Messiah University · Graduate Program in Counseling, School of Graduate and Professional Studies

Master of Arts in Counseling - School Counseling

Awarded degree: Master of Arts in Counseling

School Counseling

Master'sMA CACREP Fully online coursework

Overview

A 60-credit online MA in Counseling with a school counseling track, including a 100-hour school counseling practicum and 300-hour elementary and secondary school counseling internships; in-person intensives are optional.

Official program name: Master of Arts in Counseling - School Counseling
Awarded degree: Master of Arts in Counseling
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Degree level: Master's
Counseling specialty: School Counseling
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Professional purpose: School counselor preparationThe institution states the program prepares students for school counselor certification or licensure, which state education agencies grant. It is not clinical counselor licensure.
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
School: Messiah University — Graduate Program in Counseling, School of Graduate and Professional Studies
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Location: Mechanicsburg, PAWhere the school is located. Coursework is online; this is not a residency requirement, does not decide whether you may enroll from your state, and is not where you complete practicum or internship.
Required credits: 60 credits
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026
Duration: Two-, three- and four-year timelines (up to six years allowed) (two-year model is accelerated)
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)

Why this program is listed

MA in Counseling, school counseling track, CACREP-accredited.

Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

We list counseling bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees whose official program is counselor preparation in a named specialty, and — separately labelled — counseling psychology. Generic psychology, education, social work and standalone MFT degrees are excluded. Eligibility rules

Format and campus attendance

How coursework is delivered and whether you must come to campus for it. Practicum and internship are a separate requirement, shown in the next section. “Fully online coursework” appears only when the school says no campus attendance is required.

Academic delivery: Fully online courseworkCoursework is delivered online. Practicum and internship are completed in person at approved sites, and some programs also require campus residencies.
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Campus attendance for coursework: No required campus attendance for coursework (stated)
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Class schedule: Mixed (live + self-paced)
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Study intensity: Not published

Campus requirements as published

Intensive Optional
Optional one-week in-person intensive courses in January and July
January and July
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Practicum, internship and placements

Supervised fieldwork in a clinical, community or school setting, as the school publishes it. For online programs this happens in person, usually near where you live — whatever the coursework format.

Practicum: Required100 hours. COUN 583 School Counseling Practicum: 100 hours, 40 hours direct service with K-12 students
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026
Internship: Required300 hours. COUN 584 Elementary School Counseling Internship: 300 hours
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026
Internship: Required300 hours. COUN 585 Secondary School Counseling Internship: 300 hours
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026

Placement arrangements and supervision

Supervision: Internship supervised by an approved site supervisor who is a practicing school counselor
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026
Placement assistance: Placement support for field experience from dedicated staff
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

How practicum and internship placements work

Curriculum

30-credit core plus 30-credit School Counseling track
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026

Other

Graduate courses are PDE approved for Act 48 credit
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the university states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Minimum GPA: RequiredMinimum 3 — Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher; below 3.0 reviewed case by case
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Prerequisite courses: RequiredAt least 6 credits in social, behavioral, applied, or life sciences with a grade of C or higher
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Statement / essay: RequiredStatement of purpose, 300-500 words
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Recommendation letters: Required1 letters — Contact information for one reference
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Résumé / CV: RequiredResume or CV
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Interview: RequiredQualified applicants interview with faculty via Zoom
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Application fee: Not requiredNo application fee
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Transcripts: RequiredOfficial transcripts showing a bachelor's or master's degree
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Tests

Entrance and English-language test policy: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate admission chances.

Start dates and deadlines

Dates are shown with the term the university printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadlines: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its student category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-term and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other, and tuition is not the full cost of attendance.

Category	Amount	Basis and year
All students — No-fee tuition per graduate credit hour	$820	per credit · 2026-2027Includes feesEstimated tuition$49,200 = 60 credits × $820 per credit. Excludes mandatory fees, books, travel for any required in-person sessions, transfer credit reductions and rate changes. Not the full cost of attendance.Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026
All students — Tuition for the entire 60 credit-hour program at the 2026-2027 rate	$49,200	entire program · 2026-2027Includes feesSource: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Estimated total tuition: $49,200 (published program total)

Comparison basis: All students — Tuition for the entire 60 credit-hour program at the 2026-2027 rate, 2026-2027. Excludes mandatory fees, books, living costs and any rate changes during the program. How we calculate

Other published fees

Site supervision fees (if incurred) are the student's responsibility: Amount not stated
Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026

Funding

Funding policy and awards exactly as the school publishes them. Competitive scholarships and assistantships are not guaranteed funding; loans must be repaid and are not scholarships. Counseling tuition and scholarships

Funding classification: Funding not verified

We have not verified an official funding policy for this program. That does not mean funding is unavailable.

Deferred billing for employer reimbursement Employer assistanceStated for all eligible students
Eligibility: Students with employer reimbursement
Source: messiah.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Accreditation and enrollment restrictions

Institutional accreditation covers the whole school; programmatic accreditation (CACREP) covers only the specialty and degree it lists. Enrollment restrictions for online students are a separate question.

Institutional accreditation

Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) — accreditedSource: ope.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026

Programmatic accreditation

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)Status: Accredited · Specialty: School Counseling · Degree: M.A.Accredited since January 12, 2011 · current cycle ends October 31, 2028 · listed by the accreditor as onlineSource: cacrep.org · verified October 11, 2026

Published enrollment restrictions (state authorization)

Not verified — check the school's state authorization page before applying from outside Pennsylvania.

International applicants

Not verified for this program.

Licensure and professional disclosures

What the school publishes about professional licensure or certification. Meeting a state's educational requirements is only one part of licensure: examinations, post-degree supervised experience, background checks and a board application follow. This directory does not decide whether you qualify.

School counselor certificationProgram prepares students to become a certified school counselor in Pennsylvania as well as many other states Source: messiah.smartcatalogiq.com · verified October 12, 2026

CACREP accreditation does not guarantee licensure in every state, and school counselor certification is not the same as clinical counselor licensure. LPC, LMHC and other state titles · School counselor credentials

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 12, 2026.

messiah.edu/counseling — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/graduate-catalog/counseling/counseling-m-a — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/graduate-catalog/course-offerings/coun-counseling/500/coun-5 — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/graduate-catalog/course-offerings/coun-counseling/500/coun-5 — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/graduate-catalog/course-offerings/coun-counseling/500/coun-5 — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/graduate-catalog/course-offerings/coun-counseling/500/coun-5 — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
DAPIP — MSCHE institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-12) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 12, 2026
CACREP Directory of accredited programs (CSV export downloaded 2026-10-11) — Accreditor directory, verified October 11, 2026
messiah.edu/grad-admissions/counseling/ — Official admissions page, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.edu/graduate/clinical-mental-health — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026
messiah.edu/graduate/ma-school-counseling — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026

Something out of date? Request a correction · Represent this school? Claim the profile

Key facts

Degree
MA · Master'sSchool counselor preparation
Specialty
School Counseling
CACREP
Accredited (matched in the CACREP directory)
Delivery
Fully online coursework · Mixed (live + self-paced)
Campus attendance
No campus visits (stated)
Practical training
Fully online coursework; local practicum and internship required100 practicum + 600 internship hours
Study intensity
Study intensity not published
Length
Two-, three- and four-year timelines (up to six years allowed) (two-year model is accelerated) · 60 credits
Tuition
$820 per creditAll students — No-fee tuition per graduate credit hour, 2026-2027
Next deadline
No upcoming verified date
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA

Official program page How to apply

Also at Messiah University

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CounselingSchools.net is independent and not affiliated with Messiah University. Information is collected from official pages and can change; confirm requirements, costs, deadlines and licensure eligibility with the school and your state board.