Pre-Requisites

• K205/K505 Intro to Special Education (or equivalent undergraduate or graduate course)
• P570 Classroom Management (or equivalent undergraduate or graduate course)

The pre-requisites do not count towards the 48 hour master's program. When the candidate applies as a Counseling major, the program coordinator reviews the submitted transcripts to see if the two pre-requisites have been satisfied. A program checksheet is created for all applicants; the checkseet will clearly outline both completed coursework as well as courses that must be taken before the candidate may apply to the Clinical Cohort.  Applicants will receive a copy of this checksheet by mail after their application and transcripts have been reviewed.  The pre-requisites and pre-Counseling core courses must be completed before applying to the Clinical Cohort.

Pre-Counseling Core

• G500 Orientation to Counseling (Must be taken at IU Southeast within the last six (6) years.)
• H520 Education and Social Issues
• P515 Child Development

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.

Clinical Cohort Coursework

All the clinical classes, except the elective, require authorization (indicated by "PERM" in the Schedule of Classes) and are only open to the candidates who have been accepted into the Clinical Cohort.  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.  Please view the Schedule of Classes to determine when classes meet.

Summer I Intensive Year 1
G504 Techniques in Counseling II

Summer II Intensive Year 1
G507 Career & Lifestyle Counseling

Fall Year 1
G575 Multicultural Counseling
G523 Lab in Counseling & Guidance

Spring Year 1
G524 Practicum in Counseling
G532 Group Counseling

Summer I Intensive Year 2
G505 Individual Appraisal

Summer II Intensive Year 2
G585 Contemporary Issues in Counseling

Fall Year 2
G542 Organization of Programs
G550 Internship

Spring Year 2
G562 School Counseling
G550 Internship

One elective is required and may be taken prior to entering the program or anytime after acceptance into the program.  Courses approved for electives are:

• G570 Human Sexuality
• G590 Research in Counseling
• G592 Substance Abuse Seminar
• A608 Legal Perspectives

Also acceptable are three single credit hour Saturday classes on topics related to counseling such as child abuse, homeless children, anger management, ISTEP testing, and stress management.  If a candidate wants to use another course as the elective, s/he must get PRIOR approval from the program coordinator.

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.

Placements for Teachers

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 principal's permission to use their preparation period and time before and after school to do the counseling activities. We require candidates to submit a signed form from their principal when applying to the Clinical Cohort, indicating the principal agrees to this arrangement. (See Appendices for form).

A certified school counselor in that building must also agree to supervise the candidate. Before applying to the Clinical Cohort, the candidate 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 candidate must travel to another school for supervision and must also arrange to spend additional time in the supervisor's school to observe activities. (IU Southeast will arrange this off-site supervision.)

It is much more difficult for the candidate to complete the necessary requirements if there is no certified counselor in the building. Such a candidate 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 candidate will be required to complete the internship in a another school with a certified counselor if the candidate is not able to complete all the requirements in his/her own school.

Fieldwork Placements for Non-Teachers

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 candidate's work or home, but the primary consideration in making a placement is that the candidate have an excellent certified supervisor and be able to work in an outstanding counseling program. Program faculty will ask candidates to indicate preference for practicum placement in late October of the first clinical year. Placements will be made by Thanksgiving. (See Appendices for timeline.)

Time Requirements for Practicum and Internship

Practicum, which is in the spring of the first clinical year, requires candidates to spend approximately six hours a week in 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 conducted 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 completes a 300-hour internship spread over both semesters and a non-teacher completes 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 candidates will be available before and after school for parent conferences and other counseling activities.

Primary Internship Placement

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.

Second Level Placement and Diversity Placement

All candidates complete 25 hours at a second level (different from the grade level of the primary placement school) and 15 hours at a third level to meet the requirements of the IN and KY K-12 licenses . 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 candidate will need to use time during spring break, in-service days, in August before teaching days start, or take personal days to complete the hours at other levels.

Candidates who are in a school without at least 15% racial/ethnic diversity will be required to complete 25 internship hours in a school with at least this level of diversity. IU Southeast will help the candidate find a school for those hours. The candidate can combine these hours with the second level placement but may have to use personal days or vacations to complete this requirement.

A candidate 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 candidate 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. Candidates will need a certified school counselor in their primary placment school to provide supervision and should select schools for the secondary and tertiary placements that also have a certified school counselor on staff.

Practicum and Internship Activities

The practicum manual details all of the activities that will be completed by the practicum candidate. Candidates should refer to the Practicum Manual for the specific requirements. The following is only a brief summary so that candidates have an idea of the type of activities they will participate in:

• individual counseling cases across a number of different sessions,
• classroom guidance presentations,
• observations of counselor led conferences, and
• classroom observations.

The internship manual details all of the activities that will be completed during internship. The goal of the internship requirement is to have candidates 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 candidates to get an approximation of the activities they will be doing:

• individual counseling cases all year,
• leading or co-leading groups each semester,
• career test interpretation and counseling (high school),
• involvement in assessment activities (ISTEP or CATS),
• an individual project to close the achievement gap for an identified group of students, and
• leading special education case conferences.