The School Counseling Program certifies students to work in Maryland as school counselors in grades K-12.  For that reason, the students' Practicum and Internship experiences must reflect exposure to a broad range of developmental phases within the public school system, including elementary, middle and high schools.

The School Counseling Program works with and provides placements for our students in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington County schools, along with placement opportunities in some Pennsylvania school districts and West Virginia counties.  Students who go out of Maryland to these areas must abide by the requirements of these states.

All Practicum and Internship school placements in Allegany and Garrett counties, as well as Mineral County, WV and selected school districts in Pennsylvania are arranged by Mr. Toby Eirich, Placement Coordinator through the Office of Clinical and Field Experience, located in Framptom Hall on the Frostburg State University campus. Contact information is listed in the Contact section of this online resource. Washington and Frederick counties require an individual application for internship placements.  These forms are also coordinated through the Placement Office, Framptom 215 or School Counseling Program Coordinator.

CACREP recommends a clinically based component for counselor education programs and specifically includes a 100 clock-hour Practicum prior to the Internship.  The three-credit SCCO 612 Practicum is an academic and experiential class intentionally designed to put training into practice and provide candidates with supervised school-based learning experiences focused on understanding and practicing the professional school counselor’s role in the K-12 setting. The Practicum experience is at one level (elementary, middle or high school) throughout a full academic 15-week semester with the required hours translating into a one-day per week experience.

Throughout the Practicum, a list of assignments provided through the academic coursework are directly related to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors associated with school-based counseling requirements. Each candidate is observed by the University Supervisor teaching a class lesson or small group lesson from the Unit developed with the School Counselor Supervisor. Other assignments provide a rich experience for the candidate. The School Supervisor provides the practicum candidate mid-point and final evaluations.

The Capstone experience within the School Counseling Program is SCCO 693, School Counseling Internship.  Students will complete six (6) credit hours of supervised field experience and document the required 500 clock-hours during the Internship. This academic and experiential course provides an opportunity through two 250-hour supervised school placements/educational settings, for students to integrate their learning from all previous coursework and put into practice. Assignments will provide the framework and guide the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency of the various skills required.

In order to complete the two placements within a semester, the Internship will begin before the university classes are in session.  Each placement will be scheduled and requires the intern to follow the school calendar and the school's daily schedule. Weather may affect the daily attendance required.  The intern will log the time invested in the direct and indirect services provided during the Internship and always aware of the hours required and completed. 

Each internship must have a minimum of 250 clock-hours recorded for each Internship placement.  The University awards the diploma. The State provides the certification. 

With the Practicum 100 clock-hour placement, each candidate must earn and provide recorded 600-clock hours for Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) certification.

Any student who is seeking certification beyond the school counseling certification is strongly encouraged to complete hours beyond the total 500 hours required for internship. This extended internship is advised because the state certification board looks at total clock-hours, not credit hours in their licensure/certification process.  Each state has a set protocol to obtain a professional counseling license.  Questions concerning this matter may be directed to the individual state's Department of Education or online website.