counselor interns with criminal records. The department reserves the right to deny program admission to any applicant if it appears that applicant is unlikely to be able to complete the internship requirement due to a criminal record, thus inhibiting their ability to complete the program.

Students not holding Teacher or Educator Certification

• Must adhere to state regulations for admittance. Those students seeking admittance must have passed all of the sections of the General Knowledge Test of the Florida Teachers Certification Exam (FTCE) unless they present passing scores for all subsets of the CLAST taken prior to July 1, 2002. Applicants may substitute a score of 1000 or higher on the GRE for the admission score requirement on the GRE taken before August 1, 2011.
• All students must show evidence of passing all subsections of the FTCE, including General Knowledge, Professional Educator Examination and the Guidance and Counseling Subject Area Exam prior to graduation. 
  NOTE: Students who meet all admissions requirements except the General Knowledge Test section of the FTCE may be admitted conditionally with up to one year after enrollment to take and pass the FTCE General Knowledge Test subsection.

Deadline: Priority application review begins on February 1 of each year. Qualified applications submitted thereafter will be reviewed and may be admitted on a space available basis.

Admissions Related materials:

• Counselor Education Program Recommendation form [.pdf - 209KB]
• Counseling Program Brochure [.pdf- 107KB] 
• Checklist of Entry Requirements for the Counseling Program [.pdf -  87KB]

Transfer Notes and Acceptable Substitutes
The Department limits the transfer of coursework into its graduate programs to a maximum of 12 credits or three courses. To be considered, courses must have been completed with a minimum grade of B and no more than seven years prior to the date of entry into the graduate program and no more than ten years prior to graduation from the graduate program.

As of 2018-19 there are revisions to the curriculum that require 50-56 credits to graduate. 

Required Core Courses 50 credits:

• MHS 6010  Intro to School Counseling (3)
• MHS 6200 Appraisal Procedures (3)
• MHS 6338 College and Career Readiness: K-12  (1) (taken in conjunction with MHS 6340 Career Development)
• MHS 6340 Career Development (3)
• MHS 6400 Counseling Theory for School Counselors (3)
• MHS 6414 Fostering Resiliency and Student Success (3)                                                                                                       
• MHS 6418 Leadership, Accountability and Supervision in School Counseling  (3)   
• MHS 6420 Counseling Spec Population Groups (3)
• MHS 6481  Human Dev for School Counselor (3)
• MHS 6530 Group Work for School Professionals (3)
• MHS 6601 Consultation & Collaborative Problem Solving (3)                                                                  
• MHS 6700  Legal & Ethical Issues. in Counseling (3)
• MHS 6710  Research & Program Evaluation (3)
• MHS 6800  Practicum in Counseling (3)
• MHS 6805  Advanced Practicum in Counseling (3)
• MHS 6831  School Counseling-Internship Ia (1)
• MHS 6831 School Counseling Internship Ib (1)
• MHS 6832  School Counseling -Intern-Supervision (2)
• SDS 6830  School Counseling -Final Internship (3)

Other Requirements (6 credits)

For non-certified or certificate eligible teachers (6 credits): In addition to the above required courses, students who have not otherwise established competencies in Reading and ESOL as specified by the Florida Department of Education must complete the following 6 credits (usually taken in the fall semester and/or spring but under advisement may be taken in the summer prior to matriculation):

• EDG 6356 Inst Models and Strategies (3)
• RED 5147L Developmental Reading (3)*

Note: *Requires 15 hours of field observation in a school setting during the day.

TOTAL SEMESTER HOURS REQUIRED: 50-56 HRS

Additional Graduation Requirements

• Students must satisfactorily complete the number of credit hours specified by the graduate degree program.
• A grade of B or higher must be earned in all Department graduate courses used as prerequisites and each core courses.
• Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in all work attempted.
• A cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all coursework in program.
• Students must complete and pass a culminating demonstration of learning and competence at the end of the program. These may include comprehensive examinations, portfolios, special practicum projects, or research projects. (Students must fully demonstrate Educator Accomplished Practices.)
• Students seeking certification must show evidence of passing all FTCE exam components as required by the state of Florida. These include the Professional Education examination (taken by all applicants applying for an initial teaching certificate, the Florida Guidance and Counseling Subject Area Examination and the General Knowledge Test (if they do not already have Florida certification or if they have not already passed all subsections of the CLAST prior to July 1, 2002.) (See Counseling advisor or Program Director for more information.)

Program Requirements for the 2022-2023 Catalog Year

Program Progression and Additional Graduation Requirements

• Students must satisfactorily complete the number of credit hours specified by the graduate degree program.
• A grade of B or higher must be earned in all Department graduate courses used as prerequisites and each core courses.
• Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in all work attempted.
• A cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all coursework in program.
• Students must complete and pass a culminating demonstration of learning and competence at the end of the program, currently a comprehensive examination. Students seeking certification must fully demonstrate Educator Accomplished Practices.
• Students seeking certification by graduating from a state approved program must show evidence of passing all FTCE exam components as required by the state of Florida. These include the Professional Education examination (taken by all applicants applying for an initial teaching certificate, the Florida Guidance and Counseling Subject Area Examination and the General Knowledge Test (if they do not already have Florida certification or if they have not already passed all subsections of the CLAST prior to July 1, 2002.) (See Counseling advisor or program coordinator for more information.)
• The Department limits the transfer of coursework into its graduate programs to a maximum of 12 credits or three courses. To be considered, courses must have been completed with a minimum grade of B and no more than seven years prior to the date of entry into the graduate program and no more than 10 years prior to graduation from the graduate program.

Program Requirements

Required Courses (49 credits)
MHS 6010 Intro to School Counseling (3)
MHS 6200 Appraisal Procedures (3)
MHS 6338 Coll/Career Readiness: K-12 (1) (taken in conjunction with MHS 6340 Career Development)
MHS 6340 Career Development (3)
MHS 6400 CounsTheory for School Couns (3)
MHS 6401 Counseling Techniques (3)
MHS 6418 Ldrship Acctability & Supv: SC (3)
MHS 6420 Counseling Spec Population Gps (3)
MHS 6423 Counseling Children & Adol (3)
MHS 6481 Human Dev for School Counselor (3)
MHS 6530 Grp Wrk for Sch Professionals (3)
MHS 6601 Consult & Collabor Prob Solve (3)
MHS 6700 Legal & Ethical Iss. in Coun. (3)
MHS 6710 Research and Prog Evaluation (3)
MHS 6800 Practicum Skills and Field Exp (3)
SDS 6830 School Counseling Internship (6)*

*Six (6) total credits of SDS 6830 are required for graduation; these are typically accrued over multiple semesters, while taking one (1) credit for each 100 hours of internship to be completed in the semester.

Other Requirements (6 credits)
For non-certified or certificate eligible teachers (6 credits): In addition to the above required courses, students who have not otherwise established competencies in Reading and ESOL as specified by the Florida Department of Education must complete the following 6 credits (usually taken in the fall semester and/or spring but under advisement may be taken in the summer prior to matriculation):

EDG 6356 Inst Models and Strategies (3)
RED 5147L Developmental Reading (3)*

Note: *Requires 15 hours of field observation in a school setting during the day.

Total Credits Required: 49-55 HRS

Official Course Descriptions

Search for official course descriptions by using the Course Description Search utility.

Go to the Course Descriptions Search Web page, then follow these steps:

1. Select an Academic Year from the TERM dropdown (required)
2. Select a course prefix from one of the SUBJECT dropdowns (required)
3. Enter search words in the TEXT field (optional, but will narrow the search results)
4. Press Search

Getting started with the Course Schedule Search

Search for program courses by using the Course Schedule Search utility.

Go to the Course Schedule Search Web page, then follow these steps:

1. Select an Academic Year from the TERM dropdown (required)
2. Select one or more of the search options to narrow your results (for example, CAMPUS, COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT, LEVEL, PREFIX*, COURSE ATTRIBUTE**). For virtual or web courses, select VIRTUAL in the CAMPUS field.
3. Press Search.

*A course prefix is a three-letter designator for a major division of an academic discipline (for example, ACG for Accounting , BSC for Biological Science, ENC for English Composition). See the Degree Requirements page for a list of courses (with prefix and number) that can be used to fulfill degree requirements.

**A course attribute identifies specific characteristics of courses that can be used in a Degree Evaluation to satisfy a degree requirement. (Course attribute examples are Humanities courses - GEHM and Social Science courses - GESO.)

Supplemental Tuition Waiver Policies

• Students are eligible to apply for graduate tuition fee waivers in one of FGCU's graduate Counseling programs after being admitted to the program with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Application Form and policies: Students are advised to file a FAFSA when they apply to the program.

There are other scholarships and aid available, some especially for school counselors and educators. See below:

Foundation Education Based Scholarships

• FGCU Foundation
• Bartley Scholarship (see story here).
  
  

External Education Based Scholarships

Quick links to external based scholarships.

CAPE CORAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The Cape Coral Community Foundation has several Scholarship Funds available. In our 2006/2007 Scholarship cycle we awarded 33 recipients over $60,000 dollars to assist them in continuing their education. Scholarship eligibility varies according to the specific criteria of the Scholarship Fund that was established by the fund's donor. Please review the information regarding eligibility and criteria as each Scholarship Fund is unique.

SCHOLARSHIPS

1. The Bird Scholarship Fund was created to assist students that attend Faith Presbyterian Church or have family members that attend the church. Applications can be obtained at the Faith Presbyterian Church office.
2. The Brighten the Corner Scholarship Fund was created to assist young people who may have thought education opportunities beyond high school would not be available to them. An 85% attendance in a Christian Service of their choice is required. 
3. The Helen & Edward Brancati Teacher Development Scholarship was created to assist teachers employed by an accredited school in the United States who are seeking to continue their education.

To apply to any of the CCCF scholarships please visit the foundations website.

FAFSA

Get help paying for college. Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

FASTWEB

FastWeb is an online resource in finding scholarships to help you pay for school.

FLORIDA FUND FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

Florida Fund for Minority Students.

HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND

More than $2 million will be awarded in scholarships to more than 500 deserving Hispanic students from the United States and Puerto Rico. To qualify for the scholarships, undergraduate and graduate students must maintain a 3.0 out of 4.0 GPA; be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States or Puerto Rico; be enrolled full-time at an accredited university for the upcoming school year; and must demonstrate financial needs. Learn more about Hispanic College Funds

STATE FARM HISPANIC SCHOLARSHIP FUND

• State Farm Companies Foundation has assisted Hispanic college students through its relationship with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund since 1990. Each year, we provide scholarships in the amount of $2,500 to twenty (20) Hispanic college students who are pursuing a teaching career.
• The Hispanic Scholarship Fund administers the program for State Farm Companies Foundation. Applications become available August 1st, the deadline to submit an application is October 16th (application must be postmarked by October 16th)
• To obtain an application and selection criteria, please contact Hispanic Scholarship Fund:

Hispanic Scholarship Fund
55 Second Street, Suite 1500
San Francisco, CA 94105
1-877-HSF-INFO 1-877-HSF-INFO

(1-877-473-4636 1-877-473-4636 FREE

OTHER SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

View more recent posts about scholarships from the Scholarship section of our News You Can Use updates.

The Department of Counseling currently maintains one standard plan for completing your course sequence:

Current:

School Counseling Plan of Study [PDF]

Archived:

Fall 2018:

Standard Plan of Study [PDF]
Accelerated Plan of Study [PDF]*

Part-time Plan of Study [3 years; View or Download]
Full-time Plan of Study [2 years; View or Download]

Part-Time Plan of Study. May 21, 2016. [.PDF]
Full-Time Plan of Study. May 21, 2014 [.PDF;]