Overview

Program Chair: Susan Eldred (858) 642-8372 seldred@nu.edu
Faculty Advisors:
San Diego: Lisa R. Spencer · (858) 642-8379 · lspencer@nu.edu
San Diego: James Ruby · (858)642-8641 · jruby@nu.edu
Costa: Mesa: Harvey Hoyo · (714) 429-5143 · hhoyo@nu.edu
Fresno: Carol Cerioni · (559) 256-4949
Los Angeles: Joseph White · (310) 662-2137 · jwhite@nu.edu
Sacramento: Joe Cunha · (906) 855-4303 · jcunha@nu.edu
San Diego Internship Coordinator: Larry Johnson · (858) 541-7762 · ljohnson@nu.edu

The Department of Pupil Personnel Services-School Counseling offers a graduate degree leading to the Master of Science in Educational Counseling. This program is aligned with national standards and prepares students for the position of school counselor. Graduates of this program generally seek employment as school counselors in K-12 school districts and must hold a PPSC credential for public school employment.

Students enrolled in the degree and credential program are not awarded the master's degree until they have completed all coursework including practicum and internship. Course equivalence cannot be granted for life experiences.

Admission Requirements

  • Complete all program prerequisites.
  • All students need to have their previous coursework evaluated by the PPS lead faculty advisor.
  • Attend CED 604, (Orientation and Field Experience in School Counseling). Attendance at all sessions and completion of all required assignments is mandatory.
  • Receive a credential packet and complete a "candidate statement" that is reviewed and signed by faculty advisor for admission to School of Education.
  • Return the credential packet to the credential advisor by the end of CED604, otherwise students will receive an "I" for the course.
  • See a credential advisor for specific information regarding any of these requirements. Students are not eligible for financial aid until evaluation is complete.

Program Advisement

Students who are absent for a period of 12 months or more must re-enroll to be re-evaluated under a new catalog. All coursework must be completed within seven years with a 3.0 GPA.

All PPSC students will be assigned a faculty advisor. All students are expected to meet with their assigned faculty advisor upon admission into the program, upon completion of the internship hours, and throughout the program as needed.

Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Students who receive a grade of a "C" or lower in more than two courses will be evaluated by the faculty and will be required to repeat the coursework at their own expense before being allowed to continue in the program. A grade lower than a B- is not accepted in CED 610, CED 611, CED 603, and CED 601.

Students will meet with a faculty advisor for evaluation of prior coursework to meet program prerequisites. Only CED 604 and prerequisites can be taken prior to admission.

It is strongly recommended, but not required, that applicants have one year of related professional experience working with school age children, preferably in a school setting.

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the program will be able to:

  • Identify major theories (personality, social, physical, emotional, and cognitive development) and chronological stages of life-long human development and their impact on school behavior and learning.
  • Identify and effectively address relevant social and diversity concerns of individuals and groups of students.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and skills to advocate for cultural differences.
  • Develop and coordinate prevention, early intervention, and remedial programs and services, appropriate to the diverse needs of the community, school, and district.
  • Conduct assessments and use data to plan, develop, and implement guidance programs.
  • Develop and present classroom and large group guidance activities through which pupils develop competency in personal/social, academic, and career domains.
  • Apply individual counseling methods to help students cope with personal and interpersonal problems.
  • Demonstrate knowledge in cross-cultural counseling and recognize the nature of cultural, social, economic, ethnic, linguistic, gender, religious, and other differences as they apply to the counseling process.
  • Develop a repertoire of group counseling techniques that can be implemented to help students cope with personal and interpersonal problems.
  • Apply a repertoire of skills to effectively counsel individuals regardless of ethnicity, gender, socio-economic level, cultural background, life style, native language, and/or sexual orientation.
  • Effectively form positive consultative and collaborative relationships with school staff, parents, and community agencies in support of student academic, career, and personal/social success.
  • Effectively plan and implement crisis interventions strategies.
  • Develop and implement proactive career development programs.
  • Counsel a student on postsecondary requirements.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of legal mandates affecting school counselors and apply appropriate legal and ethical standards and practices to specific counseling situations.
  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of basic statistics and test construction.
  • Understand the Student Assistance Team process and major laws affecting assessment, including IDEA, PL 94-142 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
  • Understand the purpose of tests in the following areas: Group and individual achievement and intelligence, learning disabilities, speech and language, adaptive behavior, projective or emotional, and vocational tests.
  • Implement an action research project to demonstrate accountability as a school counselor.
  • Understand and utilize computer technology relevant to the tasks of school counselors.

Requirements

Degree Requirements
(22 courses, 97.5  quarter units)
To receive a Master of Science in Educational Counseling, a total of three graduate courses (13.5 quarter units) may be transferred for equivalent graduate work completed at another institution, as it applies to this degree and if the units were not used in earning another advanced degree.  Students must complete all coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or better within seven years. 

Advancement to Candidacy
After admission as a degree and credential seeking student, a student must also advance to candidacy. To qualify for candidacy, a student must:

  • Complete prerequisite coursework or equivalent
  • Complete CED 604, TED 611 and three other CED courses.
  • Candidacy review is one of several evaluative steps to help ensure that program objectives are met and that student outcomes are attained.


    Program Prerequisites
    (3 courses; 13.5 quarter units)

MTH 210 Introduction to Probability and Statistics
 (Prerequisite: Placement Evaluation)
PSY 301 Child Development
 (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology

Before being formally admitted into this program, students must complete the prerequisite coursework or equivalent.

Program Requirements
(15 courses; 64.5 quarter units)

CED 604 Orientation and Field Experience in School Counseling (1.5 quarter units)
TED 611 Educational Psychology
CED 600 Advanced Child and Adolescent Development
CED 602 Contemporary Issues in School Counseling
CED 606 Development and Evaluation of School Counseling Programs and Services
CED 610 Advanced Counseling Theories and Techniques
 (Prerequisite: CED 600)
CED 611 Group Counseling
 (Prerequisite: CED 610)
CED 603 Multicultural Counseling
 (Prerequisites: CED 610)
CED 601 Consultation in the Schools
CED 612 Career and Academic Counseling
CED 613 Psycho-educational Assessment
CED 614 Legal and Ethical Practices for School Counselors
PED 676 Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis
ILD 625 Educational Research

Choose either:
CED 694 Thesis
 (Prerequisite: ILD 625 and successful completion of an undergraduate or graduate statistics course. Students must have written permission of lead

faculty to enroll in the course.)
or
CED 637 School Counseling Action Research
 (Prerequisite: ILD 625 )

Students who do not have a regular teaching credential must complete one of the following in addition to the above core coursework:
((1 course; 4.5 quarter units)

TED 622A  Curriculum and Instruction I: History, Social Science, Physical Education, Visual and Performing Arts
 (Prerequisite: TED 615 and TED 621A)
or
TED 622B Curriculum and Instruction II: Mathematics and Science

Practicum (100 hours)

Students are required to complete 100 hours of practicum prior to starting their internship. Students must complete the practicum experience under the supervision of a credentialed and experienced (two years) school counselor. National University school counseling students will complete the 100 hours during school-based practicum experiences that are imbedded within all CED courses. Student performance will be evaluated by a course instructor and a school site school counselor through completion of course requirements.

Internship Prerequisites

Before students can begin the internship, they must:

  • Provide proof of Certificate of Clearance
  • Provide verification of a TB Clearance
  • Complete prerequisite coursework, 10 CED courses (including CED 610, CED 611, CED 603, CED 601)
  • Complete 100 hours of logged, approved practicum
  • Submit an Internship application to the internship coordinator/lead faculty and be assigned a University supervisor.
  • Pass Basic Skills Requirements

Internships are then scheduled by the placement specialist.

Students should refer to the PPS Graduate Handbook for School Counseling for specific information about the practicum and internship requirements.

Note:Students interested in a district-paid internship need to contact a credential advisor for prerequisite and process information.

Internship
(4 courses; 16.5 quarter units)

CED 620 Best Practices Seminar in School Counseling (3 quarter units)
 (Must be taken concurrently with internship)
CED 616 School Counseling Internship Part I
CED 617 School Counseling Internship Part II
CED 618 School Counseling Internship Part III

Master's Degree Only Requirements
(4 courses; 16.5 quarter units)

This is for students that are only pursuing the MS degree in Educational Counseling (without the PPSC credential).

CED 619 Counseling Practicum Community College
CED 620 Best Practices Seminar in School Counseling(3 quarter units)

And any two of the following courses.
TED 605 The Diverse Classroom
EDT 660 Multimedia and Interactive Technologies
Other electives may be chosen with approval from lead faculty.

Exit Requirements

In order to receive a master's degree and PPSC credential, students must complete courses within seven years and do the following:

  • Successful completion of coursework, portfolio, practicum, and internship.
  • Successful completion of thesis or action research project.
  • Submit completion of the ETS National Praxis examination scores in School Counseling (passage score is 570).
  • Submit written evaluations of performance in internship experiences by site supervisor to university supervisor.
  • Schedule and pass an Exit interview with faculty advisor and university supervisor.
  • Complete online Program Evaluation, form-School Counseling.
  • Schedule an exit appointment with credential advisor for final clearance and credential documents.
  • Have a zero account balance.

    ****Exit Interview with University Supervisor and faculty advisor

Degree Program Locations
Costa Mesa Campus
Fresno Campus
Los Angeles Campus
Redding Campus
Sacramento Campus
San Bernardino Campus
Sherman Oaks Campus
Spectrum Business Park Campus