School Counseling

Why School Counseling at Sac State?

The School Counseling concentration in the Counselor Education program prepares graduate students to become equity-centered professional school counselors who support the academic, college and career, social emotional learning, mental health, and developmental needs of TK–12 students. Through a dynamic curriculum and supervised field experiences, students develop skills in counseling, consultation, collaboration, advocacy, program planning, and data-informed decision-making. The program emphasizes comprehensive, preventive, and developmental school counseling practices that promote student wellness, belonging, educational equity, and access to opportunity. Students are prepared to work as collaborative members of educational teams and to support students, families, and school communities within diverse and changing educational contexts.

The School Counseling concentration is accredited by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Dual Pathway: PPS + LPCC

Master of Science degree in Counseling
PPS School Counseling Credential
LPCC coursework pathway

Through a dual pathway, students who complete the program meet requirements for the California Pupil Personnel Services credential in School Counseling (PPS-SC), which prepares graduates to work as school counselors in TK–12 settings. With the completion of one additional course in the program, graduates are also eligible to become Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC) after earning 3,000 post-degree hours of supervised counseling experience. This dual pathway supports students who want to become school counselors while also expanding their future professional options.

Y-HOPE Scholars Program

$25,000 stipend
High-need school placements
Trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches
Creative and expressive arts-based strategies for youth engagement
Mental health literacy and prevention
Interprofessional training
Supervisor development

Youth Mental Health – Holistic Outreach for Promoting Equity (Y-HOPE) is a federally funded behavioral health workforce development initiative supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Our purpose is to address the growing need for school-based mental health professionals, specifically school counselors. School counselors play a critical role in supporting the academic, college and career, social-emotional, and mental health needs of youth. The grant strengthens training opportunities, expands student support, and helps prepare future professionals to serve youth and families in high-need communities.

Y-HOPE also supports efforts to expand and strengthen the supervision pipeline. By investing in supervisor development, school and community partnerships, and high-quality fieldwork support, the program helps increase the number of qualified professionals who can mentor, guide, and supervise future school counselors and school-based mental health providers.

Not sure if School Counseling is the right fit? Schedule a conversation with Y-HOPE student ambassadors to hear directly about their experiences in the program, including coursework, fieldwork, cohort support, and preparation for serving children, youth, families, and schools. Y-HOPE ambassadors can offer a current student perspective and help you explore whether the program is a good fit for your goals.

Y-HOPE Ambassadors

Madeline Hagerty, Cohort 14
Alex Sanchez, Cohort 14

Connect with Y-HOPE ambassadors at yhope@csus.edu

Career Options

Graduates of the M.S. in Counseling, School Counseling concentration work across a range of settings, including TK–12 schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, community agencies, and youth-serving organizations. Many become school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools. Others use their counseling preparation in higher education, student affairs, community-based services, private practice, and related roles that support children, adolescents, young adults, and families.

School & Community Partners

Sac State School Counseling partners with schools, districts, and community agencies to provide supervised fieldwork experiences that connect coursework to real-world practice. Through these partnerships, graduate students develop skills in individual and group counseling, classroom lessons, consultation, college and career readiness, social and emotional learning, mental health support, crisis response, family-school collaboration, and data-informed advocacy.

Contact the Y-HOPE Fieldwork Coordinator, Dr. Elisabeth Liles-Lourick (liles@csus.edu) for more information on how to partner with us.

Apply to the Program

School Counseling Application Instructions

Connect with Us

Email Us

yhope@csus.edu
Ask questions about admissions, coursework, fieldwork, and Y-HOPE opportunities
Connect with a Y-HOPE Ambassador to learn about their experiences in the program

Y-HOPE Fieldwork Coordinator