Successful applicants have some prior experiences with children and schools/community groups and embrace a commitment to serving all children and adolescents. Strong applicants are committed to making a difference in K-12 settings. Please see our video and website for a deeper look into our program.

While the program does not use a pre-determined cut-off score for GPAs or GREs, successful applicants have demonstrated their academic potential in prior coursework. All components of the application are considered in the review process, not just GPA or GRE score. Currently, you may request an exception from the Director if you are unable to take the GRE. Please email your exception request to Dr. Michele Kielty (kieltyml@jmu.edu).

Yes, applicants with other closely related majors can still apply. Applicants with experience and commitment to working with children and adolescents often have varied educational backgrounds.

The coursework for the JMU School Counseling program is heavily focused on developing counseling skills. Dedicated and personable professors provide real life opportunities for students to learn about what it is like to be a counselor and what it is like to be a client. Our students learn to be counselors first, and apply this identity to the specific requirements of K-12 schools and the profession of school counseling. We specialize in social-emotional learning, mindfulness-based practices, and trauma sensitive school-based interventions.

Yes, many if not all of our graduate students have Graduate Assistantships or Teaching Assistantships (GAs and TAs).  These positions require 20 hours of work per week and are located in various departments and divisions around campus. GA positions offer tuition reimbursement each semester and a stipend.

Practicum involves a 100-hour placement in an elementary, middle or high school in the spring semester of your first year.  Two internship experiences, each of them being 300-hour placements, occur in the fall and spring semesters of your second year. Faculty coordinate these placements.

School counseling graduates qualify for licensure in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The job outlook for school counselors is very bright and there are many available job openings. The percentage of graduates who gained employment as school counselors upon graduation has been 100% over the last several years.

The graduate school website explains all of the possible financial aid options.

Yes!  You can talk with your program faculty about your interest in this process.  Under the current 54 credit hour program, you only need to take two additional classes and fulfill the supervised hours to sit for the licensure exam.  You can also review this handbook to learn more about the requirements. 

The school counseling department is housed in Johnson Hall on the West side of campus, in a Bluestone building at JMU. View the campus map.

You can email us at schoolcounseling@jmu.edu and a team member will get back to you very soon.