There are many universities that offer an online school counseling certification program. You should check with your local universities to see if they offer an online program. If not, then there are online universities that offer school counseling programs such as Argosy University, Capella University, Seton Hall and Emporia State. The University of West Alabama offers an online school counseling program that leads to certification in the state of Alabama. Alabama has reciprocity with 26 other states, so be sure to check if the state you live in has reciprocity with Alabama.
The benefits of pursuing an online school counseling degree are that you can better juggle career and family demands while obtaining your degree. You do not have to sacrifice your job or time with your family to go to classes in the evenings.
Although classes are offered online, you still have to spend hours in a school completing an internship. Many schools require around 300 hours of internship time in order to obtain school counseling certification. Some states, such as California and Colorado, require at least 600 hours of internship at a school.
So be aware that completing a school counseling program does not mean that everything is completely online. You will have to figure out a way to earn money while working at a school full-time during your internship.
Most master's programs in school counseling are between 33 to 48 credit hours. It usually will take from 1 1/2 years to three years to complete it, depending on how many classes you take during a semester.
Make sure that you really want to be a school counselor before starting your online classes. A great way to do this is to shadow a school counselor for a day or two to get a feel for what the job is really like or interview several school counselors.
Some school counselors have realized that it was not a profession that they truly enjoyed while they were completing their internship. Had they taken the time to really see what the profession was like before starting their program, they could have made a more informative choice.
Talk to school counselors, research schools to figure out which one is the best fit, and prepare for a rewarding career helping students succeed inside and outside of the classroom.