School Counseling

School Counseling Degree Track

With a strong background in human growth and development, as well as communication skills, counselors assist clients in developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strengths.

Wichita State University's M.Ed. in Counseling, school counseling track, is designed to prepare students to meet the requirements of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for Licensed School Counselors.

The M.Ed. in Counseling, school counseling track meets the licensure requirements of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for Professional School Counselors for licensed teachers.

School counseling licensure is available in Kansas to individuals without a teaching license. These students pursue the counseling degree plan, and complete the requirements for direct entry or parallel pathways licensure. Parallel pathways students are required to complete a one year, four credit hour post-degree internship.

The program coursework prepares a student for the PRAXIS licensure exam required by the State of Kansas for application for a School Counselor license. Completion of the PRAXIS licensure exam with a passing score is required by the State of Kansas for a candidate applying for a School Counselor license.

Licensure Requirements

The counseling faculty does our best to keep students apprised of the licensure requirements. However, licensure rules or requirements can change at any time. It is the student's responsibility to know the requirements for the particular license they are interested in pursuing post-graduation and make certain the academic and assessment requirements for licensure are met.

Please be aware: The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) requires a background check for licensure (including criminal record).

The following information is provided as an overview of the licensure process in Kansas. There are two pathways to become licensed as a professional school counselor in Kansas.

1. Licensed teachers:
Kansas school teachers who wish to become licensed school counselors:

• Successfully complete the Master's program in counseling including all required assessments with a minimum GPA of 3.25.
• Pass the Praxis II Exam given by Educational Testing Services. The current required exam is: Test 5421: Professional School Counselor.
• Complete all KSDE requirements for the professional school counselor licensure. Contact the College of Applied Studies Licensure Officer for more information

2. Direct entry:
This licensure option is for students who wish to become licensed school counselors, but do not have a Kansas teaching license. These students use the direct entry or parallel pathways option.

• Successfully complete the Master's program in counseling including all required assessments with a minimum GPA of 3.25.
• Pass the Praxis II Exam given by Educational Testing Services. The current required exam is: Test 5421: Professional School Counselor.
• Complete all KSDE requirements for the professional school counselor licensure. Contact the College of Applied Studies Licensure Officer for more information.

Students using the direct entry option to school licensure will have to complete an additional field experience requirement totaling 75 hours over at least two semesters during the following coursework:

• CESP 804 Foundations of School Counseling (15 hours)
• CESP 845 Professional School Counseling (15 hours)
• CLES 827 Consultation, Collaboration, and Leadership in School Counseling (15 hours)
• CESP 856 Practicum in School Counseling (15 hours)
• CESP 949 Internship in School Counseling (15 hours)

Each course will have a log that direct entry students must turn in. The log will detail the types of activities students should engage in during each of the above courses and will require that the student has a licensed school counselor at the site they observe in sign off on hours. Completed shadowing logs should be submitted in the counseling student Blackboard page. 

The M. Ed in Counseling, school counseling track consists of 60 graduate hours, 48 of those hours being required core courses. Each course is linked to its syllabus below. All syllabi are provided for prospective, current and past students, but it should be noted that each is subject to modification by the individual instructor when the course is taught. Syllabi for the following courses can be viewed here.

When applying for admission to the Master's in Counseling program, you must submit to the Graduate School:

• A completed graduate school application
• Official transcripts with 3.00 GPA for the last 60 hours

Once the Graduate School forwards the application to the Department, it will request:

• A statement of professional goals
• A resumé
• The names, addresses and phone numbers of three professional references to provide reference information

Upon receipt of this information, the departmental screening committee will make recommendations concerning admission decisions for the master's program in counseling.

Application Process
You can view the progress of your admission status by navigating to Step 5 here. Click here for information on how you will be notified of your admission decision.

Upon admission and prior to their first semester, all students admitted to the Counseling program must clear a criminal background check. Click here for instructions.

In order to meet CACREP accreditation requirements, all school counseling supervisors must show proof of receiving some form of supervision training.  If you have not received supervision training, or cannot provide proof of receiving supervision training, please Click Here for instructions.