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Overview
The Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in School Counseling is a part-time program designed for individuals who have already earned a master's degree (40+ credits) in counseling who wish to earn school counseling certification in NY State. This includes master's degrees in school counseling, mental health counseling, community agency counseling, rehabilitation counseling, and college counseling/college student development, as well as older general counseling degrees. It does not include master's degrees in any area of psychology, social work, human development, or human services without a counseling specialization. Certification regulations are very specific in requiring a master's degree in counseling.
The CAS is a 21-credit graduate program consisting of four 3-credit classroom- based courses and three 3-credit field placement courses. All courses and field placement requirements are designed to meet the defined training requirements for the initial and professional school counseling credentials in NY State. As an approved program, individuals who successfully earn the CAS have completed the educational requirements that make them eligible for initial and professional certification in school counseling. In addition to the educational requirements for certification, if a student enters the program without already possessing initial certification in school counseling, they are required to pass the NY State school counseling CST exam. Three years of work experience as a certified pupil personnel services provider (school counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker) are also required to earn professional certification in school counseling.
School counselors must have a critical body of knowledge and set of skills in order to help students function effectively in school and throughout their lives. To achieve this goal, the program requires that students who enter the program have successfully completed a master's degree in counseling that includes the following foundation areas: human growth and development; social and cultural foundations; the nature of helping relationships; group theory and group process; family counseling skills; career and lifestyle development; appraisal, research and program evaluation; ethics, professional standards, and credentialing; and professional issues.
The CAS program then supplements these basic foundations with coursework specific to the school counseling setting. Finally, each student is required to complete a 700- hour field placement experience consisting of practicum (100 hours) and internship (600 hours) to ensure that students are able to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned, as well as meet the NYS regulations for certification in school counseling. As of February 2023, at least 300 hours of the field experience must be completed in an elementary or middle school (K-8th grade) setting and at least 300 hours must be completed in a high school (9th-12th grade) setting.