School Counseling Program
The school counseling track prepares students for careers as certified teachers who seek to become elementary or secondary school counselors. Public schools offer a diverse audience and challenging forum for certified counselors. Certification as an Illinois school counselor requires that the candidate complete an approved program in counseling and possess a master's degree. Western's approved program has been preparing candidates for certification since the 1940's. If you are seeking school counseling certification for another state, contact the certification office in that state for certification guidelines.
In June 2004, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) changed requirements, and it is now possible to become a school counselor without having teacher certification. Following is the Department document explaining what will be required. After studying this document, for those who want to pursue school counselor certification without teaching certification, please contact the Department for application materials.
| EIS 500 | Methods of Research |
| CN 500 | Introduction to Counseling Skills and Practice |
| CN 540 | Marriage, Family, and Relationship Counseling |
| CN 541 | Life Styles and Career Development |
| CN 542 | Assessment Techniques in Counseling |
| CN 545 | Theories of Counseling and Development |
| CN 547 | Techniques of Counseling |
| CN 552 | Counseling/Helping in a Multicultural Society |
| CN 554 | Counseling Across the Lifespan |
| CN 581 | Group Counseling: Theories and Procedures |
| CN 593 | Practicum: Counseling |
| CN 597 | Internship: Counseling |
Courses Specific to the School Counseling Track
| CN 444G | Counseling Children and Adolescents |
| CN 546 | Developing and Managing Comprehensive School Counseling Programs |
| CN 548 | Legal/Ethical Issues in School Counseling |
| CN 556 | Developmental Counseling |
To see the Illinois Adminstrative Code document, please click on the link below and scroll to Section 25.225.
http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/023/02300025sections.html