Master of Science in Education (M.S. Ed.)
School Counselor (K-12)

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Division of Education
Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling

Department phone number: (607) 436-3554
Website: http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/ed/edpsych2

Faculty: Anuradhaa Shastri, Chair, Brian Beitzel, Joanne M. Curran, Nithya Iyer, Ronald LaFrance, Daqi Li, Joan Marshall, Emily Phillips, Richard Staley, Ying Tang, John Van Valkenburg

Program purposes and philosophy: The Department offers a Master of Science in Education degree, School Counselor “K-12,” which leads to New York State Provisional Certification in School Counseling.

A Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) program is available for School Counselor students pursuing graduate work beyond the Masters degree toward permanent school counselor certification.

Degree Students: In general, any graduate student who wishes to transfer credit from another institution following admission must have written prior approval from the faculty advisor. Courses must be relevant to the field of school counseling, must be from an accredited college, must appear on a college transcript, must include a minimum of 37.5 face to face clock hours, or in the case of web based or on line courses, must include that all exams are taken in person, and must result in a grade of “B” or better. No more than 9 s.h. may be transferred into this program. Transfer credits must meet specific guidelines. Check with your advisor or department chair. All degree students are required to take CNED 500 Introduction to School Counseling in their first fall semester.

Note: All education programs are under review to meet the needs of students and the requirements of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). In addition, the New York State Regents are making some policy changes that are likely to affect the requirements for certificate applicants. Students should check with their advisor concerning course or programmatic changes before matriculating into or registering for courses in these programs. 

We can neither endorse for certification, nor write letters of recommendation for those students seeking independent certification through the State Education Department.


Admission Requirements
All students applying for admission to degree status are required to:

1. Submit a completed application and the non-refundable fee by March 1. 

2. Submit an official transcript of an earned Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college, consisting of a minimum of 18 s.h. of behavioral and social science courses, including at least 12 s.h. in psychology and/or educational psychology and 6 s.h. in anthropology, sociology, or related studies. 

3. Have an undergraduate grade point average of 2.80 overall. 

4. Submit official scores from GRE General Test. Applications without these scores will not be considered. Applicants who already have a Master’s degree are not required to submit GRE scores. 

5. Submit two professional letters of recommendation. 

6. For those who meet the above, have a personal interview.

Our program has been designed for students matriculating full time in the fall semester. Part-time students will need to plan for additional time to complete the program as most courses are fall and spring only. Beginning Spring 2007 semester, CNED 596 School Counseling Practicum will be offered only in the spring semester. All application materials must be filed with the Graduate Office by March 1st.

Note: Students will be asked on the application form for admission as well as when applying for New York State School Counseling Certification, whether they have any prior or current felony or misdemeanor charges (other than a minor traffic violation). A yes answer to this question is not an automatic bar to admission or to placement in practicum.

An affirmative response will require that you provide official court documents regarding past or current felonies and/or misdemeanors and that you attend a review meeting of the graduate committee. See the Department Chair for guidelines. Any information that is falsified or omitted will result in denial. State regulations now require students to be fingerprinted before obtaining employment.

Decisions on admission to the program are made based on all of the above information plus the admissions committee’s judgment about the applicant’s potential for success in the profession. Admission is competitive and meeting the minimum admission’s criteria does not guarantee acceptance.


Disclosure Statement
SUNY College at Oneonta’s School Counseling Program complies with the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics 2005 (F.5,a,b,c,d).

Applicants to the school counseling program are assessed for interpersonal competence in the admission process. We will nominate for admission, only those candidates we believe demonstrate the personal/social qualities, as well as the academic qualities needed to be an outstanding counselor and who we believe have the best opportunity for impacting K-12 student success.

Beyond admission, the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling is ethically obligated to safeguard the school counseling profession by continuously monitoring students’ performance. Students are assessed for academic and nonacademic fitness throughout their coursework, including practical experiential courses in which performance is an essential part of a grade.

Completion of the program is dependent not only upon academic performance but also on the demonstration of appropriate professional dispositions, interpersonal skills, professional demeanor, and social and ethical judgment. Courses are designed for self-reflection and self-evaluation. Self-reflection is a continuous requirement for counseling professionals.

Students who do not demonstrate professional competencies in the aforementioned areas will be required to complete a plan of remediation. For more details see the disclosure contract and the professional competencies for counselor education program.