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Seeking Licensure as a School CounselorAny licensed or license-eligible professional counselor or professional clinical counselor or student in the Community Counseling Masters Program who wants school counselor licensure, but is not seeking admission to the Master's Degree in School Counseling, must apply for admission to the School Counseling Licensure Endorsement Program. The application shall consist of an application form, official transcripts of graduate work in counseling, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement clarifying why the applicant wishes to become a licensed school counselor. (Current CESP masters students do not have to provide transcripts or letters of recommendation as these are already on file.) There is no fee for the application and the application is submitted to the Department of Counselor Education & School Psychology (not the College of Graduate Studies). CESP faculty will review the application and the applicant may be required to appear for an interview with one or more faculty members. Applicants will be notified if they are admitted. If they are not admitted they will not be permitted to take COUN 6/8940 Counseling Internship and they will not be endorsed for school counselor licensure.
The application should be filed before taking any courses as a non-degree student, but must be filed by the end of the first semester in which the student is enrolled as a non-degree student. Under no circumstances will a non-degree student be allowed to enroll in COUN 6/8940 Counseling Internship without having first been admitted to the School Counseling Licensure Endorsement Program. Once admitted to the endorsement program the student will meet with the School Counseling Program Coordinator to fill out an Endorsement Plan of Study. The School Counseling Program Coordinator will specify which courses and the number of courses the student needs to complete to be endorsed for temporary school counselor licensure. Courses completed more than eight years ago may have to be retaken. The student may be required to complete a school counseling practicum in addition to the school counseling internship. In all cases, students will have to complete COUN 5010 Professional Orientation to School Counseling and SPED 5000/7000 Issues in Special Education before they will be allowed to enroll in a school counseling internship. It is the student's responsibility to find a school or schools in which to complete the internship, and to arrange for qualified supervision. The School Counseling Program Coordinator and the Department Chairperson must approve the Endorsement Plan of Study. The Coordinator and Chairperson must provide written approval for any changes to the Endorsement Plan of Study.