School Counseling
Program Overview
The School Counseling Program prepares you for careers in a variety of school settings, including elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges. Recommendation for provisional and permanent certification is made after graduation. School counselors can also be employed by organizations that are not primarily educational, such as correctional facilities, hospitals, and a wide variety of community-based organizations.
Coursework and Clinical Experiences
Courses are offered in the afternoon and evening. A minimum of 700 field hours of fieldwork are completed in two different fieldwork sites, K to 5 (elementary) OR 6 to 8 (middle) AND 9 to 12 (high school), over three semesters through the Practicum and Internship courses.
Credits
60
Certification
School Counseling PreK-12
Eligibility and Admission Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.0
- 15 to 25 credits of approved courses from the following fields: anthropology, economics, education, guidance, health sciences, political science, psychology, sociology, and related areas
- Evidence of written expression consonant with graduate-level study
- A statement of purpose (400 to 600 words) that addresses the following prompt: Please describe a meaningful event that has shaped your interest in becoming a counselor and explain why it was important. Upload to the Statement of Purpose section.
- An additional essay (400 to 600 words) that addresses the following prompt: Consider you are a counseling student providing services at a counseling internship placement site, what type of client or client issue would be difficult for you and why? How do you think you would cope with this situation? Upload to the Supplemental Materials section.
- Two letters of recommendation from appropriate professional or academic references to aid in determining potential for work as a professional counselor
- Relevant work and/or volunteer experience is highly recommended
Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the program. Admission to the program is highly competitive, and each applicant’s grade point average, counselor potential, and applicability of work and life experience are carefully considered.
Counseling Programs Information Session Slide Presentation
To Apply
Applications are accepted each Fall semester.
To start your application, visit the Hunter College Online Application.
When applying to this program, under Program of Study, select School of Education – Other Programs and School Counseling.
Application Deadlines
Fall Start
- February 1
Visit How to Apply for information about deadline extensions.