The school counseling profession is dedicated to leadership and advocacy for students in the areas of academic, career and social/emotional development. Professional school counselors deliver comprehensive counseling experiences for students from pre-schools to college campuses with data based methods that create the optimal achievement for all students.
The primary goal of the Master of Science degree in School Counseling at UW-Stout is to provide a solid core of skills and practical training to enable the future counselor to work with many diverse individuals and populations with respect to age, religion, abilities, sexuality, race and cultural heritage. School counselors focus on improving academic achievement and removing barriers to success for students in a proactive manner.
Program Overview
Our program prepares you to play an active role with children, their families, teachers, psychologists and community agencies to improve academic achievement and remove students’ barriers to success. Some program highlights include:
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) approved program
- Hands-on experience in our on-campus facilities like the Clinical Services Center Counseling Rooms and Play Therapy Lab
- Combination of daytime, evening, online, and summer courses.
- Experienced faculty
- School-based practicum and internships.
- High job employment, support for job-seeking and career success.
School counselors can expect to work with children and their families, teachers, school psychologists, community agencies and other pupil service providers as a part of a supportive team. School counselors should possess strong communication skills, an ability to organize and multi-task, have engaging interpersonal skills and a desire to help youth.
The School Counseling program at UW-Stout offers a combination of daytime, evening, online and summer courses as a part of their degree program. We admit full-time and part-time students twice per year.
"I absolutely love how friendly and helpful the faculty and staff are here; it's great to feel so supported and encouraged by everyone. I also love how hands-on the program is. In just the first semester, I feel like I have learned so much and been provided with tons of opportunities to put what we are learning into practice."
-- Kelly CollinsM.S. School Counseling
Use the Request Information form to receive a program summary and learn more about the Master of Science in School Counseling.
Request Information
General UW-Stout Graduate School Application
All prospective graduate students at UW-Stout must follow a standard application process through our Graduate School. Beyond that, each graduate program has specific requirements that must be met to be successfully admitted to the program:
Program-Specific Admission Requirements
Eligibility
To be admitted with full status to the M.S. in School Counseling program, you must:
- Hold an appropriate bachelor's degree from an accredited university.
- Have an overall GPA of at least 3.0.
Program Application
- To apply to the M.S. School Counseling program, please complete our Program Application.
Application Review Process
A review of all applications will be conducted by the program director or a program admissions committee.
Applicants who are recommended by a faculty committee are invited to a personal interview. After the interview, you will be notified within one week about your acceptance or denial to the program.
After completing this program, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the psychosocial foundations of human development, learning, and behavior
- Model various theoretical and practical approaches to counseling and develop a personal theory of counseling
- Apply basic counseling and facilitative communication skills in individual and small group settings.
- Apply topic-focused and developmentally appropriate classroom and group guidance skills to enhance PK-12 students’ academic, personal/social, and career development.
- Apply psycho-educational theory and concepts in relation to individual assessment of aptitude, interest, and achievement
- Apply knowledge of career development theory and practice to facilitate the development of PK-16 student career and transition skills.
- Conduct basic educational research and evaluation. Utilize student and institutional data to improve programs and recommend change.
- Develop, organize, administer, and evaluate a comprehensive PK-12 school counseling program that supports academic, personal/social, and career development. Differentiate and implement the unique aspects of the elementary and secondary school counseling programming.
- Understand, respond to, and advocate for the guidance needs of diverse students populations.
- Communicate and collaborate with school-age students, their families, school staff, and community agency representatives to promote a safe, healthy, and effective learning environment
- Model legal and ethical standards of school counseling practice in accordance with state and federal law and the standards of the American School Counselor Association and the American Counseling Association.
Alumni of our Master's degree program in School Counseling from UW-Stout have gone on to practice in schools and communities across the nation. Many of our graduates work in the Wisconsin-Minnesota region.
Please note that the UW-Stout program is designed to meet requirements specific to licensure in the State of Wisconsin. Students who desire to work in states other than Wisconsin following degree completion will need to contact that state's board or licensing agency regarding school counseling credentialing requirements. Students are also encouraged to connect with their program director to better understand licensing requirements for their state of choice. See the following website for additional information.
UW-Stout's School Counseling program has a strong state and national reputation. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook employment rates are high. Graduates' ability to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge to develop their own counseling style, have confidence in the use of counseling, assessing, evaluating, and consulting skills, and understand the ethical and professional responsibilities of being a counselor lead to successful job placement.
Geographical location of job openings will vary. Graduates of the School Counseling program work throughout the United States.
Examples of recent position announcements include:
- School to Career Coordinator at an urban high school
- Middle School Counselor at a suburban school
- Counselor for career education and career counseling and crisis counseling
- Elementary School Counselor in a rural school district
- Career Counselor at a Technical College Career Development Center
2022-23 MSSC Advisory Committee
| Maria | Alm | Dean | UW-Stout |
| Andy | Felton | Associate Professor | UW-Stout |
| Sam | Hochstetler | School Counselor | Memorial HS Eau Claire |
| Sherry | Jasper | Adjunct Instructor | UW Stout |
| Kristi | Kjelstad | School Counselor | Chippewa Falls School District |
| Ms. Aria | Krieser | School Counselor | Hudson Prairie |
| Jason | Mountain | Dean of Students/School Counselor | Menomonie Middle School |
| Katrina | Raskie | School Counselor | |
| Jessica | Scheppke | Student | UW-Stout |
| Deanna | Schultz | Associate Dean | UW-Stout |
