Many online master’s programs in school counseling offer a brief residency for their students. It is fundamentally different from a practicum or internship, however. During residency, students spend a concentrated period of time working with professors and peers on campus. Students do group projects, improve their counseling and advising skills, and receive direct feedback that they can use moving forward in their practice.
At Lamar University, school counseling master’s students complete a one-week residency during the course of the degree program. Residencies are held on campus once in the fall and spring, and twice each summer to accommodate teacher work schedules. Occasionally, they are held in other locations in Texas in conjunction with professional meetings or conferences for school counselors.