Our master's program in school counseling, which can be taken in partnership with the certificate of advanced study, is designed to prepare you to meet New York State standards for school counselors for the initial certificate and the professional certificate. This program seeks to educate counselors to assist K–12 youth to develop skills involving educational, vocational and personal-social needs. Through our program, you will learn how to apply a diverse repertoire of helping strategies and techniques, conceptualize and implement a comprehensive school counseling program, and engage in evaluation of your efforts.
The features of our program include:
| Academic credential granted | Master of Education (EdM) |
|---|---|
| Credits required for completion | 61 |
| Time to completion | 2 years |
| Course delivery | On campus |
| Careers | School counselors in K–12 schools |
| Experiential contact hours | 750 hours in schools |
| Application deadline | Summer: Jan. 15 |
In an effort to make the application process more equitable, the GRE/MAT is no longer required for admissions consideration. If you still plan to take the GRE/MAT exam, you can send your scores through the testing agency, and they will automatically be added to your application; however, they are not required for admission consideration to this program.
You must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
Submit your completed online application, which includes:
Admission Interview: An interview is required to be considered for admission to this program.
Former/Maiden Name: Please provide us with your former/maiden name if you have one. When requesting transcripts, please ask the sending institution to indicate your current name and former/maiden name.
Admission Decision: The admission decision will be communicated to you as soon as review is complete. The decision is based on a number of factors and is the result of a thorough and deliberate process. All decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
In order to qualify for the in-state residency tuition rate, you must provide residency documentation indicating you have lived in New York State (NYS) 12 months before your semester start date.
If accepted, you will need to upload three documents to qualify for the in-state tuition rate. See Required Documents for Residency Application for more information.
All financial forms and supporting documentation with required signatures must be uploaded with your application and dated within one year of your intended enrollment date.
Provisional School Counselor certificates will no longer be issued after February 1, 2023. Individuals must apply and meet all of the requirements for Provisional School Counselor certification by this date. The Provisional Renewal and Permanent School Counselor certificates will continue to be issued until a date determined by the New York State Education Department.
Effective February 2, 2023, individuals can apply for the Initial and Professional School Counselor certificates. The Initial and Professional School Counselor certificates will have different requirements than the Provisional and Permanent School Counselor certificates.
This disclosure is strictly limited to the University at Buffalo’s determination of whether its educational program, EdM and ACS in School Counseling, if successfully completed, would be sufficient to meet the educational certification requirements in a state for provisional and permanent certification as a school counselor. The University at Buffalo cannot provide verification of an individual’s ability to meet licensure or certification requirements unrelated to its educational programming. Such individual determinations are made by state licensing and certification boards, and are fact-specific determinations.
Enrolled students and prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact their state’s licensure entity using the links provided in the full disclosure document to review all licensure and certification requirements imposed by their state(s) of choice.
We have a collection of frequently asked questions that may help you. If your questions are still unanswered, we are glad to help! Contact our admission office.
Office of Graduate Admission
Graduate School of Education
366 Baldy Hall, North Campus
716-645-2110
gseinfo@buffalo.edu