Dr. Chloe Lancaster Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Ball Hall 304D University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152 901.678.4477 clncstr2@memphis.edu

Dr. Lancaster is the contact faculty for the School Counseling program and The University of Memphis certifying officer for individuals seeking licensure as a school counselor in Tennessee. All queries regarding licensure for school counseling from out-of state or in-state students should be directed her.

• School Counseling Program Plan

If you want to come to one of the best school counseling programs in the country, you might want to e-mail or call us. We are always looking for a few excellent school counselors. Our graduates average test score on the national Praxis specialty exam in School Counseling is at the 66th percentile. That the top third of all graduate students taking the exam, and that's just the average! Five of our recent graduates have scored in the top 5% percentile. In the last five years, one hundred per cent of our masters' degree students have scored high enough on the Praxis to pass the state of Tennessee licensing exam for school counselors on the first try.

However, our program isn't just only about passing exams. If you are admitted to our program, you can expect to engage in course work that teaches you hands on techniques that range from using play therapy with elementary age children to learning how to write scholarship recommendations for high school students. We are a comprehensive school-counseling program that licenses PreK-12 school counselors. Graduates in our program have the course work and skills to immediately operate effectively at any grade level they are assigned. While you may choose to specialize in high school counseling with an emphasis in college placement, you will also have the basic skills to conduct a classroom meeting with seventh graders or use a puppet to open communication with a shy second grader.

Our program requires students to complete 750 hours of field experiences at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. You will have the opportunity to choose field experiences that range from inner city schools that are as tough as any in the country to private schools that send the majority of their seniors to top echelon state and private universities. All of our field placements provide unique challenges tailored to your particular professional needs and aspirations. It's your choice of what kinds of schools and particular areas of school counseling you want to specialize in. We have nine hours of electives that will allow you to pick a specialty area of school counseling. You will get up close and personal with our professors. Dr. James and Dr Schobert are the two lead professors in school counseling and they stay on the cutting edge through their research, writing, professional service, and utilization of the latest techniques, theories and practices that come out of the professional counseling journals and conferences.

We work cooperatively with some of the best practicing school counselors in the country and they work in every imaginable school setting in the Third Grand Division of Tennessee (that's between the Mississippi and the Tennessee rivers). For example, you are likely to wind up in a field experience seminar with practicing school counselors like Dr. Shirley Hilliard and Dr. Jo Epstein, two master counselor educators with the Memphis City Schools.

When you graduate from the master's degree program with a concentration in school counseling, you'll be ready to hit the ground running and have an immediate professional impact in your school. Our students get hired all over the country. The bottom line is, that the people who graduate from our program know what they are doing. We make no bones about it. Our program is tough. We are dead serious about turning out some of the best school counselors in the country. We are also about having a little fun while we do it! The School Counseling Program at the University of Memphis is nationally certified by the Council on Counseling and Educationally Related Programs, the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Tennessee State Board of Education. It meets or exceeds the academic requirements for school counseling for all state departments of education and the United State Oversees Dependents Educational program.

While some states still require teacher certification to be a school counselor, the state of Tennessee does not. To be eligible for admission into our program, undergraduate students must have a minimum of six hours upper division work in the social sciences. If you are not a licensed school teacher, you will be required to have all of your field experiences in a regular school program and those field experiences must be comprehensive and include elementary, middle, and high school. If you are a school teacher, you may do one of your field experiences outside of a school setting with age appropriate children. If you already have a master's degree in another field , then the Educational Specialist degree is available and most likely a more efficient option for licensure. Because each case is different, if you already have a master's degree in another field, you will need to have your academic coursework analyzed by one of the school counseling professors. All Educational Specialist programs are individually tailored to the particular needs of each student.

If you already have a degree in counseling, but it is not a school counseling concentration, then nondegree status may be your best bet. When you have nondegree status you meet with the school counseling certification officer, who will determine what courses you need for licensure.

We also have a school counseling concentration in our doctoral program in counselor education that turns out top-notch counselor educators and guidance and counseling supervisors for PreK-12 school districts. This is an extremely selective program. Students must undergo an extensive interview with professor in the program and must demonstrate their potential through academic work, personal goal statements and demonstration of writing skills and analytical ability. The program is flexible and students may enroll for full or part time residency programs. Students who enter the doctoral program can expect to work very closely with a professor in regard to research, training, and supervising. The expectation is that doctoral students become equal and contributing members to the profession by the time they are finished with their program. To that end you may expect to be involved in a close mentoring relationship with a professor. You can expect to be on a research team, co-develop research papers and co-present at workshops and conferences. You will also be given the opportunity to supervise counselors-in-training. If you think this sounds like something that fits you, we invite you to call, write or e-mail.

Professional Organizations:

• American School Counselor Association (ASCA)
• American Counseling Association (ACA)
• Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
• National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc.
• Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society for students, professional counselors and counselor educators.