Singapore School Counseling

The Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, in the Graduate School of Education, at the University at Buffalo–State University of New York is pleased to announce the offering of the Master's in School Counseling (Ed.M.) program in Singapore for the fourth cohort. The Master's program is supported by the Dean of the Graduate School of Education, Dr. Mary H. Gresham and the Vice Provost for International Education, Dr. Stephen Dunnett. The Ed.M. School Counseling program has been formally approved by Singapore's Ministry Of Education. The program will be hosted in Singapore at the Center for American Education (CAE) which has 20 years of experience offering America-based educational programs in Singapore and is well positioned to provide student recruitment and classroom support.

Goals & Objectives

The 42-credit hour degree program seeks to equip current and potential school counselors in Singapore with advanced knowledge and specialized skills for:

  • implementing a comprehensive model of school counseling which aims to ensure the academic, career and personal/social development of all students
  • providing responsive services that deal with immediate concerns of students such as individual counseling, crisis counseling, grief counseling, family crisis
  • implementing effective counseling strategies for youths with special needs and mental health issues such as eating disorders, autism, ADHD, anxiety disorder and severe behavioral and emotional issues
  • applying a diverse repertoire of helping strategies and techniques such as individual and group counseling and classroom guidance in working with youth
  • applying appropriate collaborative and counseling strategies in working with families and other school personnel
  • developing and implementing prevention education programs such as conflict resolution and anti-bullying and values programs and providing leadership in creating a positive school climate
  • generating outcome data in order to determine the effectiveness of their programs and strategies.

Program Overview

  • The U.S has been at the forefront of the training of counseling professionals who work within a school setting. The Ed.M. in School Counseling program in Singapore is specifically tailored to train individuals to meet the counseling demands and needs within schools. Our program is built on a well-established and comprehensive model of counseling within a school setting, as developed by the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and adapted to fit the needs of Singapore schools. For more information, please see www.schoolcounselor.org.
  • The program is also structured around the core areas identified as the essential competency areas for counselors by the U.S.-based Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and other Related Educational Program (CACREP) as well as the Singapore Association for Counseling, and the Singapore Ministry of Education.
  • Field experience is a vital part of the training and students will be expected to complete two semesters of field experiences (CEP 596-SC: Fieldwork and CEP 597-SC: Counseling Practicum) for a total of 400 hours of field experiences (with 120 hours of face-to-face counseling in terms of individual counseling, group counseling, family counseling or classroom guidance). Students can start their fieldwork or practicum after the completion of 3 specified courses.
  • The UB School Counseling program is fully approved by the New York State Education Department. The University at Buffalo is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Association of American Universities, an elite group of 62 research universities.