School counseling

Coursework is delivered in a hybrid format, with 50% of the instruction conducted online and 50% in face-to-face classroom meetings, held twice a term in Corvallis, Oregon. During fall, winter and spring terms, classroom meetings will be held the second and ninth weekends (Friday and Saturday). During summer term, the meetings will be held the first and seventh weekends (Friday and Saturday).

The online practicum and internship courses during years 2 and 3 are synchronous, which require “live” online attendance during specific dates and times.

You are required to complete a minimum of 600 hours of internship, totaling 12 credits, although you may choose to complete up to 25 credits of field experience. This is a great opportunity to serve your community while learning how to provide services that will help others.

You are also required to complete a minimum of 100 hours (8 credits) of practicum to develop counseling skills prior to enrolling in an internship.

How to find internship and practicum sites
Once admitted, we encourage you to begin identifying sites that might be able to provide appropriate clinical skill-building and supervision early in your program. As our main campus is in Oregon, we have some connections to Oregon-based agencies. If you live outside of Oregon, you are responsible for identifying and securing your own practicum and internship sites. All field placement sites have to be approved by the counseling program. The program will work with you collaboratively to address issues related to practicum and internship placements.

Seeking compensation for internship hours
While the program does not compensate students financially for this part of your clinical training and education, you are welcome to seek compensation for internship hours. You may use your current employment sites as practicum or internship sites with permission from the program coordinator if the assigned duties while interning: (a) are consistent with the goals of graduate-level school counseling, (b) differ significantly from current/prior employment experience, (c) have been approved by the employer, and (d) meet the site requirements stipulated by OSU’s counseling program.

State of Colorado: This program requires an internship. Although Oregon State University participates in the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA), due to Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act, we have limited authorization to offer programs that require internships in the state of Colorado. The Colorado internship site must provide workers’ compensation. In some cases, a proposed internship site may not provide workers’ compensation insurance and, as a result, is not available as an internship site. Please contact Shannon Riggs, associate vice provost for educational programs and learning innovation, with questions.

You are required to attend 10 individual counseling sessions and to participate in 10 hours of a group membership experience. These personal growth experiences allow you to observe and work with a practicing professional to achieve a greater understanding of the counseling process from a client’s perspective. This requirement is essential for personal growth.

You are required to earn 6 contact hours (CEUs) of professional development activities by attending an approved professional conference.

You must successfully pass a comprehensive national exam as determined by program faculty. You will be financially responsible for the cost of the exam.

This MCoun program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), as well as Oregon's Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC).

Being a graduate of a CACREP program gives you a competitive career advantage and a greater chance for acceptance into a counseling doctoral program.

As a graduate of this CACREP-accredited program, you will be eligible to begin working toward licensure in many states, and if you pass the National Counselor Examination, you will be eligible to apply to the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) upon completion of your degree for certification as a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC); however, specific requirements for state licensure vary by state.

Most states require counselor trainees to complete 2-3 years of supervised experience as registered interns, associate counselors or under a limited permit before earning full licensure as licensed professional counselors (LPCs) or licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs). Some states (e.g., California) also require additional coursework beyond the graduate degree in order to obtain a full license.

Students are strongly encouraged to visit the state board that handles licensure for the state(s) in which they wish to practice to learn about specific requirements. Please review the professional counseling licensure board relevant to you for detailed information on licensure requirements, policies and the application process. NBCC provides a listing of state licensure boards in the U.S. that you may contact directly.

Explore the detailed admissions information for the hybrid MCoun school counseling program, including any application deadlines and required documents, on the College of Education website.

You can gain highly specialized skills that are in demand by employers — and do it with less of a time and financial commitment — when you earn a certificate or microcredential online from Oregon State. Choose from a large collection of short-form offerings that can help you upskill quickly.