School Counseling Endorsement Program (Blended Program)
Individuals who hold a Master's Degree in Education and a Mississippi AA educator license can earn a school counselor licensure in Mississippi by completing the William Carey University School Counselor Endorsement Program online.
Benefits: Students completing the endorsement program online are eligible to apply for Mississippi school counselor licensure and thereby become highly marketable to school districts seeking to fill school counselor positions.
Skills: Students in the School Counselor Endorsement Program will have the opportunity to gain the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to function as an effective school counselor in the state of Mississippi. Key topics include: relationship building, fundamentals of school counseling, awareness and sensitivity to diversity issues, curricular planning, use and interpretation of testing instruments, career counseling theories and techniques, and utilization of classroom research data.
Quality and Convenience: The online School Counseling Endorsement Program offers teachers holding the M.Ed. degree and Mississippi AA educator licensure a fast-track to eligibility for school counselor licensure in the state of Mississippi. The alternative route to school counselor licensure is a 48 to 60 hour master's degree in school counseling. Five (15 hours) of the eight required courses (24 hours) in William Carey's program can be completed online. Transfer credits may be granted to students who completed a research course (e.g., Introduction to Research or Teacher as Researcher), a curriculum planning course (e.g., Curricular Planning), and/or closely related courses in their M.Ed. degree, reducing the required number of courses to six (18 hours).
Growth potential: The endorsement program offers students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and abilities in order to assist children and adolescents struggling with educational or life issues and provide support and recommendations to teachers and educational administrators.
Job opportunities: Students completing the School Counseling Endorsement Program will be eligible to apply for school counselor licensure in the state of Mississippi. After obtaining the school counselor credential, individuals are eligible for school counselor positions within Mississippi public and private school districts at the elementary, middle and secondary levels. Currently, there is a shortage of school counselors across the state and most school districts offer highly competitive salary packages.
Program Description:
The online School Counseling Endorsement Program is part of the Department of Psychology and Graduate Counseling. The online program offers five of the eight courses required entirely online. The talented faculty and staff are cohesive and compassionate Christian individuals, who value their roles as mentors and take seriously the WCU commitment to foster student excellence. Students in the program are challenged to expand their analytical skills, gain hands-on experience within various school districts, and develop a spirit of service that will benefit the WCU and surrounding community. The endorsement program prepares individuals for employment within school guidance programs as school counselors, and positions them to pursue additional graduate study or educational leadership opportunities. The endorsement program consists of 18-24 hours of coursework (including field experience) and can be completed in one calendar year.
The goals of the program are:
- To lead students to recognize the spiritual resources for healing and to utilize them in helping relationships.
- To provide skills and academic credentials that lead to rewarding employment opportunities.
- To provide training by instructors who share a Christian worldview.
- To instill Christian values in those who become involved in the helping professions.
- To ensure a high level of professional competence in graduates of the School Counseling Endorsement Program.
Graduates of the program have been very successful in obtaining school counselor licensure in the state of Mississippi and many have secured school counselor positions before or soon after completion of the program.