21 July, 2025
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A school counselor in California provides guidance to two young children, illustrating supportive practices in educational counseling.

Reviewed by: Daniel Tillapaugh, Professor, Department of Counselor Education

Key Takeaways

  • To become a school counselor in California, you must meet important education, experience and certification requirements.
  • Individuals must complete a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university and a master’s degree that meets several requirements.
  • Once you complete your degrees, practica and fieldwork experience and additional minor requirements, you can apply for your Pupil Personnel Services credential that qualifies you to practice as a school counselor.
  • After becoming a school counselor, you’ll need to renew your credentials every five years.

If you are passionate about education, mental health and the success of tomorrow’s leaders, a school counseling career can be a rewarding path. School counselors play an important role in K-12 education, supporting the social, emotional and academic success of students who are navigating an increasingly complex education system.

In California, aspiring K-12 counselors need to meet important requirements to ensure that they are fully trained to counsel students in the most ethical, effective way. To help you understand exactly what education, credentials and experience you need to become a school counselor, we’ve created this guide to walk you through the process.

What Does a School Counselor Do?

School counselors play a critical role in K-12 schools, supporting student success by:

  • Advocating for student needs
  • Collaborating with teachers, administrators and guardians
  • Helping students navigate preparing for their next steps, such as higher education, military services, trade school or another type of career/vocational program
  • Supporting students with academic achievement strategies

School counselors are not the same as social workers or school psychologists, although school counselors may collaborate with these professionals to create strong support systems for students. While school counselors are primarily dedicated to supporting student preparation for college or careers, they do support students emotionally and socially. In this area, counselors may support students by:

  • Listening and empathizing with students about their problems or concerns
  • Mediating conflicts between students, guardians, teachers, etc.
  • Facilitating drug and alcohol prevention programs
  • Referring students to more dedicated mental health support

What Are the Steps to Becoming a School Counselor in California?

In order to earn the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) Pupil Personnel Service credential and become eligible for school counselor roles, you need:

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree

To start, you’ll need to earn your bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. If you’ve already earned your bachelor’s degree in a field unrelated to counseling, such as business or STEM, there’s no need to worry. The CTC states that your bachelor’s degree can be in any field.

To help fulfill the Basic Skills Requirement, you may want to consider choosing a bachelor’s program that includes at least a foundational understanding of reading, writing and mathematics.

While you don’t need to major in a specific course of study for the bachelor’s degree, some majors may better prepare you for your school counseling career, such as education, psychology or sociology.

Step 2: Complete a Master’s in School Counseling

After your bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to complete an MS in Counseling that is specialized in K-12/school counseling. Your master’s degree has to meet all of the following requirements in order for you to be eligible for certification:

  • Minimum 48 semester units/credit hours
  • CTC approval
  • Offers a Pupil Personnel Services, School Counseling specialization
  • Includes practica and fieldwork experience with K-12 students

Aside from meeting the relevant education requirements to become a licensed school counselor, a master’s degree program in counseling gives you the important knowledge and skills that you need to implement proven strategies with students. Through your master’s degree curriculum, you will become an expert in:

  • Educational research
  • Ethics in the counseling setting
  • Individual and group counseling skills
  • Resiliency development
  • Student retention strategies

Step 3: Complete Your Internship Requirements

One of the requirements to become a certified school counselor in California is to work 100 hours in a supervised practicum setting, followed by 800 hours of fieldwork. All CTC-approved programs will include an internship experience, so you won’t need to worry about finding experience completely independently.

Your practicum typically takes place toward the end of your master’s degree, and it is generally an unpaid position similar to an internship. Under the supervision of an active school counselor, you’ll spend time providing services to students in a K-12 setting.

This will give you the opportunity to gain some real-life experience and better understand what the day-to-day looks like for school counselors in California.

Step 4: Complete Final Requirements and Obtain Your Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential

After completing your degrees and fieldwork requirements, there are only four simple steps to complete:

  • Request a formal recommendation from your university or college. This recommendation states that your university recommends that the CTC certifies you as a school counselor.
  • Complete the LiveScan fingerprint process. Your university can help you with this step at some point during your program.
  • Ensure that you meet the Basic Skills Requirement. Most applicants will meet this through their bachelor’s or master’s degree. If your degree does not meet this requirement, you can take additional coursework or take one of several qualifying exams. See the CTC’s website for more information about meeting the Basic Skills Requirement.
  • Submit your PPS credential application and pay the processing fee.

At California Lutheran University, MS in Counseling (PPS) students will complete the LiveScan fingerprint process as part of the admissions process. And, all students will need to meet the Basic Skills Requirement before beginning their internship hours. By integrating these requirements directly into the program, aspiring counselors benefit from saved time and a simplified credentialing process.

Individuals who are certified in the area of K-12 school counseling by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification are exempt from most certification requirements and can directly apply for their PPS credential.

How Do You Maintain Your Credential and Grow Professionally?

Once you’ve become a certified school counselor and are settled into your new job in the K-12 environment, you will need to renew your credential every few years. And, to ensure that you’re still providing students with the absolute best support, you’ll need to stay up-to-date on your skills and keep up with new research and strategies.

Renewing Your Credential

If you received a lifetime credential previously, that still stands and you do not need to renew. However, if you received your credential after California phased out lifetime credentials, you simply need to go to the CTC website and pay for renewal every five years.

Fostering Ongoing Professional Growth

Throughout your career as a school counselor, you’ll want to make sure you’re keeping your skills fresh, learning new strategies and staying up-to-date on advancements in research. Some ways that you can foster continuous learning include:

When you prioritize ongoing education, you’ll be able to leverage it to seek out new opportunities with different employers, advance to leadership roles and develop your personal and professional identity as a counseling expert.

Why Choose a Career in School Counseling?

School counseling is a highly rewarding field that enriches the lives of students and provides you with a sense of purpose and impact. Some of the reasons why you might pursue a career in school counseling include:

  • You can positively change the lives of students, who go on to positively impact society
  • You can leverage challenging, interesting skills in problem-solving, communication and pedagogy
  • You can work passionate, positive people who share similar goals and values

Now is a great time to earn your MS in Counseling and become a school counselor in California. With the state investing millions of dollars into a variety of different programs for youth mental health and counseling services, school counselors will play an important role in supporting youth as they transition from school to adulthood.

Earn Your MS in Counseling From the Cal Lutheran Graduate School of Education

Cal Lutheran’s programs are widely recognized for developing culturally astute educational counselors for K-12 and higher education. Through engaging class assignments and immersive field placements, you will grow as a compassionate professional ready to serve diverse populations while prioritizing respect and dignity for every student.

  • MS in Counseling and College Student Personnel: This comprehensive program combines elements of student affairs and counseling to serve professionals who work with or aspire to work with college students, providing essential research, in-depth knowledge and practical experience.
  • MS in Counseling and Pupil Personnel Services: Prepare to become a school counselor in California with a culturally responsive, student-centered master’s degree program. The program equips you with theoretical knowledge, practical skills and field experience.

Cal Lutheran’s Graduate School of Education is accredited by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), which approves programs that meet its adopted standards of quality and effectiveness. All of our programs leading to recommendation for a California credential or certificate have been approved by the CTC.

Download a program brochure or start your application for the MS in Counseling (CSP or PPS).

Sources

Request Information

To learn more about the Graduate Degree Programs offered by the Cal Lutheran Graduate School of Education and download a brochure, please fill out the form. You can also get in touch with an enrollment specialist directly by calling us at 805-493-3325 or for the online Master of Science in Counseling and College Student Personnel call 805-521-9856.

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