“The school counseling program is the foundation of school success” - The National Standard for School Counseling Programs.

What do school counselors do?

Schools counselors work with ALL children providing a program that is comprehensive in scope and developmental in nature. School counselors seek to give students specific skills and learning opportunities through academic, career, and personal/social development through both preventive and interventive methods, with an emphasis on proactive methods and life span application. Effective school counselors serve all students, and acknowledge that diversity and individual
differences are valuable to all (National Standards, NCATE).

Services provided:

• Counseling
• Consulting
• Guidance curriculum
• Collaboration Coordination
• Program evaluation

The School Counseling degree, (MS/Ed) at SUNY Oneonta prepared school counselors in line with the national accrediting body CACREP, follows the guidelines of NCATE, and the model provided by the National Professional Association (ASCA). This degree provides students with the following core skills and areas of learning:

• counseling theory and skills
• human development theories
• career development
• curriculum development
• professional ethics and orientation
• program planning, management, and evaluation
• measurement and appraisal
• diversity awareness

The Master’s in Education/ School Counseling degree at Oneonta is 39 credits, which is typically completed through part-time study over the course of several semesters. The Master’s degree provides you with provisional certification in the state of New York. Provisional certification is valid for 5 years from the date of issuance, during which time you will need to earn an additional 21 credits (either through the CAS degree or by applying independently to the state) to equal a total of 60 credits. Once a counselor has 60 credits and two years of full time school counseling experience, he or she can become permanently certified in New York. Within the Master’s degree students need to plan for a 3-day a week field placement, Practicum.

Practicum is the capstone of the school counseling program and provides students with an opportunity to practice and integrate those skills they have acquired through their classroom experiences. For further information or to obtain a current graduate catalog and application for admission, please contact the Graduate Office at 607-436-2523.