Academic Catalog
NOTICE: The curriculum for this major is being revised. Effective July 1, 2022, the program will be offered within the College of Education and continue as a Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) approved school counseling program. It is anticipated that effective fall 2023, the program major will be 38 credits in length and no longer CACREP accredited. Please consult your faculty advisor if you have questions.
The College of Education (COE) offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) in School Counseling that is approved by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). The School Counseling program is designed to prepare graduates to implement comprehensive, research-based school counseling programs that reflect national standards; notably those of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Specialized Professional Association (SPA) under the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The program is designed for the continued professional development of persons presently serving or who have an interest in serving children and adolescents in a school setting as professional School Counselors.
Students in the School Counseling program take coursework in the areas of child development and learning, legal and ethical issues of the profession, college and career development/readiness, school counseling, appraisal methods, school counseling theories, group work, school counseling techniques, school counseling research, and program evaluation. Additional specialized courses focusing on school counseling are offered in areas such as internship, special populations, consultation, leadership, accountability, supervision, and professional development. Students are engaged in field-based activities during almost every term of enrollment. Students make progress through the program as a cohort and may complete this program in two years.
The program begins in the fall term. Students who do not have a Florida Professional Teaching Certificate need to take two additional courses required by the FLDOE for certification prior to graduation from the School Counseling program. All graduates meet all requirements for certification as PK-12 school counselors and are ready for employment upon graduation.
See program website at URL listed above.
- Students must satisfactorily complete the number of credits specified by the graduate degree program.
- A grade of B or higher must be earned in all graduate program courses used as prerequisites and each of the required courses.
- Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in all work attempted.
- A cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all coursework in program.
- Students must complete and pass a culminating demonstration of learning and competence at the end of the program, currently the Florida School Counseling PK-12 (018) Subject Area Examination. Students seeking certification must fully demonstrate Florida Educator Accomplished Practices as part of their supervised field experiences (i.e., internship).
- Students seeking certification by graduating from a state approved program must show evidence of passing all the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) components as required by the state of Florida. These include the FTCE, taken by all applicants applying for an initial teaching certificate (i.e., if you are not a teacher certified), and the Florida School and Counseling PK-12 (018) Subject Area Examination.
- The COE limits the transfer of coursework into its graduate programs to a maximum of 12 credits or three courses. To be considered, courses must have been completed with a minimum grade of B and no more than seven years prior to the date of entry into the graduate program and no more than ten years prior to graduation from the graduate program.
- Submit an application for graduation by the semester deadline listed in the FGCU Academic Calendar.
- Students must register for a minimum of one credit during the semester in which they apply for graduation.
- Earn more than 50% of the credits toward the degree through FGCU.
- Earn a minimum of 38 credits.
Required Courses in the Major (38 credits)
SDS 6010 Intro to School Counseling (3)
SDS 6068 Develop Aspects of Learn & Beh (2)
SDS 6200 Appraisal in School Counseling (2)
SDS 6338 Sch Couns College/Career Dev (3)
SDS 6406 School Coun Theory/Techniques (3)
SDS 6415 School Counseling Techniques (2)
SDS 6418 Sch Couns Ldrship Acct & Supv (2)
SDS 6425 Sch Couns Special Populations (3)
SDS 6515 Grp Wrk for School Counselors (3)
SDS 6600 Consult & Collab Prob Solving (3)
SDS 6635 Sch Couns Research & Prog Eval (3)
SDS 6705 School Couns Leg/Ethical Iss (3)
SDS 6830 School Counseling Internship (6)*
*Six (6) total credits of SDS 6830 are required for graduation; these are typically accrued over multiple semesters, while taking one credit for each 100 hours of internship to be completed in the semester.
Other Requirements (6 credits)
For non-certified or certificate eligible teachers (6 credits): In addition to the above required courses, students who have not otherwise established competencies in Reading, Instruction, and ESOL as specified by the Florida Department of Education must complete the following 6 credits (usually taken in the fall semester and/or spring but under advisement may be taken in the summer prior to matriculation):
EDG 6356 Inst Models and Strategies (3)
RED 5147L Developmental Reading (3)*
Note: *Requires 15 hours of field observation in a school setting during the day.
