The mission of the School Counseling program is to train Professional School Counselors. Students acquire a foundation in the counseling core and strength in the specialty field courses in program development; consultation and intervention; counseling children and adolescents, and individual and group appraisal. Students become competent in utilizing the Alabama State Department of Education Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Plan that exemplifies national standards. The focus is to educate school counselors, and enable them to address elementary and secondary student's needs in the areas of academic, career, and personal/social development. Teaching, scholarship, and service are values demonstrated throughout the program. Self-awareness, intellectual development, and social consciousness are supported and encouraged. The program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), through March 31, 2018.

Completed JSU Graduate Application for Admission. Non-refundable $35.00 application processing fee. Official transcripts from all colleges/universities with degrees posted. (Students who have previously attended JSU do not need to request a transcript from the university.) Valid Master’s-level professional educator certificate in School Counseling. ALL certificate(s) must be valid throughout the program and at graduation. Applicants must have completed two full years of full-time acceptable P-12 professional educational work experience prior to admission to the program and will document their educational experience on the state-approved Supplemental EXP Form. Applicants should contact their superintendent’s office/central office for completion of this form. Background check1. Any candidate applying for admission to a state approved teacher education program shall be required to be fingerprinted for a criminal history background check through the Alabama State Department of Education to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Applicants should contact Cogent Systems for directions in completing this process. Professional resume. Three Graduate Reference Forms completed by individuals who can provide qualitative assessment of the applicant’s potential for success in graduate coursework. Reference forms will be submitted electronically. Instructions for submission will be sent through email to the applicant upon submission of the online graduate application. International student applicants must see the International Student Applicants section of this catalog for other application and enrollment requirements. Applicants whose packages are complete will be contacted to schedule an appointment for a writing sample and an interview with faculty members of the program.