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’s 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’ growth and development within the framework of the American School Counselors Association’s (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@253000xa.com
(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’s 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
Graduate 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’ 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.
