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Student services counselor education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a student services counselor. Student services counselors usually study business, psychology, or communication. 62% of student services counselors hold a bachelor's degree, and 14% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 6,009 real student services counselor resumes to see exactly what student services counselor education sections show.
The most common colleges for student services counselors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online student services counselor courses to help get the education required to be a student services counselor.
There are certain student services counselor certifications that you should consider. These student services counselor certifications include Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) and Pastoral Counseling Certification.
What education do you need to become a student services counselor?
What degree do you need to be a student services counselor?
- Bachelor's, 62%
- Associate, 14%
- Master's, 13%
- High School Diploma, 6%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a student services counselor?
- Business, 17%
- Psychology, 15%
- Communication, 6%
- Other Majors, 57%
Most common colleges for student services counselors
| Student services counselor common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 10.69% |
| University of California - Davis | 7.57% |
| Ohio State University | 6.46% |
| Texas A&M University | 6.24% |
| University of California, Berkeley | 5.57% |
Best majors for student services counselors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 16.9% |
| 2 | Psychology | 15.2% |
| 3 | Communication | 6.5% |
| 4 | Political Science | 4.9% |
| 5 | Criminal Justice | 4.9% |
Best colleges for student services counselors
The best colleges for student services counselors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.
A student services counselor with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for student services counselors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become student services counselors.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
6. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$10,011
Enrollment
13,434
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
8. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
10. SUNY College at Oswego
Oswego, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,440
Enrollment
7,039
20 best online courses for student services counselors
Advertising disclosure
1. Enhance Student Learning through Kahoot
By the end of this project, you will have created a Kahoot collection that will engage your students during virtual learning or as a more engaging way to encourage practice and review at home or in the classroom. Teaching is constantly evolving. As we learn more about our students, we uncover new ways to ensure that they are not just learning - they are thriving. When we can connect our tech-savvy students to tech-connected learning, our students are more likely to enjoy learning. We can also...
2. Engage and Assess Students with Quizizz
By the end of this project, you will be ready to use Quizizz with your students to create gamified quizzes, polls, and lessons. Whether you are teaching online or in the classroom, Quizizz allows you to gather valuable assessment data while your students are actively engaged in a friendly competitive game. Throughout each task, we will set up your Quizizz account and learn how to create your own quizzes as well as use the reporting feature to see how your students are progressing. Engage your...
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TSHOOT Labs in Routing, Switching, BGP, IPv6, IP Services, MPLS, and Security for CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE Students...
4. Thermodynamics for Engineering Students
A Detailed Introduction to Thermodynamics...
5. Encouraging Student Collaboration with Padlet
By the end of this project, you be able to use Padlet to create a collaborative classroom fostering interactive student engagements, creating virtual lessons, and more. With Padlet, teachers and students can collaborate in real time on lessons, projects, and anything else you can imagine. Together, we will learn how to use Padlet to connect with students during virtual learning, for in class collaboration, and discover ways to improve our ability to differentiate instruction using Padlet. The...
6. Increase Student Buy in with Google Slides
By the end of this project, you will have created a student punchcard that will engage your students during virtual learning or as a more engaging way to encourage buy in during classroom learning. Teaching is constantly evolving. As we learn more about our students, we uncover new ways to ensure that they are not just learning - they are thriving. Using a punchcard will not only provide your students with more choice and independence, it will also provide your classroom with the procedures and...
7. Customer Service Foundation
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8. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service
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9. Creating a Student Profile in Google Docs
By the end of this project, you will have created a Student Profile in Google Docs that will allow you identify student needs and differentiate instruction. We will work together to learn how to use Google Docs as we create a Student Profile template and complete it for a particular student you have in mind. You will be provided with additional resources that will help improve your teaching practice through identification of students needs and ensuring that the appropriate accommodations are...
10. Unleash Student Creativity with Buncee
By the end of this project, you will be able to use Buncee to unleash your students’ creativity. Buncee is “a creation and communication tool… to create interactive content, allowing those of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively.” With Buncee, learning becomes more personalized as students are able to share through engaging multimedia projects using Buncee’s templates, stickers, and animations. Throughout this project, we will work together to ensure that you are confident...
11. IT service operations and Service Desk management
Improve Service Desk and IT support processes and service functions. Better preparation for the professional exam...
12. Law: A Comprehensive Summary for LLB Students
An essential 24 hours of Video Lectures, Spider Graphs and Case Summaries made to guide LLB students preparing for exams...
13. A Law Student's Toolkit
Whether you are an advanced law student looking to review the basics, or an aspiring law student looking for head start, this course will help you build the foundation you will need to succeed in law school and beyond. This course will introduce you to terminology, concepts, and tools lawyers and legal academics use to make their arguments. It will help you follow these arguments—and make arguments of your own. This course consists of a series of short lectures and assignments. A reading list...
14. Using Google Forms for Student Success
By the end of this project, you have used Google Forms to create several tools to use with your students and parents in order to ensure a successful school year. With volunteer sign-up forms, you can simplify your volunteer process within your classroom and across the school. Through exit tickets and assessments, you will be able to check your student’s understanding of the content taught that day or during a unit so that you can adjust instruction to address misunderstandings or gather...
15. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience
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16. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives
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17. Student Self-Assessment with Microsoft Word
By the end of this project, you will have created a self-report card and a behaviour reflection form for student self-reflection. You will also be equipped with suggestions for how to use these documents with students. Encouraging our students to reflect on their learning is one of many goals we have as teachers. One valuable way to do this is by allowing our students to share their perspective on the school year. What areas are going well for them? What areas do they see where they could grow?...
18. Create a Record of Students using Arrays in Java
This project provides a step-by-step approach in instruction and will equip you with fundamental concepts of creating arrays and array lists in Java programming, from the ground up. Using jGRASP development environment, you will create a Java project that records and processes students’ data. The data includes name, mode of study, and marks. Using this data, you will output the student details, compute the total marks per student, determine the average mark, and the highest mark for the class...
19. Teach English Online: find students and start teaching now
The complete guide for anyone who wants to start a freelance career teaching English online...
20. Sort students marks using bubble and insertion algorithms
The learner will create two sorting algorithms in Java programming language. The learner will create an optimised bubble sort function that sorts students' marks in ascending order by repeatedly swapping adjacent elements within an array if they are in the wrong order. The learner will also create an insertion sort function that sorts students' marks in ascending order by building a sorted array, one element at a time...
Top 10 most affordable universities for student services counselors
The most affordable schools for student services counselors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for student services counselors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for student services counselors.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
5. University of Houston - Victoria
Victoria, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$6,491
Cost of attendance
19,075
6. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for student services counselors
The hardest universities for student services counselors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for student services counselors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for student services counselors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
8. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
10. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
Admissions rate
28%
SAT average
1,429
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for student services counselors
The easiest schools for student services counselors to get into are University of North Texas at Dallas, gwynedd mercy university, and barry university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a student services counselor without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for student services counselors.
1. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
2. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
3. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
4. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
5. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
6. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. Holy Family University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,017
9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
10. Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,002
Average student services counselor salary by education level
| Student services counselor education level | Student services counselor salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $46,097 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $38,738 |
| Doctorate Degree | $47,097 |
Student services counselor education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025