School Counselor Licensure [Post-Master’s Certificate]

Location(s): In-person/hybrid

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This program is designed for individuals who already possess a master’s degree in counseling (e.g., community counseling, college counseling, etc.) and who wish to enter the field of school counseling. The post-masters Certificate Program for School Counselor Licensure is a 14-30 credit hour program that provides competencies and proficiencies for entry-level positions as school counselors in elementary, middle/junior high, secondary, and high school settings. Upon completing the certificate program, students can apply for a K-12 school counselor license issued by the Michigan Department of Education. Candidates selected for this program must commit to their graduate training and enroll in coursework regularly. The program includes a 300-600 clock-hour supervised school counseling internship experience. The program does not meet Michigan’s academic and internship requirements for limited licensure as a professional counselor (LLPC). It cannot be used to supplement a previous master’s degree to become eligible for the LLPC. Information on eligibility requirements for licensure as a professional counselor is available in the Student Handbook for Counseling Programs.

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

EMU will admit a maximum of 20 students per year to this post-master’s certificate program. Applicants will be considered competitively, with the following criteria representing the minimum requirements for admission. All Admission materials, graduate school, and certificate program are submitted with the graduate application. Candidates must provide evidence of each of the following criteria to be considered for admission.

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements. Requirements may be more stringent than the minimum graduate school requirements.

Applicants must have graduated from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a master’s degree in counseling within the past 15 years. The degree must have included a practicum (not field placement).
Evidence of academic aptitude for continued graduate-level study as evidenced by a GPA of 3.3 on their previously completed advanced degree.
Personal Statement A one-page statement focusing on the applicant’s motivation and rationale for seeking admission to the program and their background and goals related to professional studies.
Résumé A focused summary of program-relevant, educational, career, and/or life experiences.
Experience A minimum of two (2) years of documented work experience involves working with school-aged children or adolescents (ages 5-18). This experience may include paid, professional roles or structured volunteer experiences in organized work settings. It should be focused on improving the children’s mental health, behavior, academic success, or social skills. Activities such as parenting, babysitting, and daycare do not qualify.
Three recommendations Request recommendation forms from three professional supervisors and/or supervising professors that address the applicant’s professional work quality. Applicants may request recommendation letters in addition to completing the recommendation form. Applicants are encouraged to ask recommenders to submit a recommendation letter if this could enhance their application materials. Recommendation forms and letters must come directly from your reference.”

Application

Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.

- Go to 2023-2024 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Within the application, applicants will follow the instructions to submit official transcripts from the institution(s) that granted their bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

If the bachelor’s degree-granting transcript does NOT list 30 or more credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.0 or over OR list 60 or more credit hours with an overall GPA between 2.7 and 2.99, the applicant is required to submit transcripts from all previously attended institutions. The University may ask applicants to submit additional transcripts after applying.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Admission Process

Each applicant will receive a rating on the following criteria: academic potential based on grade point average; the quality, extensiveness, and relevance of career/life/educational experiences to the field of school counseling; professional goals/objectives; and recommendations. Based on these ratings, applicants may move to the second phase of the process.

Applicants admitted to the second phase of the selection process may be invited to campus to participate in a personal interview. They will also receive information about programs of study and faculty expectations. Applicants may be asked to submit additional materials at this time. Admissions decisions will be made based on an evaluation of all materials and the interviews.

Program advisors will be assigned after students have been admitted to the Post-Master’s Certificate Program for School Counselor Licensure. The advisor will assist the student in developing the program of study required for full admission to the post-master’s certificate program for school counselor licensure. The advisor must approve all courses and subsequent changes. Transfer credit can be used toward graduation only if it has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor and is within Graduate School guidelines. The certificate program must be completed within a three-year period.

Department Information

Leadership & Counseling 304 Porter, 734.487.0255

Kimberly Kappler Hewitt, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Quentin Hunter, PhD, 304M Porter, 734.487.2804

Degree Requirements: 14-30 hours

Changes in the student’s official program and substitution of courses must be approved by the advisor prior to registration.

Required Courses: 12 hours

Supporting Coursework: 2-18 hours

Counseling Internship

For candidates who have already completed a 600-hour internship as part of their previous master’s degree, only 300 hours of internship in a school setting will be required.
COUN 691B The Counseling Internship 2 hrs
COUN 691C The Counseling Internship 3 hrs
COUN 691D The Counseling Internship 4 hrs
Graduate Prerequisites

If the student has not already completed the following coursework, the following classes must also be taken as part of this post-master’s certificate program.
COUN 508 Theories of Counseling 3 hrs
COUN 571 Cross-cultural Counseling 3 hrs
COUN 622 Diagnosis and Treatment Planning in Counseling 3 hrs
Undergraduate Prerequisites

If the student has not already completed the following coursework as an undergraduate, the following classes must also be taken within the first 12 hours of this post-master’s certificate program. The student may enroll for graduate or undergraduate courses to meet this requirement. Undergraduate courses will not count towards the total hours required for this graduate degree and will not show on a graduate transcript.
EDPS 600 Human Development 3 hrs
Social Science Elective 3 hrs approved by an advisor
Choose one course from the following:
SFCE 550 Philosophy, Ethics, and Education 3 hrs
SFCE 572 The History of American Schooling and Literacy 3 hrs
Restricted Elective Courses

Four hours of elective courses to be chosen in consultation with an advisor.

Additional Information

For more information about the program, admissions, etc., contact the department head.

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Graduate Certificate requirements must be completed within three (3) years of first enrollment in a course applicable to the certificate. Dually enrolled students (certificate and master’s program) must complete both degrees within six years of first enrollment in the master’s degree.

In the event a student does not complete the graduate certificate degree requirements within three years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are the minimum requirements for all graduate certificate degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A graduate certificate must require a minimum of 12 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement - For students admitted to a graduate certificate program, at least nine graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the program must be earned at EMU. Students completing multiple certificate programs must have a minimum of 9 unique credit hours per certificate.
Application of completed certificates toward prior degree credit - Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours of the master’s program.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.