School Counseling M.Ed.
The Master of Education in School Counseling prepares culturally competent graduates to work as advocates and leaders in preK-12 school settings through the design and implementation of data-driven comprehensive school counseling programs aligned with the ASCA National Model that benefit and support the academic, career and social-emotional development of all students.
** the priority admissions deadline for the School Counseling M.Ed. program is April 15th
in order to be considered for fall admission.**
Teaching Experience Not Required
Teaching experience is no longer required for school counseling certification in Alabama. As a program that is nationally accredited by the Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, students are admitted with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in education, psychology, social work and a variety of disciplines as well as a breadth of professional experience.
School Counseling Program Primary Educational Goals
The USA Professional School Counseling Program will prepare students to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the foundations of school counseling to include history, current trends/issues, role, functions, professional identity, leadership/advocacy strategies, ethical responsibility and laws/legislation
- Facilitate P-12 students鈥� growth and development within the framework of the 棉花糖直播n School Counselors Association鈥檚 (ASCA) Mindsets and Behaviors within the domains of academic, career, and social/emotional development)
- Utilize technology as applied to school counseling
- Demonstrate cultural competence and responsiveness with all students and their families
- Develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive, data driven school counseling program aligned with the ASCA National Model
- Demonstrate effective and meaningful individual counseling, group work, and whole group instruction with diverse students with diverse needs
- Engage in leadership, advocacy and systemic change efforts on behalf of students.
- Serve as culturally responsive and empowerment-based consultants with students, families, and school personnel concerning the developmental needs of diverse students
- Demonstrate skills related to assessment of students, including administration and interpretation of assessment instruments to students, parents/caregivers, teachers, and administrators
School Counseling Course Schedule
| Year | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Principles and Theories of Counseling Foundations of School Counseling Seminar in Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling Tests, Measurement & Evaluation |
Group Counseling Theory & Practice Counseling Skills & Process Diagnosis & Treatment Planning Multicultural Counseling |
Human Growth & Development (Maymester) Educational Research & Evaluation Advocacy, Collaboration & Consultation Child Counseling |
| Year 2 | Data Driven School Counseling Supervised Practicum in Counseling Career Development, Assessment & Intervention Elective |
Internship in School Counseling Advanced Issues in School Counseling Elective |
| Year | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Principles & Theories of Counseling Foundations of School Counseling/ Seminar in Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling |
Group Counseling Theory & Practice Counseling Skills & Processes Multicultural Counseling |
Human Growth & Development (Maymester) Educational Research & Evaluation Advocacy, Collaboration & Consultation |
| Year 2 | Tests, Measurement & Evaluation Career Development, Assessment & Intervention Supervised Practicum in Counseling |
Internship in School Counseling Diagnosis & Treatment Planning Advanced Issues in School Counseling |
Child Counseling Elective |
| Year 3 | Data Driven School Counseling Internship in School Counseling Elective |
Program Coordinator:
Amy Upton, Ph.D.
amyupton@south棉花糖直播.edu
(251) 380-2664
Jan Gay is a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida in Counselor Education
and Supervision. She graduated from the University of South Alabama鈥檚 school counseling
program in 2017. Her research interest includes anti-racist school counseling, multiculturalism,
social justice and advocacy. Gay has three years of experience as a professional school
counselor and 11 years as a clinical social worker. She is a Holmes Scholar, the ACES
棉花糖直播 Student Representative and a graduate student representative for the International
Society for Policy Research and Evaluation in School-Based Counseling.
Gay was a 2020 Counselor Education and Supervision fellow and sits on the editorial board and the Journal of Employment Counseling. Her research in anti-racism includes being a member of a research team that is developing and validating the Decolonizing the Counseling Curriculum Scale, which is designed to examine cultural and antiracist practices within counselor education programs. She is also a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision school counseling interest network anti-racism subcommittee research team that is developing a framework for anti-racist school counseling. Gay has six publications in press in counseling journals and currently working on her dissertation that examines predictors for professional school counselors鈥� advocacy competency. She has received two research grants including the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Multicultural Assessment and Research in Counseling student grant.
