MA in School Counseling
Saint Charles, USA
MA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 584 / per credit
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Fast-track counseling
By contacting the school, you'll get access to free priority counselling for any study and application questions.
Emotional well-being is one of the most important keys to enjoying life and living it to the fullest. You can help others achieve this goal by earning your Master of Arts degree in counseling from Lindenwood University.
Counseling is a rewarding field that allows you to bring empathy and creativity to those struggling to cope with the challenges in their lives, including conflicts, transitions, career decisions, illness, and disability. Lindenwood’s St. Louis (St. Charles) counseling master's degree program has one of the best reputations in the area for preparing students for jobs in a wide variety of mental health agencies and schools in the St. Louis region.
We make it easy for you to fit graduate school into your busy schedule by offering our counseling classes in the evening at a host of convenient locations. You’ll get to know your professors one-on-one through our small class sizes, and all of our students get hands-on experience through countless internship opportunities in the fields of professional and school counseling. At Lindenwood University, your future improving the lives of countless others is within reach!
School Counseling
The school counseling degree program will give you the tools you need to succeed as a certified counselor working with children and young adults in a K-12 school setting. School counselors typically assist with individual academic planning and provide student counseling in the areas of academic, social-emotional, and post-secondary career planning. These school leaders offer consultation for educators and collaborate with parents and teachers to ensure the emotional well-being of children and youth while building a positive school culture and climate.
The school counseling degree program includes classes in human growth and development, family and school consulting, and lifestyle and career services. This track ensures that you meet the requirements for school counselor certification in the state of Missouri.
Lindenwood University Counseling Faculty
The counseling faculty at Lindenwood University are accomplished researchers and professional counselors who are dedicated to sharing their firsthand knowledge and years of experience in the field. Their small, more intimate classes enable you to form meaningful mentoring relationships with them and share your own views in insightful class discussions. With connections to a multitude of counseling agencies and organizations in the area, our faculty are great at helping you find the perfect internship and introducing you to other practitioners in the field.
Major Coursework
- Foundations of School Counseling
- Ethics and Professional Issues
- Principles of School Counseling
- Human Growth and Development
- Adjustment and Learning Issues in Children and Adolescents
- Research Methods and Program Evaluation
- Theories of Counseling Children and Adolescents
- Group Dynamics, Process, and Counseling
- Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling
- Family and School Consulting
- Appraisal of the Individual
- Lifestyle and Career Development
- Analysis of the Individual
- Field Placement 1
- Field Placement 2 K-12
Elective Coursework
- Personality Theories and Psychopathology
- Adult Diagnosis and Treatment Planning
- Family Counseling
- Marital Counseling
- Statistical Analysis
- Crisis Intervention
- Introduction to Substance Abuse Counseling
- Special Topics in Counseling
- Peer Helping Programs
- Spirituality and Counseling
- Adult Survivors of Trauma
- Clinical Hypnotherapy
- Grief Counseling
- Core Communication
- Field Placement 1 Extension
- Field Placement 2 K-8 Extension
- Field Placement 2 7-12 Extension
- Field Placement 2 K-12 Extension
Education Coursework
Students seeking certification under this degree program must hold a valid Missouri teaching certificate as required to teach in public schools in Missouri or complete the following education classes to be eligible for certification.
The Counseling Department offers a cluster of these three education courses, to be taken concurrently, which requires access to and familiarity with the internet and Canvas. If students elect to take these education courses separately (or have taken one or two equivalent education classes previously), they may take the education classes through another program, such as Curriculum and Instruction. Undergraduate equivalent courses are accepted.
- Classroom Teaching/Management for Counselors
- Teaching Methods for Counselors
- Education of the Exceptional Child for Counselors
Graduates with a Master of Arts degree in counseling are fully prepared to work in a variety of school and/or mental health settings with individuals, groups, and families. Many go on to specialize in a particular area, such as marriage and family therapy, substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, career counseling, and school guidance counseling.