Assistant/Associate Professor of Counselor Education
Minnesota State
Assistant/Associate Professor of Counselor Education
Minnesota State
Working Title:
Assistant/Associate Professor of Counselor Education -State University FacultyInstitution:
St. Cloud State UniversityClassification Title:
Bargaining Unit / Union:
209: Inter Faculty OrganizationCity:
St. CloudFLSA:
Job ExemptFull Time / Part Time:
Full timeEmployment Condition:
Unclassified - Unlimited AcademicSalary Range:
$64,963.00 - $193,146.00Job Description
Minnesota needs clinical mental health counselors and school counselors, and this program prepares them. We are looking for a counselor educator who wants real influence over how that happens.
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling programs at St. Cloud State University invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor of Counselor Education, beginning August 16th, 2027.
We are a small faculty running daytime cohort programs with our own on-campus training clinic, live supervision, and a set of community partnerships that are already operating and open to a new colleague’s ideas. Because the faculty is small, your voice on curriculum, clinical training, and program direction will matter from your first semester – not your seventh year.
We are open on specialty. We are seeking an excellent counselor who can contribute broadly across the CACREP core curriculum, not a candidate in any single subfield. Your particular clinical and scholarly expertise – whatever it is – will help determine what we build next.
How teaching works here.
A 3/3 graduate load. Graduate courses are weighted at 4 credits in the 24-credit IFO academic year-some clinical courses at five -, so a full graduate load is 6 courses per year rather than 8.
Daytime only. Our programs run on a cohort model with daytime classes. Students know their full schedule from admission to graduation, and so do you. In counselor education, where evening teaching is the norm, this is unusual.
No faculty member owns a course. Faculty submit teaching preferences annually. If you want to teach a course several years running to develop it, you can. If you want to move into something new, you can. We deliberately distribute the first-year content sequence – the heaviest teaching in the program, with intensive skills feedback and the beginning of gatekeeping – across the whole faculty rather than concentrating it on newer colleagues.
You follow a cohort through its full three-year life cycle. You teach students in their first year, again in practicum, and through internship to graduation. Most programs don’t work this way, and it takes some getting
used to. We do it because when you make a gatekeeping decision or write a recommendation, you’re drawing on three years of watching someone develop rather than one semester’s impression.
A cohort’s first year typically includes Introduction to the profession, Ethics, Assessment in Counseling, Multicultural Counseling, and Counseling Procedures/Skills and either diagnosis and treatment planning or child/adolescent counseling.
Summer is optional, and it’s yours. We poll students at orientation about which electives they want, and together with our advisory board build a 3-year summer rotation from that data. Faculty teach in their own areas of interest, so this is where specialization lives – the core curriculum is taught by everyone, and the summer sequence is where your expertise becomes curriculum. Because the rotation is built from student demand and planned three years out, you’ll know your summer teaching well in advance. Additional summer sections are also regularly available in our undergraduate program. Summer teaching is compensated separately from the academic year contract under Article 13 of the IFO agreement.
Clinical training
Students complete practicum on campus in the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences training clinic, with live bug-in-the-ear supervision. You’ll supervise in real time rather than from recordings – and you’ll have a clinical setting available for your own scholarship.
Students who want to specialize working with children and adolescents also have the opportunity for a community- partner practicum placement.
Faculty and students work across a set of interdisciplinary collaborations that are already running, including integrated behavioral health initiatives, support for first-year nursing students, programming for students' parents, support for international students, support for the campus counseling center, support for campus/community serving autism clinic and for campus/clinic communication/sciences disorder clinic, and youth programming in partnership with the YMCA. You would join active partnerships rather than build from zero.
Scholarship
Our tenure process is outlined in the IFO contract.
Our training clinic, our community partnerships, and our three-year cohort structure are all available as research settings. We support applied and community-engaged scholarship alongside traditional peer-reviewed work, and we treat dissertation-derived publication as legitimate early scholarship.
Faculty receive professional development funding under the IFO contract, are eligible for sabbatical, and have access to a range of internal grant programs.
Why this position is different.
Your workload has been thought about. A 3/3 load. Daytime teaching only. Course assignment by annual preference, with no one owning a course. An optional summer sequence in your own area of interest.
Your influence is proportional to our size. On a faculty of 6, a new colleague’s ideas about curriculum and clinical training get implemented rather than queued. You will shape this program from your first year, not your seventh year.
Your specialty gets six credits of its own. Whatever you bring – trauma, addictions, couples and family work, career, group work, integrated behavioral health, counseling children and adolescents, or something we don’t currently offer – there’s a place to build it into curriculum.
Our graduates fill a real regional need. Central Minnesota’s behavioral health workforce depends on programs like ours.
Our program at a glance
Our program's trajectory
We turn away qualified applicants every year. Our graduate program receives more applications than we have seats and has for 10 years running.
We sit in a college built around exactly this kind of work. The College of Education, Health & Human Sciences brings education, health, and human sciences together under one roof with an emphasis on field-based learning and alignment with regional workforce needs.
The infrastructure is built. Our on-campus training clinic with live supervision, our community partnerships, and our clinical placement network are established and operating.
Living here
St. Cloud is a city of about 70,000 on the Mississippi River, roughly 60 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Housing costs are a fraction of metro rates and commutes are measured in minutes, so a faculty salary goes considerably further here than in the Twin Cities or on either coast. The region has a substantial healthcare and behavioral health sector, which matters if you are relocating with a partner in the field. SCSU also operates a campus in the Twin Cities metro, if a metro-area residence suits you better.
*Employment for this position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement for the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO), which can be found at:
Salary: *The salary range is the contractual range; however, salary upon hire is dependent upon qualifications and experience.
Minimum Qualifications
Preferred Qualification
We do not expect any candidate to meet every preferred qualification. If you meet the required qualifications and the position interests you, we want to hear from you.
Other Requirements
We ask for three items now. To reduce the burden of applying, an initial application consists of three items:
1. Curriculum Vitae: If ABD, including your scheduled defense date and
anticipated degree conferral date.
2. Cover Letter: describe your teaching, scholarship, counseling background,
and what draws you to this position.
3. Contact information for two (3) current, professional references. Note: We
will not contact references without your permission.
Candidates invited to a first-round interview will be asked for a teaching philosophy statement, a sample of scholarship or creative work, and unofficial graduate transcripts. Official transcripts are required of finalists.
Please note that successful applicants must be eligible to work in the United States on or before the effective date of appointment. Eligibility includes being a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or a foreign national authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employer sponsorship. Employees must maintain work authorization without sponsorship for the duration of their appointment.
Work Shift (Hours / Days of work)
Please note that successful applicants must be eligible to work in the United States on or before the effective date of appointment. Eligibility includes being a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or a foreign national authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employer sponsorship. Employees must maintain work authorization without sponsorship for the duration of their appointment.
Telework (Yes/No)
Varies
About
St. Cloud State University serves close to 10,000 students and is committed to providing accessible, high-quality education that prepares graduates for meaningful careers and lifelong success. Located along the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, SCSU combines personalized support, applied learning, research, and community engagement to create opportunities for students, employees, and the region. With more than 133,000 alumni worldwide, SCSU continues to make a lasting impact through education, innovation, and service.
St. Cloud State University is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment that values the unique contributions of all students, faculty, staff, and community members. We recognize that welcoming a variety of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds strengthens our teaching, learning, research, and service mission. We encourage applications from individuals who share our commitment to student success, belonging, and excellence.
Employment for this position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement for the IFO which can be found at: https://www.ifo.org/
St. Cloud State University is committed to excellence and actively supports cultural diversity. To promote this endeavor, we invite individuals who contribute to such diversity to apply, including minorities, women, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities and veterans. St. Cloud State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or status as a U.S. veteran. The Interim Title IX coordinator at St. Cloud State University is Andrea Rooney. For additional information, contact the Office of Institutional Equity & Access, (320) 308-5123, Admin. Services Bldg. Rm 121
Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications and is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable bargaining unit agreement or personnel plan.
Benefits Information:
At Minnesota State, we take your well-being and work-life balance seriously. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that features low-cost medical and dental insurance with affordable deductibles, employer-paid life insurance, short- and long-term disability, and pre-tax healthcare and dependent care accounts with a roll-over option. To further support your holistic health, employees also have access to a confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, legal, and financial counseling. Detailed plan details, rates, and coverage choices can be reviewed directly via the State Employee Group Insurance Program (SEGIP) website.
To support your life outside of work, our package includes 12 paid holidays, generous vacation and sick time, and six weeks of Paid Parental Leave. We also help you secure your financial future with a robust Pension Plan, 457(b) and 403(b) retirement accounts, and various investment options. Furthermore, we invest in your growth by providing dedicated professional development and tuition waivers for both you and your dependents. Please note that specific benefit eligibility and coverage levels may vary depending on the type of position, employee classification, and collective bargaining agreements.
Desired Start Date:
08-16-2027Position End Date:
Open Date:
10-12-2026Close Date:
11-30-2026Posting Contact Name:
Courtney Marie GraberPosting Contact Email:
[email protected]Explore more opportunities at Minnesota State