Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education

The doctoral program in Counselor Education is designed to provide advanced –level preparation for counselors in various mental health and school settings as well as preparing counselors for the counselor education professorate in colleges and universities. Preparing counselors to work as counselor educators and supervisors is the program’s highest priority. Doctoral students pursuing this degree are expected to demonstrate 1) a wide range of individual and group counseling skills; 2) a sound theoretical foundation in counseling; 3) teaching and supervision competencies; 4) advanced multicultural counseling skills; 5) research skills; 6) competencies associated with being an educational leader, and 7) an understanding of academic program development, curriculum and administration. Students are expected to involve themselves in appropriate activities of the Department, College, University, and of relevant professional associations. The doctoral program in Counselor Education is not intended to meet the educational requirements of those who seek to be licensed psychologists. It assumes that applicants have or are about to complete their master’s degree in counseling or a closely related field. Persons with a master’s degree in a related field may be asked to complete an additional masters degree in counseling.

Program Requirements

All students enrolled in this doctoral program must complete the following set of requirements in addition to course work related to a particular specialty:

Doctoral Core (30 hours)
1. Professional Seminar Counselor Education (3 hours)
2. Advanced Counseling Theory and Practices (3 hours)
3. Supervision in Counseling & Psychotherapy (3 hours)
4. Doctoral Practicum: Clinical Supervision (4 hours)
5. Doctoral Practicum in Counselor Education (4 hours)
6. College Teaching in Counseling (3 hours)
7. Vocational Development Theory (3 hours)
8. Advanced Multicultural Counseling (3 hours)
9. Internship in Counselor Education (4 hours)
Scientific Inquiry Core (27 hours)
1. Research Design and Analysis (6 hours)
2. Qualitative Research (3 hours)
3. Elective in Research Design or Data Analysis (3 hours)
4. Communication Skills Research Tool Competency
5. Dissertation Seminar (3 hours)
6. Doctoral Dissertation (12 hours)
Emphasis (12 hours)

Courses focused around a theme or particular interest approved by the student’s doctoral committee. These emphases may include, but are not limited to: School Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling; College Counseling; and Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling.

Counselor Education doctoral students are required to demonstrate professional competencies through supervised experiences. These experiences include research, teaching and counseling. All doctoral candidates must pass a comprehensive examination over doctoral course work before admission to candidacy. The doctoral committee is responsible for the development and evaluation of the doctoral comprehensive examination. Students must also meet the general residency requirement for doctoral students of one academic year (two consecutive semesters) of full-time study on campus.