Graduate Education
School of Education
Graduate Study in Education Program Home > Counseling Program Curriculum
Counseling Program Curriculum
- Pre-Requisites
- Pre-Counseling Core
- Clinical Coursework
- Placements for Teachers
- Fieldwork Placements for Non-Teachers
- Time Requirements for Practicum and Internship
- Primary Internship Placement
- Second Level Placement and Diversity Placement
- Practicum and Internship Activities
Pre-Requisites |
The pre-requisites do not count in the 48 hours for the masters program. When the student applies as a Counseling major, the program coordinator checks the submitted transcripts to see if the two pre-requisites have been satisfied. If either course has been taken, this is marked on the program checklist that is sent to the student. The student may take needed pre-requisites at any time while s/he is taking the pre-core classes, but the pre-requisites must be completed before applying to the clinical cohort. |
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Pre-Counseling Core |
It is highly recommended that G500 be taken first because this is an overview of school counseling and allows the student to get an accurate picture of the role of the school counselor and a chance to practice some of the beginning counseling skills. Other classes may be taken in any order and over several semesters. This part of the program is self-paced. |
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Clinical Coursework |
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All the clinical classes except the elective require authorization and are only open to the students who have been accepted into the clinical cohort. The semester each class is taken with the cohort is indicated. This part of the program is NOT self-paced and takes two years. The following is a list of the classes in the order they are taken during the cohort. Summer II Intensive Year 1 Fall Year 1 Spring Year 1 Summer I Intensive Year 2 Summer II Intensive Year 2 Fall Year 2 Spring Year 2 One elective is required and may be taken prior to entering the program or anytime after coming into the program. Those courses approved for electives are:
Also acceptable are three one hour Saturday classes on topics related to counseling such as child abuse, homeless children, anger management, ISTEP testing, stress management. Fall and spring classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays. Most classes meet from 5:30 - 8:00, but some meet longer because of the need to practice counseling skills. The summer class schedule changes slightly every year but generally speaking, classes will meet from 1:00 - 4:30 pm or 5:30 - 9: 00 pm. If the students want to use another course as the elective, s/he must get PRIOR approval from the program coordinator. |
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Placements for Teachers |
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Full-time teachers or other full-time school personnel may do their three semesters of fieldwork (practicum and internship) in their own school provided they have the principals permission to use their preparation period and time before and after school to do the counseling activities. We require students to submit a signed form from their principal when applying to the clinical cohort indicating that the principal agrees to this arrangement. (See Appendices for form). A certified school counselor in that building must also agree to supervise the student. Before applying to the clinical cohort, the student should talk to the building counselor about his/her willingness to be a supervisor. If there is no certified counselor in the school, then the student must travel to another school for supervision and must also arrange to spend additional time in the supervisor's school to observe activities. (IUS will arrange this off-site supervision.) It is much more difficult for the student to complete the necessary requirements if there is no certified counselor in the building. Such a student must have a more flexible schedule and/or be prepared to take time off to complete the requirements for both practicum and internship. It is possible the student will be required to complete the internship in a another school with a counselor if the student is not able to do all the requirements in their own school. |
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Fieldwork Placements for Non-Teachers |
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Non-teachers will be placed in a school for practicum and internship by the program faculty. The program will try to arrange a placement that is either near the student's work or home, but the primary consideration in making a placement is that the student have an excellent certified supervisor and be able to work in an outstanding counseling program. Program faculty will ask students to indicate preference for practicum placement in late October of the first clinical year. Placements will be made by Thanksgiving. (See Appendices for timeline.) |
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Time Requirements for Practicum and Internship |
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Practicum, which is in the spring of the first clinical year, requires students to spend approximately six hours a week doing counseling activities. The teacher may spread this out over a week, but the non-teacher must spend either one full day or two half days in a school. Internship, which is both fall and spring of the second clinical year, actually begins when the counselors start school in August and continues until the end of April. The certified teacher does a 300-hour internship spread over both semesters and a non-teacher does a 600-hour internship spread over both semesters. The 600-hour internship requires at least two full days or four half-days in the school each week from August-April. It is expected that students will be available before and after school for parent conferences and other counseling activities. |
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Primary Internship Placement |
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The student will do a primary placement at the level of his or her choosing (elementary, middle or high school), but because the student receives a K-12 license, it is necessary to do some hours at the other two levels. The student will spend fall in their primary placement and may pick up their other levels in the spring or in August before school starts for teachers. |
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Second Level Placement and Diversity Placement |
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All students do 25 hours at a second level and 15 hours at a third level because the IN and KY licenses are K-12. Some of these activities may be done in conjunction with the primary placement; for example, a high school intern may help register eighth grade students for the classes they will take in high school and these hours may be counted as middle school hours. However, it is possible that the student will need to use time during spring break, in-service days, or in August before teaching days start or take personal days to complete the hours at other levels. Students who are in a school without at least 15% racial/ethnic diversity will be required to do 25 internship hours in a school with more diversity. IUS will help the student find a school for those hours. The student can combine these hours with the second level placement but may have to use personal days or vacations to complete this requirement. A student should know the level where s/he wants to do the practicum and primary internship placement when s/he applies to the clinical cohort. If the student is uncertain, s/he should ask the program coordinator for suggestions for school counselors to job shadow at different levels prior to applying to the clinical cohort. Students will need a certified school counselor in their primary school to provide supervision and should select schools for the secondary and tertiary placements that also have a certified school counselor. |
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Practicum and Internship Activities |
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The practicum manual details all of the activities that will be completed by the practicum student. Students should refer to the Practicum Manual for the specific requirements. The following is only a brief summary so that students have an idea of the type of activities they will participate in:
The internship manual details all of the activities that will be completed during internship. The goal of the internship requirement is to have students participate in activities the school counselor is responsible for, to help prepare them for a full time professional counseling position after graduation. The following is only a brief summary for students to get an approximation of the activities they will be doing:
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