An Online Counseling Degree to Prepare for Licensure

The Online Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Counseling from William & Mary is your doorway to a career in counseling, with coursework designed to prepare you for national exams related to licensure and/or certification. Though requirements vary from state to state and are unique to your area of focus, a master’s degree is mandatory to begin the licensure process.

Our online counseling programs are CACREP accredited, which means they are designed to help students satisfy the classroom requirements for all licensure and certification exams. However, students are still strongly encouraged to review applicable licensure requirements for their state of residence.

Upon completion of the Online M.Ed. in Counseling with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, including a required clinical residency, graduates will be eligible to sit for exams for the following licenses in Virginia:

• Licensed Professional Counselor
• Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner

Graduates of the CMHC program with a specialization in Military and Veterans Counseling are eligible to sit for the Licensed Professional Counselor exam in Virginia as well.

Graduates of the online School Counseling program are immediately eligible to begin work as a counselor, but will require two years of experience before they can receive a Pupil Personnel Services License in the state of Virginia with an endorsement in School Counseling.

Review information on state licensing boards

Virginia holds school counselors in exceptionally high regard and has been working to improve the ratio of counselors to students throughout the state. To this end, graduates of the Online M.Ed. in School Counseling who have also completed two successful years of full-time teaching become eligible for a five-year renewable license. Those who have not worked as teachers or who do not meet the required two-year teaching minimum will receive a Letter of Eligibility from the Virginia Department of Education; this letter permits graduates to be employed as a full-time school counselor and accrue two years of counseling experience in place of the two years’ teaching requirement. Following two successful years as a school counselor, graduates will receive a renewable Pupil Personnel Services License.