Earn your Master of Arts in School Counseling online
Prepare for a rewarding career providing compassionate, competent school counseling services in elementary (K-8) or secondary (5-12) settings. With 100% online coursework and experiential learning, gain the skills necessary to use your calling in a professional counseling role for elementary through high school students.
Faith-integrated school counseling program
In Northwestern College's online M.A. in School Counseling program, you will be part of a community dedicated to the development of outstanding counselors who are called to serve others in diverse settings. Students integrate a Christian perspective with culturally sensitive and ethical clinical skills so they can courageously and faithfully support, empower, and contribute to their student's success.
Through NWC's M.A. in School Counseling you will be equipped to:
- Apply ethical and legal considerations, behavior, and judgments in counseling situations
- Display multicultural awareness and sensitivity
- Demonstrate an ability to articulate a biblical world view and be able to articulate how your most important spiritual and religious values impact your counseling practice
- Display the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to serve and influence your communities, workplaces, and families
- Next steps
- Request information Apply now
100% online coursework. 8-week courses. Experiential learning.
Through online, 8-week classes, students log into their courses to complete assignments each week on their own schedule. Some courses include synchronous live classes, Zoom meetings with instructors or project meeting opportunities with classmates. Practicum and internship experiences enrich learning and skill-building through offering services to actual clients in approved and supervised settings.
The master's in school counseling program is designed for working professionals to complete the program in three years (9 semesters) while continuing to work in their current careers.
Professional preparation
Northwestern's Master of Arts in School Counseling is approved by the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners and aligned with the standards and competencies of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), and the accreditation standards of the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The program plans to apply for CACREP accreditation as soon as the application is allowed (once the program has produced its first graduates).
After successful completion of the counseling program, you will be prepared to take the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Exam (CPCE).
Teachers licensed in Iowa complete the program to receive endorsements in K-8 (#172) and/or 5-12 (#173) school counseling. If you do not hold a teaching license, you will take one additional course, SCO 510, School Counseling Knowledge, Skills, & Dispositions, during your first term at Northwestern.
Application requirements
Next cohort begins May 15, 2023
All applicants must submit:
- Official transcripts showing a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution
- Minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Completed application with short essay responses
- Applicant writing sample: Download question prompt
- Updated résumé
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- Background check through Castlebranch
- Teaching license (applicants are not required to hold a teaching license to be admitted. Providing a teaching license will fulfill course requirement SCO 510.)
For more details see how to apply.
Following a review of all completed application materials, applicants will be invited to a Zoom interview with a faculty member.
No GRE is required. No Application fee.
- Demonstrate preparedness to enter the counseling field as school counselors.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply ethical and legal considerations, behavior, and judgments in counseling situations.
- Recognize the impact of heritage, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences on an individual’s view of others.
- Demonstrate an understanding of biological, neurological, and physiological factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior.
- Demonstrate the ability to conceptualize the interrelationships among and between work, mental well-being, relationships, and other life roles and factors.
- Demonstrate the essential interviewing counseling, and case conceptualization skills necessary to be competent and ethical school counselors.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and functions of effective group leaders.
- Demonstrate knowledge of, and an ability to use assessments relevant to academic/educational, career, personal, and social development.
- Demonstrate knowledge of evaluation procedures for counseling interventions and programs.
- Demonstrate competence in assuming school counselor roles as leaders, advocates, and systems change agents in PK-12 schools.
- Demonstrate the knowledge skills, and dispositions needed to serve and influence their communities, workplaces, and families.
- Demonstrate multicultural self-awareness and clinical competence.
- Demonstrate an ability to articulate a biblical worldview and identify how their self-identified spiritual and religious values and beliefs impact their counseling practice.
- The program will demonstrate it effectively meets the needs of its key stakeholders.
Program requirements
The 60-63 credit school counseling program includes valuable hands-on learning in the practicum and internship courses. Students will apply theory and develop as school counselors by providing services to actual clients. They will also develop the skills and knowledge related to their counseling setting such as timeliness, documentation and site policies and procedures.
- The practicum experience requires completion of a minimum of 100 hours of which 40 hours must be direct client services.
- The Internship experience is a 600-hour experience of which 240 hours must be direct services to clients.
- Students who wish to receive both endorsements K-8 and 5-12 will split experiences in both settings.
Courses
Year one:
COUN 505 - Professional Orientation
This course introduces students to the field of counseling in diverse
settings, including school and clinical mental health settings. The course
provides a broad overview and survey of the counseling profession, including
its historical and theoretical foundations, the major professional
associations of the counseling profession, and roles and responsibilities of
counselors in a variety of settings and within and among the other mental
health professions. Students will begin development of a professional
identity and will reflect on their calling to the profession of counseling
and their vision for using their master's degree in the future. Students
will begin the process of spiritual formation for counseling. (3 credits)
SCO 510 - School Counseling Knowledge, Skills, & Dispositions (non-teachers only)
This course is offered to School Counseling students who come to the program
without already holding a teaching endorsement from the State of Iowa. The
Iowa Administrative Code (282-13.5(272) - Teacher licenses indicates that
applicants from non-Iowa institutions must provide an official institutional
transcript showing completion of at least 75% of the coursework in IAC
281-79.15(2) - 281-79.15(5). This course is designed to cover the
requirements of IAC 281-79.15(4) and 281-79.15(5) to help students who do
not hold a teaching license from the State of Iowa to meet this requirement.
The requirements of IAC 281-79.15(2) and 281-80.15(3) are covered in SCO
550. School Counseling students who hold a teaching license from the State
of Iowa are not required to take SCO 510 - School Counselor Knowledge,
Skills, & Dispositions. (3 credits)
COUN 515 - Ethics
This course introduces students to legal and ethical issues relevant to the
counseling profession and equips students with an ethical decision-making
model for navigating ethical dilemmas and issues related to professional
practice. Students will develop ethical sensitivity and utilize the ethical
principles, which serve as the profession's foundation for ethical behavior
and decision making, in evaluating case studies. An overview of the Iowa
statutes which govern practice will also be provided. The goal of this
course is to get students to think about major issues related to the
professional practice of counseling, while challenging them to formulate
positions on such issues, consider a biblical perspective, and appraise the
values impacting counselors and the counseling profession. (3 credits)
COUN 520 - Social & Cultural Foundations
In this course, students will examine the psychological and sociological
factors that form self-concept and cultural identity, and consider how these
constructs impact effective counseling with diverse populations. Students
will begin a professional journey of developing multicultural competence
through developing self-awareness, sensitivity to elements of diversity,
knowledge of cultural values, and a commitment to the counseling
profession's core value of honoring diversity and embracing a multicultural
approach in support of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of
people within their social and cultural contexts. Students will learn how to
apply awareness and culturally competent skills and knowledge in
interventions and advocacy practices with diverse populations. Course
concepts will be considered through a biblical world view which provides a
foundation for understanding how God views all people groups. Prerequisite:
COUN505. (3 credits)
COUN 550 - Theories & Skills of Counseling I
This course is part one of a two-part integrated skills and theories series
that introduces students to the basic skills of the counseling relationship
and the major theories of personality and psychotherapy, and provides
students an experiential opportunity to begin practicing and assimilating
these skills in their counselor identity. In Theories and Skills of
Counseling I, students are introduced to counseling skills such as
attending, active listening, empathy, questioning, observation, encouraging,
summarizing, reflecting, and challenging. Skills are practiced with role
play partners, video recorded and submitted to the professor for review and
feedback. Theories covered in Theories and Skills of Counseling I include
Psychodynamic, Adlerian, Client-Centered, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy,
Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive Therapy. Modern psychotherapies are
considered through a biblical world view. Prerequisite: COUN515. (3 credits)
COUN 551 - Theories & Skills of Counseling II
This course is part two of a two-part integrated skills and theories series
that introduces students to the basic skills of the counseling relationship
and the major theories of personality and psychotherapy, and provides
students an experiential opportunity to begin practicing and assimilating
these skills in their counselor identity. In Theories and Skills of
Counseling II, students review counseling skills such as attending, active
listening, empathy, questioning, observation, encouraging, summarizing,
reflecting, and challenging. Skills are practiced with role play partners,
video recorded and submitted to the professor for review and feedback.
Theories covered in Theories and Skills of Counseling II include
Existential, Gestalt, Interpersonal, Family Systems,
Mindfulness/Contemplative, Positive Psychology, Integrative, and
Multicultural approaches. Modern psychotherapies are considered through a
biblical world view. Prerequisites: COUN515 and COUN550. (3 credits)
COUN 525 - Human Growth & Development
One of the philosophies underlying the counseling profession that helps set
it apart from the other mental health professions is a developmental
perspective; a recognition that many of the issues clients face in life are
developmental in nature. This course introduces students to theories of
individual and family development across the lifespan, theories of learning,
theories of moral and spiritual development, and theories of normal and
abnormal personality development. The course also delves into factors and
circumstances that can impact a person's development; biological,
neurological, and physiological factors, addictive behaviors, systemic and
environmental factors, crises, disasters, and trauma, and culture. Students
will develop a general framework for developing interventions based on
client developmental level and ethical and culturally relevant strategies
for promoting resilience and wellness across the lifespan. (3 credits)
SCO 515 - Foundations of School Counseling
This course introduces students to the field of professional school
counseling, including its history and development, employment settings,
credentialing, legislation, research, and ethical considerations, school
counselor roles and responsibilities, and other aspects of school counselor
professional orientation. The course familiarizes students with models of
school counseling programs, with an emphasis on the American School
Counselor Association National Model. The course also covers assessments
used in school counseling, and it focuses on the importance of supporting
culturally and linguistically diverse students. (3 credits)
Year two:
SCO 520 - Child & Adolescent Diagnosis & Treatment
This course provides students with an overview of mental health and
behavioral disorders that impact children and adolescents with a specific
focus on impacts to the school setting, prevention, intervention, and
treatment approaches, and interfacing with family, medical, and community
systems. Considerations related to disorder etiology including
environmental, social, family, school, substance use, and sexual behavior
are considered. The course uses case studies, discussions, presentations,
and reflection papers to assist students in developing strategies for
engaging with child and adolescent clients, developing
developmentally-appropriate case conceptualizations, and developing
multicultural sensitivity in school settings. A Christian perspective on
understanding and treating mental health disorders is integrated into the
course. Prerequisites: COUN550 and COUN551. (3 credits)
COUN 510 - Assessment & Appraisal
This course introduces students to the field of counseling in diverse
settings, including school and clinical mental health settings. The course
provides a broad overview and survey of the counseling profession, including
its historical and theoretical foundations, the major professional
associations of the counseling profession, and roles and responsibilities of
counselors in a variety of settings and within and among the other mental
health professions. Students will begin development of a professional
identity and will reflect on their calling to the profession of counseling
and their vision for using their master's degree in the future. Students
will begin the process of spiritual formation for counseling. (3 credits)
SCO 550 - School Counseling Contextual Dimensions
This course introduces students to the day-to-day life of a school
counselor, with an emphasis on common roles and responsibilities of school
counselors. These roles and responsibilities include school counselors as
leaders and advocates in consultation with families, P-12 and postsecondary
school personnel, and community agencies, and as developers of programs for
addressing critical topics in school settings, including promoting equity,
addressing racism, fostering teamwork and collaboration, and addressing
difficult child and adolescent school behaviors. Students will gain an
understanding of working with multidisciplinary teams, serving specific
populations, crisis/threat assessment, and college/career advisement. This
course also covers information and competencies related to cultural
competency and working with diverse groups and teaching literacy to diverse
groups in school settings. Prerequisite: SCO515. (3 credits)
COUN 555 - Crisis, Trauma, & Suicide
This course introduces students to the field of counseling in diverse
settings, including school and clinical mental health settings. The course
provides a broad overview and survey of the counseling profession, including
its historical and theoretical foundations, the major professional
associations of the counseling profession, and roles and responsibilities of
counselors in a variety of settings and within and among the other mental
health professions. Students will begin development of a professional
identity and will reflect on their calling to the profession of counseling
and their vision for using their master's degree in the future. Students
will begin the process of spiritual formation for counseling. (3 credits)
COUN 605 - Skills II
This course is designed to give students practice experience
engaging in a counseling relationship over the course of six sessions, in
the practice setting most relevant to the client's future practice (clinical
mental health, school counseling, etc.). Students will review and utilize
basic counseling skills and continue developing their own individual
counseling approaches with an emphasis on integration of theoretical
orientation techniques, ethical practices, personality, spiritual
integration, and setting-specific practices, under the instruction and
evaluation of the course instructor. This course is largely experiential
and is focused on preparing students for their Practicum experiences.
Students will engage in a multi-session counseling experience with a
learning partner focused on solidification of basic counseling skills and
growth of advanced counseling skills. Prerequisites: COUN505, COUN515,
COUN520, COUN550, COUN551, COUN555 (prerequisite or concurrent), CMHC520 or
SCO520. (3 credits)
SCO 610 - Practicum
The counseling Practicum experience provides students with an initial
experience in providing counseling services in the school counseling setting. The Practicum
experience requires a minimum of 100 clock hours of documented contact including indirect and
direct service, and supervision both onsite (provided by a designated site supervisor) and in
class (provided by your assigned faculty member). The Practicum course is a seminar-style class
which supports students participating in their Practicum experience and which supports
students in developing their basic counseling skills and in learning a variety of
assessment and intervention techniques. Students are required to earn a minimum grade of a
B in this course in order to move forward in the program. This course requires online
students to attend weekly synchronous class meetings. The day/times of the meetings will be
determined by the course instructor. Prerequisites: COUN505, COUN515, COUN520, COUN525,
COUN550, COUN551, COUN5 and COUN605. (3 credits)
COUN 585 - Research & Program Evaluation
This course provides students with practical guidance for accessing and
comprehending published research articles with a goal of helping students
incorporate an intention of understanding the evidence base for the
interventions they use with clients and a willingness to be life-long
consumers of counseling research. The course provides an overview of
important methodological concepts of research, measurement and statistical
concepts, and quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research
methodologies. The course also examines program evaluation with a focus on
understanding the need for, and strategies for utilizing program evaluation
in diverse settings. (3 credits)
Year three:
SCO 540 - School Counseling Practice & Programs
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the practice of professional
school counseling and the development and evaluation of school counseling
programs. Students will examine the roles and responsibilities of school
counselors as leaders and advocates in counseling, consulting, advocacy, and
collaboration to promote academic success for all students. Students will
scaffold program evaluation skills onto what they have previously learned
about program design and implementation for a comprehensive understanding of
school counseling program design, coordination, implementation, management,
and evaluation. The course also introduces students to concepts of
curriculum design, classroom management, and teaching and learning
strategies. Prerequisites: SCO515 and SCO550. (3 credits)
COUN 530 - Group Counseling & Group Work
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of group
counseling, its development within the field of counseling, and its
utilization as an intervention in school counseling, clinical mental health
counseling, and other settings. Group work requires some distinct
understandings and approaches from individual counseling and as such, this
course focuses on the stages of group formation, group therapeutic factors,
group facilitation skills, dealing with challenges particular to group
settings, and utilizing the group modality effectively. Students will be
given the opportunity to participate in a group process, both as
participants and as leaders. Because of this component, there will be a
synchronous component to this course, where students will have to coordinate
a day/time where they can consistently meet with their group to meet this
requirement of the course. Prerequisites: COUN515, COUN550, COUN551,
COUN605. (3 credits)
COUN 580 - Career Development
This course provides an overview of career development theory, models,
occupational information sources and systems, college and career readiness,
and career assessment instruments for diverse populations. Students will
consider the relevance of career in the overall development of the
counseling profession, the interrelationship between work, mental
well-being, relationships, and other life roles and factors, and specific
career interventions in clinical mental health and school counseling
settings. The course will focus on the career decision-making process and
how counselors can use assessments and different career resources to gather
information tailored to help guide the client in the decision-making
process. Prerequisite: COUN510. (3 credits)
SCO 615 - Internship I
The Counseling Internship experience provides students with experience in
providing counseling services in the school counseling setting. The
Internship experience requires a minimum of 600 clock hours spread over at
least two semesters of documented contact including indirect and direct
service, and supervision both onsite (provided by a designated site
supervisor) and in class (provided by an assigned faculty member). The
Internship course is a seminar-style class which supports students
participating in their Internship experience and which supports students in
developing their counseling skills and in learning a variety of counseling
and intervention techniques.
Students are required to earn a minimum grade of a B in this course in order
to move forward in the program. This course requires online students to
attend weekly synchronous class meetings. The day/times of the meetings
will be determined by the course instructor.
In this course, students will continue to hone their clinical skills, case
conceptualization abilities, and ability to apply what they have learned in
the program to the work they do with clients. Students will continue
develop their theoretical orientations, increase awareness of their
counseling styles, and develop their counseling identities. Students will
also continue to develop their written and verbal communication and
presentation skills, and peer feedback skills.
Prerequisites: COUN610 and COUN615 (3 credits)
SCO 620 - Internship II
The Counseling Internship experience provides students with experience in providing
counseling services in the school counseling setting. The Internship experience requires
a minimum of 600 clock hours spread over at least two semesters of documented contact
including indirect and direct service, and supervision both onsite (provided by a
designated site supervisor) and in class (provided by an assigned faculty member).
The Internship course is a seminar-style class which supports students participating in
their Internship experience and which supports students in developing their counseling
skills and in learning a variety of counseling and intervention techniques.
Students are required to earn a minimum grade of a B in this course in order to move
forward in the program. This course requires online students to attend weekly
synchronous class meetings. The day/times of the meetings will be determined by the course
instructor. In this course, students will continue to hone their clinical skills, case
conceptualization abilities, and ability to apply what they have learned in the program
to the work they do with clients. Students will continue develop their theoretical
orientations, increase awareness of their counseling styles, and develop their counseling
identities. Students will also continue to develop their written and verbal communication
and presentation skills, and peer feedback skills. Prerequisites: SCO610 and SCO615. (3 credits)
COUN 635 - Capstone
This course is intended to be a final summation of students' experience in
the clinical mental health counseling and school counseling programs. As
such, it is intended to be taken during students' last semester of the
program, where they can reflect back on what they've learned over the
previous semesters. Students will reflect on and integrate features from
psychology, theology, Christian spirituality, and the practice of
evidence-based counseling skills and methods as students work to continue
refining their individual counseling approaches that they will be applying
in school counseling and clinical mental health counseling settings.
Prerequisite: COUN615. (3 credits)
