Career and Employment Counselors

Certification or Licensing

The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) offers the national certified counselor (NCC) designation as well as the national certified school counselor (NCSC) designation. In order to apply for the NCC, you must have earned a master's degree with a major study in counseling and you must pass the National Counselor Examination. NCCs are certified for a period of five years. In order to be recertified, they must complete 100 contact clock hours of continuing education or pass the examination again. In order to receive the NCSC credential, you must complete the above requirements, plus gain field experience in school counseling as a graduate student and then complete two years of postmaster's supervised school counseling (2,000 to 3,000 hours). Many states require some type of credentialing or certification for counselors, and all states require those who work in school settings to be certified.