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MS in School Counseling Courses

Curriculum Details

60 total credits required

Plan of Study

The rigorous, CACREP-accredited online curriculum in the MS in School Counseling degree program features an evidence-based and student-centered approach to K–12 counseling.

Our field placement coordinator will help you acquire a field placement where you’ll complete a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour internship at schools convenient to you. Six elective credits give you the opportunity to study abroad or dive deeply into an area that interests you. Those wishing to gain dual licensure as a mental health counselor can take two additional courses in the form of electives. This would increase the total credits to 66 credits, and you would be eligible to become dual-licensed in school counseling and mental health counseling in Indiana.  Note that our coursework prepares you for LMHC licensure in Indiana, and requirements vary by state.

Most coursework is completed asynchronously, but the curriculum also features synchronous components such as required virtual class meetings during practicum and internship, group work and projects to foster connections with faculty and classmates. Students should expect about nine hours of weekly coursework and/or engagement in class meetings for each three-credit course.

Required Courses

Credits

An orientation to the school counseling profession and associated legal and ethical concerns.

An introduction to developmental theory, developmental characteristics over the lifespan, and developmental assessment for counselors-in-training. Issues in today’s PK-12 schools will be viewed with a developmental focus.

This course is designed to help students develop multicultural and advocacy competencies for working with people of diverse groups on society. Students will have opportunities to develop awareness of their own cultural values and biases, to study prevalent beliefs and attitudes of different cultures, and to develop skills useful for appropriate interactions with particular groups.

A study of basic counseling theories and techniques, followed by application of those techniques to real and role-playing experiences.

Studies that provide an understanding of career development, assessment and related life factors.

Studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation of all learners.

Approaches to preparing for, preventing, responding to, and assessing traumatic events and crises at the individual, group, and systemic levels.

This course examines various theories of counseling, principles and techniques of counseling and its application to professional counseling settings. The course will provide students the competence to select the form of counseling approach that will be most effective and appropriate for the client’s worldview. Prerequisites: ED572.

A study of group interactions, occasions for group counseling, and techniques of group counseling.

A variety of supervised counseling experiences within the classroom and in the field. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Studies of various postsecondary pathways and factors related to the pursuit and attainment of each.
Individual and group study of problems in counseling and guidance. Major emphasis upon problem-solving process and consultation.

Concentrated study of topic(s) of current importance, interest, and relevance in the field of school counseling.

This course continues the examination of theories of counseling, principles and techniques of counseling and its application to professional counseling settings begun in ED 672. The course will provide students the competence to select the form of counseling approach that will be most effective and appropriate for the client’s worldview. Prerequisites: ED572, ED672.

Three hundred clock hours of on-the-job experience in all aspects of counseling and guidance with a qualified supervisor. Prerequisites: Counseling practicum and permission of the instructor. Repeatable for credit for up to six hours.

An exploration of effective counseling and guidance programs, including the determination of sound principles and functions and selection and training of personnel, organization and administration of the program, and adjustments to changing conditions.

This workshop will teach techniques to assist the bereaved child and explore unique grief styles of children and their families. You will learn developmental stages, grief reactions, communication tools, group processes and the facilitator’s role in companioning grieving children. This course offers an option for interested participants to become a facilitator for Brooke’s Place.

This course will emphasize critical review of research in the counseling field. There will be a specific focus on the research process, including problem identification, data gathering, and organization and presentation of a research project.

Electives

Credits

This course addresses professional practice issues in mental health counseling. It includes history, identity, roles, and trends affecting the field and practice of mental health counseling.

This course provides an intensive study/analysis of selected counseling cases to enhance assessment competencies in case description, problem appraisal, assessment, diagnostic classification, intervention strategies as well as case consultation and presentation skills. Emphasis is given to the principles and practices that relate to psychopathy, psychopharmacology, DSM diagnosis, etiology and assessment, systematic treatment planning, interviewing, and short- and long-term interventions.

This class will provide an overview of community agency counseling, the role of the counselor in communities, prevention, outreach, systemic issues, multicultural issues in community agency counseling, advocacy and social change, and service deliver programs. The course will also focus on the application of community counseling theories and problem solving within the community and agency setting.

This course provides a foundation for students to begin acquiring the knowledge and skills within a practical and professional context in order to apply the research of neuroscience, developmental psychology and pedagogy through classroom instruction, ecologies, assessments and relationships. Students will model, role play, discuss and present, as well as evaluate and problem solve. Students will study the impact of neuro-diversity and neuro-diverse climates and ecologies of K-12 students, developing understandings of how unique patterns of brain development vary as a result of neuro-diverse environments.

Provides orientation to the etiology, prevalence, symptoms, and basic treatment approaches of the major DSM-5 categories of psychopathology. Instruction will enable students to distinguish between abnormal and normal behavior by recognizing and classifying signs, symptoms, behaviors, and thoughts associated of major syndromes of psychopathology. Course will cover most major diagnostic areas including (but not limited to) Depressive, Anxiety, Psychotic-related, Trauma-related, Substance Use, Childhood, and other Disorders. For the purpose of identifying effects and side-effects of prescribed psychotropic medications, the basic classifications, indications, and contradictions of commonly prescribed psychopharmacological medications are surveyed.

Program Plans That Fit Your Life

Online degrees from Butler University deliver the flexibility working professionals need for success. We’ve provided three suggested plans of study, listed by term start, for completing your counseling degree in three years. As a Butler student, you will receive the support and guidance you need to achieve your academic goals on your schedule.

Year 1Year 2Year 3
Term 1 – Fall 20XX
ED 553
ED 575
Elective 1
Term 4 – Fall 20XX
ED 577
ED 672
Pre-Prac
Term 7 – Fall 20XX
ED 501
ED 671
ED 722
Term 2 – Spring 20XX
ED 572
ED 630
Elective 2
Term 5 – Spring 20XX
ED 502/512
ED 681
ED 712
Term 8 – Spring 20XX
ED 673
ED 722
COMPS: 672/681, 673
Term 3 – Summer 20XX
ED 547
ED 571
COMPS: 575, 630, 553
Term 6 – Summer 20XX
ED 676
ED 683
ED 685
COMPS: 547, 571, 577
Year 1Year 2Year 3
Term 1 – Spring 20XX
ED 553
ED 575
Elective 1
Term 4 – Spring 20XX
ED 502/512
ED 672
ED 712
Term 7 – Spring 20XX
ED 673
ED 722
ED 501
Term 2 – Summer 20XX
ED 547
ED 571
Elective 2
Term 5 – Summer 20XX
ED 681
ED 685
Term 8 – Summer 20XX
ED 676
ED 683
COMPS: 672/681, 673
Term 3 – Fall 20XX
ED 572
ED 630
Pre-Prac
COMPS: 575, 630, 553
Term 6 – Fall 20XX
ED 577
ED 671
ED 722
COMPS: 547, 571, 577
Year 1Year 2Year 3
Term 1 – Summer 20XX
ED 553
ED 575
ED 571
Term 4 – Summer 20XX
ED 547
ED 681
ED 685
Pre-Prac
Term 7 – Summer 20XX
ED 676
ED 683
Term 2 – Fall 20XX
ED 572
ED 630
Elective 1
Term 5 – Fall 20XX
ED 577
ED 712
Term 8 – Fall 20XX
ED 722
ED 671
COMPS: 672/681, 673
Term 3 – Spring 20XX
ED 502/512
ED 672
Elective 2
COMPS: 575, 630, 553
Term 6 – Spring 20XX
ED 673
ED 722
ED 501
COMPS: 547, 571, 577

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