Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) School Counseling Credential

The Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) School Counseling Credential (formerly K-12 School Counseling Credential), offered by the Department of Counselor Education , is a 57-unit program that qualifies individuals to work as school counselors in California K-12 public schools.

Note: A master’s degree in Counseling or a related field is required to be eligible to apply for a clear PPS School Counseling Credential through the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). Therefore, applicants who have not already earned a master’s degree in Counseling or a related field need to apply via the MA in Counseling and Guidance program option. The MA in Counseling and Guidance with a PPS School Counseling Credential program option requires the completion of 63 units.

Individuals admitted into the PPS School Counseling Credential program are eligible to apply for a PPS School Counseling Internship Credential (valid for up to two years) if they are offered a school counseling position by a local school district before completing the program requirements. To be eligible, a program candidate must have completed a minimum of 15 units (EDCO 215 , EDCO 218 , EDCO 232 , EDCO 244 , and EDCO 294 ) with a 3.0 GPA or higher and met the Basic Skills Requirement (BSR).

A Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) authorization, which focuses on issues related to truancy and dropout prevention, can also be obtained.

PPS Credential Requirements (57 units)

Foundational Core Courses (15 units)

EDCO 215 - Introduction to Counseling and Guidance 3 unit(s) (GWAR)
EDCO 218 - Counseling Process & Techniques 3 unit(s)
EDCO 232 - Law & Ethics in Counseling 3 unit(s)
EDCO 244 - Cultural Perspectives in Counseling 3 unit(s) OR EDCO 280 - Multicultural Counseling 3 units
EDCO 294 - Practicum in Self-Development 3 unit(s)

Additional Foundational Courses (12 units)

To be completed in the order listed below:

EDCO 266 - Education and Career Planning 3 unit(s)
EDCO 282 - Assessment for Counselors 3 unit(s)
EDCO 227 - School-Family-Community Collaboration 3 unit(s)
EDCO 279 - Advanced Group Process Theory and Practice 3 unit(s)

Supervised Experience (9 units)

Complete 800 hours of counseling fieldwork experience - 200 to 300 hours for every 3 units of EDCO 292. A minimum of 200 hours must be completed within each of two public K-12 school levels. Up to 200 hours may be completed outside of a K-12 school setting.

Fieldwork experience can commence after the five Foundational Core Courses and 100 hours of K-12 practicum experience are completed with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Practicum experience is typically completed within EDCO 218 (35 hours) and EDCO 294 (65 hours).

EDCO 292 - Supervised Experience in Counseling 3-6 unit(s) (9 units required)

Advanced Professional Development Courses (21 units)

To be completed in the order listed below:

EDCO 268 - Lifespan Development 3 unit(s)
EDCO 285 - Trauma Counseling & Crisis Intervention 3 unit(s)
EDCO 283 - Advanced Educational Assessment 3 unit(s)
EDCO 286 - Organizational Change and Development 3 unit(s)
EDCO 221 - Research in Counselor Education 3 unit(s)
EDCO 287 - Comprehensive School Counseling Analysis 3 unit(s)
EDCO 288 - Seminar in Counseling Theory and Practice 3 unit(s) (GWAR)

Total Units Required (57 units)

Completion of coursework requires a minimum grade of C or higher in each course and a minimum overall GPA of 3.0.