Educational Studies: Counseling and Counselor Education Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Counseling and Counselor Education is designed to prepare advanced professional practitioners in counseling, counselor education and systems intervention with particular emphases on strength-based approaches to work with diverse populations and settings. Its purpose is to provide quality doctoral training for future educators, researchers and clinicians who wish to emphasize clinical applications that promote the health, quality of life and well-being of children, adolescents, young adults and their families. The counseling theory and counselor education courses are designed to increase understanding of current research and practice in the field. The professional competencies and counselor education courses are designed to expose students to supervisory and teaching experiences to help the student become proficient in social science research methodologies and to best prepare the student for original research and career goals. Finally, electives taught in education, communication, pastoral counseling, health and kinesiology, psychology and other disciplines may be chosen with the advisory committee. These will offer each doctoral student a personal specialization area for professional development and research. The college/department in which courses are offered will determine the readiness of students to take courses.

The Ph.D. in Educational Studies: Counseling and Counselor Education prepares students to be qualified to engage in high-quality original scholarship. Recipients will have the knowledge and skills to assume college faculty positions with responsibility in teaching graduate counseling courses, participate in counseling and counselor education research, and assume leadership positions in counseling and counselor education within schools and other organizations.

Admission

For admission to the program, an applicant must meet CACREP entry-level foundational curricular standards, professional practice, and entry-level specialization requirements.

While a CACREP-accredited master's degree is highly preferred, applicants must be a graduate of a regionally accredited Counseling master's program in the U.S. or have proof of equivalent training in foreign institutions. Applicants who did not graduate from a CACREP-accredited master's program should submit detailed course descriptions (and syllabi if available) with transcript for review. Curricular standards include: (1) professional counseling orientation and ethical practice, (2) social and cultural diversity, (3) lifespan development, (4) career development, (5) counseling practice and relationships, (6) group counseling and group work, (7) assessment and diagnostic processes, and (8) research and program evaluation. Professional practice standards include: (1) supervised counseling practicum that totals a minimum of 100 hours (with at least 40 hours of direct counseling with actual clients) over a full academic term (8 weeks or more), and (2) supervised counseling internship in roles and settings with actual clients relevant to specialized practice area that totals a minimum of 600 hours (with at least 240 hours of direct service with actual clients).  All practicum and internship experiences must adhere to CACREP rules for supervision. Additionally, applicant must show demonstrated knowledge and skills necessary to address wide range of issues in a specialized practice area (i.e., addiction counseling; career counseling; clinical mental health counseling; clinical rehabilitation counseling; college counseling and student affairs; marriage, couple, and family counseling; rehabilitation counseling; or school counseling). 

Each applicant must submit/complete:

Official transcript(s) exhibiting a strong academic record and completion of CACREP entry-level requirements

Current resume reflecting all clinical experience

Copy of any relevant counseling license(s)/certification(s)

Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which are from counseling faculty (from master's program) or clinical supervisors

Personal Statement - In 500-750 words, explain why you wish to seek the doctorate. Explain how you see the degree as fitting with personal and professional goals, and what you view as your strengths and challenges as you embark on this new journey.

GRE scores are OPTIONAL

Professional interview

Writing sample for a given prompt (case scenario) to be completed during professional interview.

Program of Study

A minimum of 60 credit hours post-matriculation is required for the degree.

Counseling Courses (9 hours)

Counselor Education/Professional Competencies (12 hours)

Research (12 hours)

Field Experiences (9 hours)

Electives (6 hours)

To create a program that is sensitive to student career goals, elective courses will be selected by student and approved by advisor. These courses may include an apprenticeship (e.g., teaching, research) or course from another program.

Qualifying ExaminationThe qualifying examination is taken at the end of the coursework and prior to beginning work on the dissertation. The purpose of the qualifying examination is to assess the student’s readiness to begin dissertation research. The qualifying examination requires students to demonstrate their ability to critically discuss theory, research and practice in the field of counseling and counselor education. The exams consist of a series of questions developed by the student’s advisory committee. These questions are designed for two purposes: 1) to examine the student’s knowledge of a body of literature in depth and 2) to examine the student’s breadth of understanding of the field of counseling and counselor education. The qualifying examination consists of two parts: a written examination and an oral examination. All committee members will read and give feedback to the student on the written product. When all committee members are satisfied with the quality of the written product, an oral examination will be scheduled. The student’s committee will determine by consensus if he/she 1) passed the examination, 2) failed the examination or 3) passed with conditions, which the student will need to meet prior to passing. A student is limited to three attempts to pass the qualifying examination.

Dissertation (12 hours)

The College of Education is committed to helping students establish their own research interests and agenda. To this end, the students will work with a committee of faculty to propose a research study, conduct the study and defend the results of the study. All students will take a minimum of six hours of dissertation proposal and research, but some students may require more than six hours, depending on the number of semesters that are needed for full completion of all requirements. Students may not begin dissertation data collection without the approval of the student’s full advisory committee.

Sequence of Experiences

1. Complete all content courses.

2. Complete qualifying exams and begin internship.

3. Complete portfolio and original research (culminating in successful defense of the resulting dissertation).