The Education Specialist (EdS) Degree Program in Counselor Education is designed for individuals who already hold a Master’s degree in counseling or a related field. The program objectives are to assist practicing counselors to develop greater expertise and leadership skills in their current counseling field and to gain knowledge and practice in the supervision of counselors. The program will build upon the knowledge, skills, and dispositions counseling professionals have acquired from pursuing the Master’s degree and being employed in the profession.
The EdS Program will provide a venue for practicing counselors in clinical mental health or school settings to learn more about advancing client/student achievement and clarifying their professional identity. Additionally, the EdS Program will provide opportunities for counselors to further develop their clinical counseling and group skills, their professional identity, their theoretical orientations, and ability to supervise others. Throughout the program, counseling professionals will become more self-aware, more knowledgeable about current counseling policies and practices, more skilled at collaborating with other professionals to effect change, and more responsive to the particular needs of students and clients.
The EdS Program is designed to meet the needs of non-traditional students. Courses are offered during evening hours, on Saturdays, or in hybrid or online formats to accommodate those who may already be working in clinical mental health or school settings. Applicants who hold either current state counseling licensure or school counselor certification, and who have a history of professional counseling work and service to others will be considered more highly during the admissions process. Although the student body at GRU is quite varied, we are committed to increasing the numbers of diverse students in our program to be more representative of the surrounding community.
All of the full-time Counselor Education Program faculty hold doctoral degrees and have professional experience in their particular subject areas. Several hold professional licensure (LPC) and certifications, and they are actively involved in the counseling profession. Faculty members frequently present at state, regional, and national conferences, often in collaboration with counseling students, reporting on descriptive or experimental research which has been conducted during the program courses.
Admissions Procedures and Requirements
Admission to the program is competitive and based on several criteria. For entry to the EdS Program in Counselor Education, applicants must exhibit those personal qualities or characteristics which, in the judgment of the faculty, are necessary for effective functioning in the role of an advanced counselor. Applicants may obtain an application packet and more detailed admissions criteria from the Dean’s office in the College of Education or refer to the Counselor Education Program website for forms and information for prospective students.
Please note that application deadlines for the Counselor Education Program are different than those in the College of Education and are as follows:
Fall semester admission – May 15
Spring semester admission – October 15
Summer semester admission – March 15
The completed application and all accompanying materials should be submitted to the Office of Academic Admissions. The application process includes several requirements, the last of which is a formal interview with program faculty. The following requirements must be met:
1. Completed application and accompanying materials to the Office of Academic Admissions, including a criminal background check (see University Catalog for complete list of COE graduate program requirements).
2. Master’s degree in Counselor Education or a closely-related counseling field (e.g., MFT or psychology) from an accredited graduate institution.
3. 3.25 or higher GPA on all graduate work attempted, as shown on graduate level transcripts, including courses in programs that were not completed.
4. A current resume or vita.
5. Current state school counseling certificate OR current professional state counseling license (e.g., LAPC, LPC) OR have ASU MEd Counselor Education Program graduation date within the last five years.
Applicants who do not meet the requirements in #5 above must take EITHER the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and attain the following minimum scores:
GRE - Minimum score: 300 total - at least 146 on the verbal subtest
MAT - Minimum score: 388
6. Three Recommendation Forms
Applicants will include at least three professional recommendations. One letter must be from a supervisor or employer who has knowledge of the applicant’s most recent work or volunteer experience in counseling or a closely-related field.
7. Letter of Intent
Applicants will write a letter of intent describing their experience in counseling or closely-related field, explaining their interest in pursuing advanced graduate study and a career in counseling, and clarifying how admission into the program relates to the applicant’s professional aspirations. It is important that the letter of intent demonstrate writing quality and professional presentation. The letter of intent should be double-spaced and three pages in length.
8. Personal Interview
The personal interview with the Admissions Committee is the final requirement for admission into the program. The Admissions Committee is composed of counseling faculty. Applicants are selected for the interview based on the quality of the previous criteria. The interview is designed to assess applicants’ potential for maintaining effective interpersonal relationships in individual and group contexts; leadership potential; openness to self-examination as well as personal and professional growth; potential to develop knowledge, skills and dispositions in the field; potential to work effectively with diverse populations; emotional stability; receptiveness to supervision; the degree to which the professional goals of applicants are consistent with the Program’s mission and goals; and the degree to which applicants display the potential for continued success in the counseling profession. Applicants are evaluated by the faculty with a rubric containing all of these factors, including both academic and non-academic issues.
The Admissions Committee determines an applicant’s probable success in the EdS Program by considering the degree of congruence among the applicant, the applicant’s goals, the program, and the profession. Such congruence includes the ability to form trusting, constructive and ethical relationships with others in a professional setting, to master academic knowledge, and to learn advanced clinical and supervisory skills. Evaluation of these characteristics begins with the admissions process and continues throughout the graduate program.
Our program values diversity and invites candidates of varying age, culture, disability, ethnicity, race, religion/spirituality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status/partnership, language preference, and socioeconomic status to apply.
Program Eligibility and Systematic Assessment of Students
Students are expected to maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 across all courses attempted in the EdS program. Any course in which a student earns a grade of D or F will need to be retaken. Student progress throughout the program is regularly monitored and assessed by program faculty. Students showing deficiencies in either academic or non-academic areas may be placed on probation and/or remediation status and may be either reinstated or dismissed based on subsequent academic or non-academic performance.
Consult the College of Education Graduate Programs portion of the university catalog for information on retention and exit from programs, time limits for completion of degree, graduate appeals and financial aid.
EdS in Degree Requirements
• 30 semester hours of academic work
• At least 3 semesters of advanced practicum in counseling supervision
• Successful completion of a Professional Development Plan and Review during the final semester
