Tackling the Youth Mental Health Crisis

Seattle University College of Education will use a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support staffing shortages in high-needs schools. Read more

What does it take to become a social change agent? Meet the faculty and students in the School Counseling program at Seattle University who are making positive changes in their communities through advocacy and concern for justice.

Prepare to Lead the Change

The mission of the School Counseling program at Seattle University is to prepare professional school counselors to be ethical, reflective, and multiculturally competent leaders and change agents to work in K-12 schools, both public and private. The School Counseling program at Seattle University has a rich tradition of preparing professional school counselors for nearly four decades.

Seattle University’s School Counseling program is a national leader in preparing graduates to be professional school counselors in both private and public school settings. The program holds the distinction of being the first school counseling program in Seattle to be accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP is the leading accrediting body for master’s level counseling programs in the country. The school counseling program meets or exceeds the accreditation standards of CACREP, the school counselor benchmarks set forth by the Professional Educator Standards Board, and the framework of the American School Counselor Association’s National Model for school counseling. Another unique distinction of the program is that graduates are eligible to pursue licensure as a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and certification as a substance use disorder professional (SUPD) in Washington state. These distinctions provide graduates with many career opportunities after graduation. The School Counseling program is also ranked as the top graduate counseling program in Seattle by Top Counseling Schools based on program completion rate, job placement rate, licensing exam pass rates, accreditation length, research productivity of faculty, and cost of tuition and fees.

The counseling faculty are also national leaders in their respective areas of research. Counseling faculty are involved at the state and national levels regarding school counseling issues. This School Counseling program is the only program in the nation where school counselor graduates are eligible to pursue Washington State substance use disorder professional certification upon graduation. This distinction positions our school counseling graduates to address substance abuse issues affecting K-12 youth in schools.

Graduates of the program leave with a deep understanding of the academic, career, and social/emotional issues impacting K-12 youth, they possess the knowledge and skills to create a compressive school counseling program, and they have a deep commitment to social justice.

Program Features

  • Designed for the working adult
  • Accessible faculty
  • In-person courses that begin at 4pm or later, Monday through Thursday evenings.
  • Faculty who are leaders in the field and nationally recognized for their research
  • Our field placement courses have small class sizes of no more than 12 students
  • Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
  • Prepares students for Residency level Educational Staff Associate (ESA) Certification in K-12 settings, public and private
    • Licensed Mental Health Counselor certification and Washington State Substance Use Disorder certification eligible
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Program of Study

  

50%
Admission Rate
84%
Program Completion Rate
96%+
Placement Rate*

*underestimate because not all graduates could be reached

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Mission-Driven Excellence

As a premier program in the Pacific Northwest for the past four decades, our graduate counseling program mission is to prepare diverse, ethical, reflective, clinically skilled, and multiculturally competent counselors to become leaders and advocates who confront injustice and provide quality service in diverse communities. Learn more about the Counseling Programs Mission Statement and program objectives, accreditation, student organizations and community connections by exploring the links below.

Contact Us

Christine Campbell Headshot

Christine Campbell

Senior Admissions Counselor

(206) 278-5533

campbellchr1@seattleu.edu

Mary Graham Headshot

Mary Graham, PhD

Program Director, Professor

(206) 296-5748

grahamm@seattleu.edu

College of Education

Over 80 years, our College of Education has graduated more than 11,000 students. With our alumni becoming notable leaders who spearhead systemic change and inspire future generations as administrators, teachers, counselors, school psychologists, principals, superintendents, deans, community college faculty as well as college and university presidents.