School Counselor Certification

Individuals who already hold a master's degree in counseling from a CACREP-accredited program may pursue the elementary or secondary public School Counseling Certification Endorsement track. By the time the student completes the required coursework, they must pass the TExES: Counselor test to become certified as a public school counselor in Texas. Individuals seeking certification in other states are urged to contact the relevant state(s) because their requirements may differ.

Although Texas issues only one type of counseling certificate for P-12, the counseling program will endorse a graduate only for the track (elementary or secondary) that they completed. Students pursuing this track must have a completed Certification Deficiency Worksheet on file in the counseling office and a College of Education Deficiency plan on file with the college prior to enrollment in the first counseling (prefix COUN) course.

Admission Requirements

1. A completed master's degree in counseling from a CACREP-accredited program. CACREP accreditation does not allow the counseling program to provide an alternative academic route into the profession that involves fewer requirements than our accredited tracks.
2. Applicants with a master’s degree from an institution other than UNT may need to go through the UNT counseling master’s degree admissions process and may be required to complete at least 12 hours of coursework in the program, to continue with licensure deficiency coursework.
3. Unofficial transcripts of all graduate coursework sent to the Counseling Program Office at COE-Counseling@unt.edu along with the completed School Counselor Certification Deficiency Worksheet (below).
    

The outcome of this deficiency analysis will determine whether:

• • You may apply to UNT and, upon acceptance, proceed with coursework, or
  • You must also apply to UNT and the Master's Program in Counseling before proceeding with coursework.