Program Requirements
The M.Ed. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in School Counseling requires that students complete 60 credit hours of coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. Part of the coursework includes a 100-hour Practicum experience conducted during the Spring semester of their first year and a 600-hour Internship experience conducted during the Fall and Spring semesters of their second year. Students also take the Praxis 5422 School Counseling Licensing exam as their comprehensive exam and are required to achieve a score of 153 or above to be considered a “pass.”
Course Requirements
Counseling Theory & Practice
Counseling Skills
Group Counseling
Career Counseling
Substance Abuse Counseling
Multicultural Counseling
Child Psychopathology
Counseling Theories
Intervention Courses
Growing from Traumatic Life Experiences
Lifespan Development
Interventions in the Schools
College & Career Readiness
Ethical & Legal Issues
Consultation & Supervision in the Schools
Collaborative Classroom Instruction
Prevention, Intervention, & Postvention
Data-Driven School Counseling Program
Foundations in School Counseling
Comprehensive School Counseling Programs
Introduction to Statistics
Measurement and Assessment
Field Experiences
Practicum in School Counseling
Internship in School Counseling
Course Sequencing
Comprehensive Exam
For non-thesis programs, the Graduate School requires a comprehensive exam. Students in the School Counseling Program take the PRAXIS 5422 Professional School Counselor exam as their comprehensive exam, which is also the licensing exam required by the State of Utah. This exam measures whether entry-level school counselors have the standards-relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities believed necessary for competent professional practice.
The School Counseling Program owns PRAXIS student materials and has them available for students to check out. The program also pays the fee for the PRAXIS test. Students take the PRAXIS 5422 exam early in the Spring of their 2nd year. They must receive a score of 153 or higher to be considered a “pass.” This score is also used as the minimum score for licensure in the State of Utah. Thus, when our students graduate, they will have already passed the professional school counselor licensing exam. We submit their PRAXIS score to the Utah State Board of Education along with their licensure paperwork.
Licensure Information
The School Counseling Program leads to licensure as a professional school counselor in the State of Utah. In fact, the University of Utah completes the licensure paperwork and forwards it to the Utah State Board of Education along with our “recommendation.” Once the paperwork has been processed and cleared, our graduates receive their license.
Information about School Counseling Licensing in the State of Utah can be found on the Utah State Board of Education website.
Our program may or may not meet the requirements for licensure in another state; we cannot and do not guarantee licensure outside the state of Utah. The reason for that is school counselors are licensed at the State level and each state board reserves the right to maintain or change their eligibility requirements. However, we will work with students to help them understand the licensing requirements for another state. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the student to research other states’ requirements for licensure or ask for help doing so.