General Information:
M.Ed. Elementary and M.Ed. Secondary, and Certification Only students must complete the required field experience courses in an approved school with a certified school counselor in order to obtain the Educational Specialist I Certificate. The Certificate is issued on the basis of the program approval status of the Counselor Education Program as granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

CHAPTER 354
In addition to the WCU requirements of the M.Ed. in Secondary School Counseling, candidates for school certification must also meet the requirements of a new state law (Chapter 354) which is designed to increase the standards of all educators. Chapter 354 requirements include successful completion of the Praxis exams as well as 6 college-level credits of both English (3 in composition and 3 in literature) and math.

Criteria for a Course to Fulfill the PDE Mathematics Requirement of Six College Level Credits (all criteria must apply).
The courses must be college level mathematics. College level courses are numbered 100 and above. Remedial mathematics courses will not fulfill the requirement. Applicable courses consist of those that fulfill the mathematics general education requirements for bachelor's degrees or associate's degrees in transfer programs.

Ordinarily the courses have a Mathematics prefix. Courses with a STAT prefix fulfill the requirement only when these courses are part of the mathematics department and fulfill the general education mathematics requirement for a degree. STAT courses offered in social (SOC, PSY, BUS, POS) or natural sciences do not fulfill the requirement. Research methods courses do not meet the requirement. Mathematics teaching methods courses do not meet the requirement. Mathematics faculty must teach courses to fulfill the requirement.

Criteria for a Course to Fulfill the PDE (Pennsylvania Department of Education) Literature Requirement of Three Credit Hours
Literature courses offered in the English language fulfill the requirement. Literature courses designed around genre (ex: poetry, novel, satire, etc.), regional or world areas (ex: Native American literature, African literature), comparative literature studies (ex: Third World Women's literature), and topics in literature (ex: Identity and Disguise in literature), and individual author studies (ex: Whitman and Dickinson) fulfill the requirement. Courses taught from the point-of-view of literary perspective, analysis, and criticism. At WCU, acceptable courses are usually designated with the prefixes LIT and CLS, though other universities may use other prefixes. Writing courses do not satisfy the requirements even when they include the reading of works of literature.

It is the responsibility of the student to complete the formal state certification application process. Certification applications and guidance in completing the application can be obtained in the Certification Office (within the University's School of Education). The certification process often takes as long as six weeks. The following deadline dates are used to guide students wishing to have their certification available for employment purposes soon after graduation.

CERTIFICATION ONLY - Elementary or Secondary Counseling
Candidates who hold a Master's Degree in a counseling or a closely related field must have their previous Master's Degree course work reviewed by the Graduate Coordinator to determine what additional course work is required for certification. A letter from the Graduate Coordinator will serve as a contract and detail the requirements necessary for certification. It is the student's responsibility to provide the Graduate Coordinator with undergraduate and graduate transcripts, course catalog descriptions of all courses taken and to meet with the Graduate Coordinator before or after acceptance to provide requested detail of prior study so that the letter of contract can be completed. A minimum of fifteen (15) credit hours with specialty course work in individual counseling techniques and group procedures, issues & trends, Practicum and Internship will be required. Students must take a comprehensive exam covering any specialty course work taken at West Chester University.

Degree Programs Without Certification
A student may complete the M.Ed. School Counseling Program by enrolling in electives under advisement in lieu of the practice. This option does not permit the student to work as a school counselor in Pennsylvania because one is not eligible for certification without successful completion of the two required field experience courses.

Application Information:
NBCC Board for Certified Counselors
3 Terrace Way, Suite D
Greensboro, NC 27403-3660
336-547-0607
www.nbcc.org