what can you do with phd in counseling psychology

Get Your Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology – Everything You Need to Know in 2024

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By psychologyjobs.com Staff Writer

A PhD in Counseling Psychology is frequently the final educational step for students on the path to becoming a licensed  Counseling Psychologist  and helping individuals overcome emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal challenges through counseling and psychotherapy. But this qualification opens up a wealth of career opportunities across psychotherapy, education, sports, academia and Government.

A PhD in Counseling Psychology is a  doctoral-level degree  program that typically takes 4-6 years to complete.

During the program, students will take a variety of courses in areas such as counseling theories, research methods, human development, social and cultural diversity, and ethical and legal issues in counseling. They will also receive extensive training in counseling techniques, including individual, group, and family counseling, as well as assessment and diagnosis of mental health disorders.

A Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology is a rigorous program that prepares students to become competent and ethical counseling psychologists. Here are some of the topics likely to be covered:

• Counseling Theory and Practice:  different counseling approaches, such as humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic, and how to apply them in practice.
• Research Methods:  learn about research design, data analysis, and how to conduct research in counseling psychology.
• Assessment and Diagnosis:  learn how to assess and diagnose mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, using different assessment tools and techniques.
• Human Development:  learn how individuals develop physically, cognitively, and socially over the lifespan, and how developmental factors influence mental health.
• Multicultural Counseling:  learn how culture, ethnicity, and other diversity factors impact counseling and the importance of cultural competence in working with diverse populations.
• Ethics and Professional Issues:  learn about ethical and legal issues in counseling, including confidentiality, informed consent, and boundaries.
• Supervised Clinical Practice:  gain hands-on experience in counseling by providing therapy to clients under the supervision of licensed professionals.
• Dissertation:  Students are required to conduct original research in counseling psychology and write a dissertation that demonstrates their ability to contribute to the field.

Here is a sample curriculum:

• Introduction to Counseling Psychology
• Counseling Theories and Techniques
• Research Methods in Counseling Psychology
• Assessment and Diagnosis
• Multicultural Counseling

Second Year

• Human Development and Counseling
• Advanced Counseling Theories and Techniques
• Group Counseling and Group Dynamics
• Ethics and Professional Issues
• Supervised Practicum
• Psychological Testing and Assessment
• Advanced Research Methods in Counseling Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Counseling
• Family Counseling

Fourth Year

• Career Counseling
• Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches in Counseling
• Addictions Counseling
• Dissertation Proposal Development
• Advanced Topics in Counseling Psychology
• Dissertation Research and Writing
• Internship in Counseling Psychology
• Teaching Assistantship
• Professional Development

Career Opportunities

Pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology opens up a wide range of career opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for clinical, counseling, and school psychologists is projected to grow by 3% from 2020 to 2030. Moreover, a PhD in Counseling Psychology allows for a variety of career paths, including clinical practice, teaching, research, consulting, and administration.

See also:  what is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a counseling psychologist?

Professional Recognition

Earning a PhD in Counseling Psychology can lead to professional recognition and respect within the mental health field. Graduates of PhD programs are recognized as experts in their field, and this recognition can open up opportunities for leadership positions, speaking engagements, and consulting work. Moreover, a PhD in Counseling Psychology can provide a competitive advantage when seeking employment or pursuing advanced certification or licensure.

Contribution to the Field

Pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology offers the opportunity to contribute to the field of mental health and make a positive impact on people’s lives. Through research, students can advance the knowledge and understanding of mental health issues and improve treatment approaches. They can also develop and implement innovative interventions that address the unique needs of diverse populations.

According to data from the National Science Foundation, the average cost of tuition and fees for doctoral programs in Psychology (including Counseling Psychology) is approximately $18,100 per year for in-state students at public institutions, and $34,600 per year for out-of-state students at public institutions. At private institutions, the average cost is approximately $33,800 per year.

A PhD in Counseling Psychology opens the doors to a wide range of opportunities in and out of the mental health field including:

• Counseling Psychologist  (or any other licensed psychologist – see some examples below) : After meeting  state-specific licensure requirements , you can provide therapeutic services to individuals, couples, families, or groups in private practice or group practices.  Find counseling psychologist jobs.
• Licensed professional counselor : A licensed professional counselor (LPC) is a certified mental health professional trained to provide therapeutic services to individuals, couples, and groups for a variety of emotional and psychological challenges.  See available LPC jobs on our board.
• School Counselor or Psychologist :  Work in schools to help students navigate academic and personal challenges, although this may require additional certifications depending on the jurisdiction.  See all our available school psychology jobs .
• Forensic Psychologist : While this might require additional training or specialization, you can work within the criminal justice system, evaluating defendants, making recommendations to courts, or providing therapy to offenders. Perhaps a  Ph.D. in forensic psychology  may be a better fit for you however if you are looking to become a forensic psychologist.  Find forensic psychology jobs .
• Sports Psychologist : While this may require further training in sports psychology, it involves working with athletes and teams to optimize performance and deal with sports-related stress.  See our latest sports psychology jobs .
• Researcher : Conduct research in universities or research institutions on topics related to counseling psychology, mental health, interventions, psychopathology, or other related areas.  Find open research jobs .
• Professor : Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and related fields at colleges and universities. This role often includes conducting research, publishing articles, mentoring students, and participating in academic service.
• Consultant : Offer expert advice to organizations, schools, or businesses on topics like stress management, conflict resolution, and employee well-being.
• Director of Counseling Services : Oversee the delivery and quality of counseling services at institutions such as universities or community centers.

The earning potential for someone with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology can vary widely based on factors such as geographical location, years of experience, specific role, work setting, and individual expertise.

Here are some of the average salaries for jobs commonly held by those with a PhD in counseling psychology. The links take you to specific salary guides that provide further insights such as what you can expect as a starting salary and how your salary might grow as you gain years of experience or complete additional education.

• Counseling Psychologist – $81,040
• School Counselor or Psychologist – $60,000
• Forensic Psychologist – $101,000
• Sports Psychologist – $72,255
• Professor – $80,370
• Consultant  – $150,000
• Director of Counseling Services  – $120,000

Choosing a Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology is a significant decision, and several key considerations should guide this choice. When assessing any program, it’s a good idea to visit if possible, talk to current students and faculty, and review program websites and literature for up-to-date statistics and information.

Accreditation

Ensure the program is accredited by a recognized body, such as the  American Psychological Association (APA) . Accreditation ensures the program meets certain standards and can be crucial for licensure and employment. Historically, graduates from APA-accredited programs have had higher  EPPP (Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology)  pass rates compared to non-accredited programs.

Be sure to review the overall cost of any particular PhD program taking into consideration the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses. Tuition and fees for counseling psychology PhD programs can vary widely, from $18,000 a year to nearly $34,000 per year.

Cost of living is frequently overlooked when considering programs but this can significantly impact the overall cost. For example, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living in San Francisco is 62% higher than the national average.

Students should also research available financial aid,  scholarships , and grants, as well as the availability of paid research or teaching assistantships.

Program’s Approach and Curriculum

Some programs may emphasize certain therapeutic modalities, research methods, or populations. Individual preferences vary, but it’s crucial to find a program that aligns with your career goals and theoretical orientation.

Faculty and Research Opportunities

Another important consideration when comparing counseling psychology PhD programs is the faculty and research opportunities available. Students should look for programs that have faculty members who are experts in their areas of interest and who are actively conducting research in those areas. This will provide students with the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced researchers and practitioners in the field. Additionally, students should consider the research opportunities available, such as access to research facilities, grants, and other resources.

Practical Experience and Internship Opportunities

Finally, students should consider the practical experience and internship opportunities offered by any given PhD program.

Students should look for programs that offer ample opportunities for clinical experience, such as supervised  practicums  or internships. Additionally, students should consider the quality of the internship opportunities offered, including the reputation of the sites, the level of supervision, and the diversity of the clients served.

Post-Graduation Job Placement

Investigate where graduates typically work after completing their degrees – in academia, private practice, hospitals, etc. Does this align with your career goals?

The majority of psychology doctorate recipients, around 70% according to the APA, find their first postdoctoral employment in health service provision settings.

Counseling Psychology PhD

Doctor of philosophy in counseling psychology.

The Ph.D. Program in Counseling Psychology is dedicated to the preparation of counseling psychologists who facilitate the optimal development of individuals, groups, and organizations that is culturally relevant and psychologically appropriate across the lifespan. Our students are taught to use strategies of prevention, intervention, and remediation to assist others in developing effective coping skills and responses to their environments.

The program prepares students to meet the following profession wide competencies:

Individuals who successfully complete programs accredited in health service psychology (HSP) must demonstrate knowledge, skills, and competence sufficient to produce new knowledge, to critically evaluate and use existing knowledge to solve problems, and to disseminate research. This area of competence requires substantial knowledge of scientific methods, procedures, and practices.

Doctoral students are expected to: 

• Demonstrate the substantially independent ability to formulate research or other scholarly activities (e.g., critical literature reviews, dissertation, efficacy studies, clinical case studies, theoretical papers, program evaluation projects, program development projects) that are of sufficient quality and rigor to have the potential to contribute to the scientific, psychological, or professional knowledge base. 
• Conduct research or other scholarly activities. 
• Critically evaluate and disseminate research or other scholarly activity via professional publication and presentation at the local (including the host institution), regional, or national level.

Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate competency in each of the following areas:

• Be knowledgeable of and act in accordance with each of the following: 
• the current version of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct; 
• relevant laws, regulations, rules, and policies governing health service psychology at the organizational, local, state, regional, and federal levels; and 
• relevant professional standards and guidelines. 
• Recognize ethical dilemmas as they arise, and apply ethical decision-making processes in order to resolve the dilemmas.
• Conduct self in an ethical manner in all professional activities. 

Trainees must demonstrate knowledge, awareness, sensitivity, and skills when working with diverse individuals and communities who embody a variety of cultural and personal background and characteristics. The Commission on Accreditation defines cultural and individual differences and diversity as including, but not limited to, age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, language, national origin, race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. 

Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate: 

• An understanding of how their own personal/cultural history, attitudes, and biases may affect how they understand and interact with people different from themselves.
• Knowledge of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base as it relates to addressing diversity in all professional activities including research, training, supervision/consultation, and service. 
• The ability to integrate awareness and knowledge of individual and cultural differences in the conduct of professional roles (e.g., research, services, and other professional activities). This includes the ability apply a framework for working effectively with areas of individual and cultural diversity not previously encountered over the course of their careers. Also included is the ability to work effectively with individuals whose group membership, demographic characteristics, or worldviews create conflict with their own.
• Demonstrate the requisite knowledge base, ability to articulate an approach to working effectively with diverse individuals and groups, and apply this approach effectively in their professional work.
• Behave in ways that reflect the values and attitudes of psychology, including integrity, deportment, professional identity, accountability, lifelong learning, and concern for the welfare of others. 
• Engage in self-reflection regarding one’s personal and professional functioning; engage in activities to maintain and improve performance, well-being, and professional effectiveness. 
• Actively seek and demonstrate openness and responsiveness to feedback and supervision.
• Respond professionally in increasingly complex situations with a greater degree of independence as they progress across levels of training. 

Communication and interpersonal skills are foundational to education, training, and practice in psychology. These skills are essential for any service delivery/activity/interaction and are evident across the program’s expected competencies. 

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals, including colleagues, communities, organizations, supervisors, supervisees, and those receiving professional services. 
• Produce and comprehend oral, nonverbal, and written communications that are informative and well-integrated; demonstrate a thorough grasp of professional language and concepts. 
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and the ability to manage difficult communication well. 

Trainees should demonstrate competence in conducting evidence-based assessment consistent with the scope of HSP. 

Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate the following competencies: 

• Demonstrate current knowledge of diagnostic classification systems, functional and dysfunctional behaviors, including consideration of client strengths and psychopathology.
• Demonstrate understanding of human behavior within its context (e.g., family, social, societal and cultural).
• Demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge of functional and dysfunctional behaviors including context to the assessment and/or diagnostic process.
• Select and apply assessment methods that draw from the best available empirical literature and that reflect the science of measurement and psychometrics; collect relevant data using multiple sources and methods appropriate to the identified goals and questions of the assessment as well as relevant diversity characteristics of the service recipient.
• Interpret assessment results, following current research and professional standards and guidelines, to inform case conceptualization, classification, and recommendations, while guarding against decision-making biases, distinguishing the aspects of assessment that are subjective from those that are objective.
• Communicate orally and in written documents the findings and implications of the assessment in an accurate and effective manner sensitive to a range of audiences.

Trainees should demonstrate competence in evidence-based interventions consistent with the scope of HSP. Intervention is being defined broadly to include but not be limited to psychotherapy.  Interventions may be derived from a variety of theoretical orientations or approaches. The level of intervention includes those directed at an individual, a family, a group, an organization, a community, a population, or other systems. 

Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate the ability to: 

• Establish and maintain effective relationships with the recipients of psychological services. 
• Develop evidence-based intervention plans specific to the service delivery goals. 
• Implement interventions informed by the current scientific literature, assessment findings, diversity characteristics, and contextual variables. 
• Demonstrate the ability to apply the relevant research literature to clinical decision making. 
• Modify and adapt evidence-based approaches effectively when a clear evidence-base is lacking, 
• Evaluate intervention effectiveness, and adapt intervention goals and methods consistent with ongoing evaluation. 

Supervision involves the mentoring and monitoring of trainees and others in the development of competence and skill in professional practice and the effective evaluation of those skills. Supervisors act as role models and maintain responsibility for the activities they oversee. Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of supervision models and practices. 

Consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills are reflected in the intentional collaboration of professionals in health service psychology with other individuals or groups to address a problem, seek or share knowledge, or promote effectiveness in professional activities. 

Doctoral students are expected to demonstrate knowledge and respect for the roles and perspectives of other professions, as well as knowledge of consultation models and practices.

Strengths and highlights of our training program include:

In-depth infusion of racial-cultural and social justice emphases throughout program components. Although our curriculum features certain courses with words like "multicultural" in the titles, our multicultural-social justice instruction does not just reside in those courses. Rather, we conceptualize every course and program experience within the context of a social justice and racial-cultural framework. Not only is this orientation consonant with our belief that socially-just practice is ethical, effective practice, it also allows us to align our work with broader movement toward social equity.

Research exposure and opportunities.  At Teachers College, you have the opportunity to get first-rate practitioner preparation in the context of first-rate scholarship. Our faculty includes researchers whose work has shaped the counseling profession, and every faculty member maintains ongoing research teams to which students at any level of training may apply. To find out more about our faculty's research interests, please consult their individual pages on the TC website.

A commitment to the crucial role of experiential training and self-awareness within psychotherapist preparation.  As a counselor or therapist, the instrument that you use to enact your professional work is you -- so the more aware you are of your own interpersonal style, skills, and biases, the more effectively you can use your instrument. Many students find that some of the most important, challenging, and transformational aspects of their TC training results from courses like Foundations, Group Counseling, and Racial-Cultural Counseling Lab, where students learn about themselves as they learn about the practice of psychology.

TC's program of study leading to the doctorate in Counseling Psychology is guided by criteria adopted by the  American Psychological Association  for accredited programs in professional psychology.

The course of study includes:

• Scientific and professional ethics and standards
• Psychological measurement, statistics, and research design and methodology
• Knowledge and understanding of a) history and systems of psychology b) the biological basis of behavior c) the cognitive-affective bases of behavior d) the social bases of behavior (e.g., social psychology) and e) individual behavior (e.g., personality theory, human development)
• Intervention strategies and methods of inquiry; and
• Preparation to undertake a doctoral dissertation.

In developing the necessary mastery of these areas, students are expected to be attentive to the historical roots of counseling psychology, i.e., the study of individual differences, the vocational guidance movement, and the mental health movement. Similarly, they are expected to be prepared for the probable future of counseling psychology in the areas of expertise represented by the faculty, especially the influence of social and cultural systems (home, family, workplace, and environment) on human development and change.

Mentorship model.  Students are advised by the faculty mentor with whom they selected during the application process. The advisor serves the important roles of orienting students to the program and helps them to develop their curriculum plans. Students receive mentorship in research by serving on the research teams of their advisors and ordinarily do research practicum on their mentor’s research team.  The doctoral mentors are:

• Melanie E. Brewster: ( Now interviewing new Ph.D. students to enroll in Fall 2024) Mental and physical health correlates of marginalization and/or objectification; atheism and nonreligious identities; collective action and well-being; instrument development and psychometric evaluation. Co-directs the Sexuality, Women, and Gender Project, which offers a graduate certificate. Link to website . 
• Whitney J. Erby: (Now interviewing new Ph.D. students to enroll in Fall 2024) The relationship between the experience of racism, racial identity, and well-being; career development; Black women’s mental health; couple’s therapy; psychological assessment.
• George V. Gushue: ( Now interviewing new Ph.D. students to enroll in Fall 2024) The influence of racial/cultural attitudes, beliefs, and values on social cognition (e.g., perception, judgment, memory, and attribution) in the areas of client evaluation and counseling practice, career development, and health; group and family counseling; psychosocial dimensions of HIV/AIDS. Link to website. 
• Cindy Y. Huang : Cultural factors associated with child development and psychopathology for ethnic minority and immigrant youth; prevention of psychopathology; culturally-informed child and family interventions; and family, school, and community-based prevention intervention.  Link to website . 
• Marie L. Miville : Multicultural counseling; universal-diverse orientation; Latina/o psychology; LGBT issues; women's issues; intersections of identities; supervision and training.  Link to website.  
• Laura Smith:  Social inclusion/exclusion and wellbeing; psychological dimensions of social class, poverty, and classism; intersections of race and class; Whiteness and antiracism; participatory action research; community-based psychological interventions.  Link to website.
• Derald Wing Sue : Multicultural counseling and therapy, cultural competency, multicultural consultation and organizational development, psychopathology, racism and antiracism, law and ethics.  Link to website.
• Brandon L.  Velez (Director of Clinical Training & currently interviewing new Ph.D. students to enroll in Fall 2024)  The associations of discrimination and identity-related attitudes with mental health and career outcomes among sexual, gender, and racial/ethnic minority individuals, as well as populations with multiple minority identities. Link to website. 

For detailed information about the program and its requirements, please see the Doctoral Student Handbook available for download below.

The Ph.D. program also offers a  Bilingual Latinx Mental Health Concentration .

Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: 

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 336-5979 / Email: [email protected] Web:  www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Admissions Information

Displaying requirements for the Spring 2024, Summer 2024, and Fall 2024 terms.

Doctor of Philosophy

• Points/Credits: 90
• Entry Terms: Fall

Application Deadlines

Select programs remain open beyond our standard application deadlines , such as those with an extended deadline or those that are rolling (open until June or July). If your program is rolling or has an extended deadline indicated above, applications are reviewed as they are received and on a space-available basis. We recommend you complete your application as soon as possible as these programs can close earlier if full capacity has been met.

Application Requirements

Requirements from the TC Catalog (AY 2023-2024)

Displaying catalog information for the Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 terms.

View Full Catalog Listing

The program of study that follows is described in terms of full-time study. Some of the courses may be taken on a part-time basis. However, full-time study after the first 30 applicable credits is required unless the student can present persuasive evidence that his or her living and working circumstances have not prevented, and will not prevent, him/her from taking full advantage of the College’s resources. Certain essential subjects and practica are offered only in the morning and early afternoon hours.

The doctorate degree is granted after successful completion of a minimum of 90 points of planned, sequential study beyond the bachelor’s degree, of which at least 60 points must be taken at Teachers College. The doctoral program is accredited by the American Psychological Association and requires at least five years, including the equivalent of four years of academic study beyond the bachelor’s degree and one calendar year of internship.

Please note that upon admission to the Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology, students will receive a Doctoral Student Handbook for the Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology which will provide updated policy, program features, and requirements. (The most recent handbook is available on the Program website). The program of study leading to the Doctorate in Counseling Psychology is guided by criteria adopted by the American Psychological Association for accredited programs in professional psychology.

The course of studies includes: scientific and professional ethics and standards; psychological measurement, statistics, and research design and methodology; knowledge and understanding of: (a) history and systems of psychology, (b) the biological basis of behavior, (c) the cognitive-affective bases of behavior, (d) the social bases of behavior (e.g., social psychology), and (e) individual behavior (e.g., personality theory and human development), intervention strategies and methods of inquiry; and preparation to undertake a doctoral dissertation.

In developing the necessary mastery of these areas, the student is expected to be attentive to the historical roots of counseling psychology, i.e., the study of individual differences, the vocational guidance movement and the mental health movement. Similarly, she or he is expected to be prepared for the probable future of counseling psychology in the areas of expertise represented by the faculty, especially the influence of social and cultural systems (home, family, workplace, and environment) on human development and change.

In addition to core requirements, courses in specific and specialized areas of counseling psychology are available. Courses in the department are supplemented by appropriate offerings in other Programs and Departments at Teachers College, and Columbia University.

Please note that satisfactory performance in the degree program is defined as no incomplete grades and no courses in which the grade earned is lower than B. Academic dishonesty and unethical behavior may be grounds for immediate dismissal from the program (master’s or doctoral). Specific information regarding curriculum requirements are contained in the Doctoral Student Handbook. In addition to coursework, a number of other academic experiences are required.

Doctoral Certification

Candidacy as a doctoral student expires after a certain number of years. Ph.D. candidates must complete all degree requirements within seven years of first entering the program (six years if they have an applicable master’s degree or 30 points of advanced standing prior to doctoral admission).

Counseling Psychology students do not become official candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy until they have passed: 1) a College-Wide Psychology Research Methods Exam, and 2) a Program Comprehensive exam which includes both a written exam and the submission of a Research Competence project paper. The written exam covers several areas in Counseling Psychology, including: (1) theoretical concepts; (2) core psychology course work; (3) clinical interventions; (4) assessment in career work and personal/social counseling; (5) professional issues such as ethics, professional trends, and developments in counseling psychology. Cultural issues will be infused into the content questions in the exam. In addition, they must satisfy all other requirements for certification prescribed by the Office of Doctoral Studies (ODS). Students who fail to take the certification examination at the appropriate point in their studies are subject to certain penalties. Also there are evaluations done annually to facilitate students’ timely completion of the Ph.D. degree (See Doctoral Student Handbook for more information).

Practicum and Externship

Practicum placements are available both on-campus and off-campus. The Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services (CEPS) is an in-house training clinic located at 657 528 Building. Students may petition program faculty to complete practicum placements off-campus and should contact the Fieldwork Coordinator for further information. A year-long externship placement may be required of students who do not obtain sufficient clinical hours during their practicum rotations.

For doctoral students only: Supervised experience in approved and appropriate agencies, institutions, and establishments. Students are required to petition faculty for internship training and must be approved to apply for an internship. Students must have completed all coursework during the academic year in which they are applying for an internship. Students must have passed all certification and comprehensive examinations as well as have an approved dissertation proposal.

The Dissertation

For most doctoral students, the completion of course requirements presents few problems. Successful completion of a dissertation is usually less easily managed. Unless carefully planned in advance, it can prove a difficult hurdle. Accordingly, the degree program has several built-in features designed to facilitate the formulation and successful execution of an acceptable dissertation proposal and assistance in completing the dissertation. These include the completion of a research competence project, the Dissertation Seminar course, and a Review of Research course.

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Teachers College, Columbia University 428 Horace Mann

Contact Person: Jacob Holober

Phone: (212) 678-3397 Fax: (212) 678-3397

Email: jsh2239@tc.columbia.edu Admissions Inquiries: CCPadmission@tc.columbia.edu

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Counseling Psychology

Graduate Programs

The Counseling Psychology program is committed to the scientist-practitioner model of training wherein professional psychologists are prepared to integrate theory, research, and practice in their practice as agents of knowledge development and change in a diverse society. The program prioritizes research, with students obtaining research, presentation, and publication experiences. The program incorporates diversity, focusing on contextually relevant skills in assessment and intervention with multicultural populations. The program also emphasizes an energetic and collaborative learning atmosphere.

December 1st is the deadline for admission consideration. We are hosting a virtual open house from for interested applicants to know more about the program before the application deadline. RSVP here.

The Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology at Purdue prepares students for professional licensure as a psychologist in the state of Indiana. Contact Eric Deemer at [email protected] before continuing with program application if you have questions regarding licensure or contact your state psychology licensure board about how this program may translate to licensure in your state of residence.

This program does not lead to teacher licensure in the state of Indiana or elsewhere.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Program requirements.

The counseling psychology program offers ONLY the Ph.D. as a terminal degree. A master’s degree is awarded en route to the Ph.D. for students entering the program with a bachelor’s degree, but this degree does not prepare graduates for licensure as a practicing counselor. Students who are unsure that they can or will complete a doctoral program should apply to a master’s program or to a doctoral program that awards a master’s degree as a part of the doctoral requirements.

All program information is available online. The faculty encourage students to inform themselves about the program. At a minimum, please check the Student Handbook.

When applying, please choose “Educational Studies” (for which counseling psychology is under) as a graduate major in the application portal.

Requirements

• Academic Statement of Purpose The academic statement of purpose should be 300-500 words concerning your purpose for undertaking or continuing graduate study at the Purdue Counseling Psychology program, your research interests, career goals, and the faculty member(s) with whom you would prefer to work and why.
• Personal History Statement The personal history statement should be 300-500 words concerning how your background and life experiences contribute to your ability to be both persistent and resourceful in graduate school. Describe how your life experiences have prepared you to contribute to an academic community where scholars with diverse research interests, abilities, backgrounds, and experiences are supported, respected, and valued.
• Submit a Curriculum Vita. Your CV should include a section listing your experience with (a) research and statistics, including courses, (b) teaching, and (c) professional related activities (e.g., organizational leadership, social advocacy, community engagement).
• Description of Previous Program. Please print and fill out the description of previous program.
• Submit three letters of reference describing research skills and potential, counseling skills and potential, and capacity for graduate study.
• Graduate School E-mail Address: [email protected]
• Graduate School Mailing Address: Graduate Studies Office, Purdue University, 100 N. University Street, Room 3229, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098
• One academic writing sampling
• International applications may be required to submit proof of English proficiency .

Student Handbook

Application Instructions for the Counseling Psychology PhD program from the Office of Graduate Studies:

In addition to a submitted application (and any applicable application fees paid), all completed materials must be submitted by the application deadline in order for an application to be considered complete and forwarded on to faculty and the Purdue Graduate School for review.

We encourage prospective students to submit an application early, even if not all required materials are uploaded. Applications are not forwarded on for faculty review until all required materials are uploaded.

When submitting your application for this program, please select the following options:

• Select a Campus: Purdue West Lafayette (PWL)
• Select your proposed graduate major: Educational Studies
• Please select an Area of Interest: Counseling Psychology
• Please select a Degree Objective: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Primary Course Delivery: Residential

Tentative Plan of Study

Supplemental Program Information

Practicum placements.

Students begin the application process to off-site practicum sites following consultation with their advisor the academic year prior to starting off-site. Often this is during student’s 2nd and 3rd years. In the spring semester, the program’s Off-Site Practicum Coordinator hosts a practicum fair for students to learn more about practicum partnerships in the community. After the attending the practicum fair, students contact practicum sites they are most interested in to set up an interview. Students should not contact sites directly before the practicum fair. Below are select examples of off-site practicum locations where our students receive training.

Please note: students may need to satisfy certain eligibility requirements (e.g., background check, drug screening) for some site placements. The placements change regularly as the program adds new sites and other sites become unavailable. Some sites accept only advanced students.

University Counseling Centers

Purdue University, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) – West Lafayette, IN Indiana State University Student Counseling Services – Terre Haute, IN IUPUI Counseling & Psychological Services – Indianapolis, IN Butler University – Indianapolis, IN DePauw University – Greencastle, IN

Veteran’s Hospitals

VA Illiana Health Care System – Danville, IL Richard L Roudebush VA Medical Center – Indianapolis, IN

Community Mental Health Centers

Indiana Women’s Prison – Indianapolis, IN Willowstone Family Services, Inc – Lafayette, IN Wabash Valley Hospital, Inc., Outpatient – Lafayette, IN Four County Counseling Center – Logansport, IN

Wabash Valley / River Bend Hospital – West Lafayette, IN Logansport State Hospital – Logansport, IN

Funding Opportunities

Funding for Counseling Psychology doctoral students is complex and comes from multiple sources. First, students find assistantships in offices across campus, including the Academic Success Center, the Military Family Research Institute, and the Center for Career Opportunities. Students must apply and interview for these positions. Faculty and peers are supportive in filtering assistantship information to students, and faculty assist students in preparing their application materials. Nonetheless, the student is responsible for following up with the information and securing the assistantship. Although our students are very competitive for these positions, the process can be stressful.

Second, students may have opportunities to teach sections of undergraduate courses. These include EPDS 105: Academic and Career Planning, EPDS 315: Collaborative Leadership – Listening, EPDS 316: Collaborative Leadership – Cross-Cultural Settings, and EPDS 317: Collaborative Leadership – Mentoring. Students have also secured teaching assistantships in the Department of Psychological Sciences.

Finally, some students obtain faculty-nominated fellowships, which guarantee funding but require 20 hours per week of work for our home department, Educational Studies. Only a few fellowships are available each year, and they are competitive.

Although funding can be stressful, all current students in the program who want funding have at least a .25 FTE appointment. Regardless, some students obtain federal or private loans to supplement their income.

Tuition and Fees

* In State ** Out-State *** Additional $290 for international

Professional Licensure Disclosure Statement

The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to publicly disclose to prospective and currently enrolled students whether certain programs meet the education requirements for licensure or certification in the state or territory in which they reside. “Programs Leading to Professional Licensure” is defined as programs represented to prepare students for an occupation for which, at completion of the program, a local, state or federal license, or nongovernmental certification is required (i) as a precondition for employment, (ii) to perform certain functions, or (iii) to meet additional conditions that are generally needed to secure employment.

The Ph.D. program in counseling psychology at Purdue prepares students for professional licensure as a psychologist in the state of Indiana. However, the program has not made a determination as to whether its training requirements meet licensure standards in the remaining 49 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and other specified territories. Current and prospective students are advised to contact the psychology licensure board in the jurisdiction in which they expect to practice to determine whether the program meets its licensure standards.

State by state psychology licensure requirements.

Faculty accepting students for 2023-24 admission: Rawan Atari-Khan, Eric Deemer, David Stanley, Xiang Zhou

Faculty accepting students for 2024 Fall admission: Amanda Case, Eric Deemer, Emily Boswell, Xiang Zhou

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Emily Boswell

Amanda s. case, eric deemer, heather servaty-seib, david c. stanley , jr..

We embrace values of equity, social justice, and inclusiveness in all aspects of our training in the Counseling Psychology PhD program. These ideals are also reflected in the diverse backgrounds and cultural identities of faculty and students, which broadly reflect race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical ability, age, national origin, and religion. Consistent with the values of the field of counseling psychology, we strive to train students to advocate with and on behalf of people with marginalized identities to address sociocultural, political, and institutional factors that serve to perpetuate systems of oppression that undermine well-being. To this end, we believe that it is necessary for us all, faculty and students, to explore and reflect upon our own biases, privileges, and blind spots in all aspects of our roles in this program. This ongoing process of critical self-examination and self-awareness can often be an uncomfortable one, particularly as other program members may hold beliefs and values that differ from one’s own. However, we strive to navigate diverse individual and cultural perspectives together in a climate of trust, safety, and support.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the traditional homelands of the Indigenous People which Purdue University is built upon. We honor and appreciate the Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi), Lenape (Delaware), Myaamia (Miami), and Shawnee People who are the original Indigenous caretakers. See: https://www.purdue.edu/naecc/

Search NYU Steinhardt

How to apply phd, clinical/counseling psychology.

This American Psychological Association–accredited doctoral program prepares you to work as a psychologist in colleges, community agencies, clinics, and hospitals. Graduates of this license-qualifying doctoral program are eligible to take the New York State Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.

Official Degree Title

Application Deadline

Program Information

Admissions Information

Primary Research Mentors

The doctoral program in Clinical/Counseling psychology at NYU is a small, individualized scientist-practitioner training program; thus we pay close attention to the match between the candidate and the program’s faculty and resources. In particular, we seek to admit students whose professional interests align with the program as a whole and whose research interests are well-matched with those of one or more faculty member. Each new student will be matched with a primary research mentor and will also be supported by secondary faculty mentors in other research and clinical roles.

The faculty who are available to serve as primary research mentors for the Fall 2025 admission are:

• Anil Chacko
• Shabnam Javdani
• William Tsai
• A. Jordan Wright

Other faculty are pote ntially available to serve as secondary mentors, so we encourage you to write about your interests and experiences that demonstrate that you are a good match with the program as a whole as well as with your potential primary mentor.

Admissions Requirements

Candidates to this doctoral program require 18 prior credits (or 6 courses) in psychology, including at least one course in statistics.

How to Apply

These instructions and requirements are for all applicants. If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, please read the  special instructions for international applicants .

Your application will require the following items. The following are acceptable document types for uploads: .pdf, .jpeg, .jpg, .gif, .tiff, .png, .doc, .docx, and bitmap.

1. Prepare Your Application

You are required to upload a copy of your most recent résumé or curriculum vitae as part of your application.

Statement of Purpose

We are looking for students who appreciate and desire a career that includes research and practice, integrating social justice and diversity in both areas. Please speak to this for your career trajectory in a typed - double spaced three to four page statement of purpose which you upload to your application.

Letters of Recommendation

Submit  three  letters of recommendation. Be sure to request them well in advance of the deadline. Read  detailed instructions .

Transcripts

Upload one official copy of transcripts from every postsecondary school you have attended or are attending. Make sure to request them in advance of the deadline.

If you completed or are completing a degree at an institution outside of the US or Canada, you are required to provide a WES or ECE evaluation. Please review our requirements for translation and a course-by-course evaluation of your transcripts.

See  detailed instructions on submitting transcripts .

Not required.

The GRE (both the general test and the GRE subject test) is not a requirement for applications to the Clinical/Counseling Psychology PhD program. Even if GREs are submitted, they will not be considered.

Proficiency in English

See  testing requirements .

Interview Date

The interview date for the 2025 cycle is TBD.

Application

Start your application now

After you fill in and upload the required information, you can submit your completed application.  Your application must be completed, dated, electronically signed, and submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST of the stated deadline.

Application Fee

You will be prompted to pay a $75 application fee, payable by major credit card only. After submitting your payment, you will see your application status change from “saved” to “submitted.” Please print this screen for your records, as it confirms that your application has been successfully sent to our school. If you have problems submitting your payment, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions. Learn more about our  fee waiver policy .

Mailing Additional Items

If any application materials need to be mailed to our office, mail the materials to NYU Steinhardt, Office of Graduate Admissions, 82 Washington Square East, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10003-6680.  Please do not mail your materials in binders or folders. Any mailed materials must be  received by, not postmarked by, the stated deadline . Only completed applications will be considered and reviewed by the Admissions Committee. Due to high volume, we are unable to confirm receipt of mailed materials.

Application Policies

Application deadlines are "in-office" deadlines, not postmark deadlines.  It is your responsibility to ensure that all materials are in the Office of Graduate Admissions by the appropriate deadline, and we reserve the right to return any application that arrives after the deadline. Only completed applications will be considered. Should a deadline fall on a weekend, the in-office deadline will be the next business day. We advise you to apply early.

Please check the online system to confirm that you have successfully submitted your application.  Due to the volume of applications and related materials received, the Office of Graduate Admissions will only contact you if your application was successfully submitted and is deemed incomplete because of missing required materials. Otherwise, you will hear from us when the admissions committee has made its decision.

Deferral policy:  NYU Steinhardt does not allow deferrals. Applicants who wish to be considered for a future semester must reapply by submitting a new application with all supporting materials, including letters of recommendation, by the application deadline.

3. Receive Your Admission Decision

You will be notified about your decision by email. Typically, decisions will start going out in late March or early April for fall enrollment. You may learn of your decision before or after this timeline.

The PhD in Counseling Psychology program at Northeastern is designed to train the next generation of mental health professionals.

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A Toolkit for Healthier Population

Critical Need in Tracking Young Students’ Progress

PhD Candidate Wins Prestigious Fellowship

The PhD Program in Counseling Psychology offers doctoral education and training in psychology and prepares students for entry-level practice in counseling psychology. Doctoral level counseling psychologists conduct research, teach at the university level, supervise students and professionals, consult with community agencies, and provide clinical services to people across the developmental lifespan. Counseling psychologists also enhance the science of health promotion and health psychology and emphasize community-based interventions.

Mission:  It is the mission of the PhD in Counseling Psychology program to train multiculturally competent counseling psychologists who are: (1) clinically adept in multiple settings with a variety of psychological and health-related issues; (2) able to conceptualize, conduct, and evaluate research across biological, cultural, and relational systems in numerous social contexts, such as families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities.

Our clinical training prepares counseling psychologists to work in various settings with individuals presenting with a variety of psychological and health-related issues. We emphasize an ecological model which encourages the conceptualization of relationships and research across multiple systems: biological, cultural, and relational. These relationships occur in various social contexts, including families, schools, neighborhoods and communities.

• Merging of science and practice within multicultural and urban contexts
• Translational research related to health promotion of individuals, groups, families, and communities
• Opportunities for empirically-based practice in urban community centers, agencies, schools, and hospitals
• Development of consultation and leadership skills in researchers and practitioners
• To prepare graduates for the role of professional psychologists, to include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes.
• To foster understanding and application of the scientific basis of clinical practice in psychotherapy and clinical assessment.
• To produce graduates who possess advanced and applied research skills within an ecological perspective.
• To produce graduates who are committed to and demonstrate ethical practice as counseling psychologists.
• To produce graduates who are multiculturally competent across sources of difference, including race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion/spirituality, disability, and sexual orientation, in both clinical and research settings.
• To advance the field of counseling psychology using program strengths: (a) an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to clinical services provision and enhancement of the science of health promotion and health psychology; (b) stress on urban, community-based interventions using an ecological approach.

Northeastern’s Counseling Psychology Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) The next APA accreditation site visit will be held in 2024.

At least two years of intensive clinical training is required. This preparation includes advanced fieldwork at various mental health settings in the Boston area. Students are expected to be at their site for 20 hours each week. Approximately half of their time is direct service delivery. Training goals include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision, and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes. Students must complete a one year, full-time pre-doctoral internship that has been approved by the program.

Where They Work

• McLean Hospital
• Boston Children’s Hospital
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Arbor Counseling Services

What They Do

• Healthcare Services
• Community and Social Services
• Business Development
• Entrepreneurship

What They’re Skilled At

• Mental Health
• Psychotherapy
• Public Speaking

Application Materials

Application.

• Application fee – US $100
• Three letters of recommendation
• Transcripts from all institutions attended
• Personal Statement
• TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution and whose native language is not English
• 3.5 GPA and above preferred
• Masters degree in psychology or related field
• Official GRE General is optional
• Personal interview

Application Deadline: December 1st

• Program Website

Request Information for PhD in Counseling Psychology

Counseling PhD Degree Guide | Salary & Requirements 2024

As we start to recover from the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative effects of long-term mental health symptoms are now at the forefront of the national discussion on public health. 

Now is a great time to advance your  counseling education  and career as the U.S  Bureau of Labor Statistics  (BLS) projects that the profession will grow 8% between 2020 and 2030. This resource covers everything you need to know about a PhD in Counseling including career outlook, salaries, and program requirements. 

What is Counseling?

The  American Counseling Association  defines counseling as a professional relationship between individuals, families, and groups to achieve mental health, wellness, education, and career goals. 

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Counseling typically requires both a  bachelor’s  and  master’s degree in psychology . There are many counseling specialties to pursue including  school counseling , marriage and family therapist,  mental health counselor , and professor.

What Can I Do With a PhD in Counseling?

While a master’s degree in counseling allows you to become a licensed professional counselor and have a private practice, a doctorate degree is needed to obtain high-level positions with:

• Universities
• School system
• Community centers

A doctorate degree expands the counseling scope of work and allows you to provide your patients with more treatment options, and types of researched-based therapy.

PhD in Counseling Salaries and Career Outlook

The specialized area of counseling, industry, and job location help determine your salary. According to the BLS, the median salary of a counselor in 2020 was  $79,820  with jobs in government and healthcare paying the most. 

The career outlook for people holding a PhD in psychology is good with a projected growth of  8%  from 2020-2030. However, this projection is not a guarantee of industry growth. 

Counseling PhD Career Paths

PhD graduates looking to begin their counseling profession have many career opportunities, including the following:

• Median Salary: $58,120 
• Career Outlook: +11% (2020-2030)

School and career counselors help students with social and academic skills that will help them both in and out of the classroom. 

• Median Salary: $37,530 
• Career Outlook: +10% (2020-2030)

Rehabilitation counselors help people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities live an independent life.

• Median Salary: $80,790 

Counseling professors teach college and university students theory and foundation on how to become a counselor.

• Median Salary: $51,340 
• Career Outlook: +16% (2020-2030)

MFTs use tools and proven techniques to help couples and individuals work through emotions, behavior, and thoughts to better their lives and relationships.

 Source: BLS 

Earning a PhD in Counseling

Earning a doctorate degree in counseling is a commitment to advancing both your skills, expertise, and scope of work as a counselor while also opening up many career paths and opportunities in the field of psychology.  

There are many things to consider when considering a doctorate school program including the pros and cons, coursework, what skills you’ll master, and the required time commitment. 

Pros and Cons of Counseling PhD Programs

A PhD in counseling offers different specialty areas that you can choose from. While a master’s degree in counseling allows you to work in clinical practice, having a PhD allows you to work in professional practice.

The pros of obtaining a PhD in counseling include:

• Diversity of career paths
• Job opportunities available
• Projected growth of the industry
• The opportunity to help people
• Possibility to earn a good income

The cons of obtaining a master’s degree in psychology include:

• Potential stress
• Requirement to work odd hours
• The financial burden of attending school
• The amount of time it takes to obtain a graduate degree 

Doctoral Degree vs. PhD in Counseling

When deciding to get a Doctoral Degree in Counseling, you have the option of pursuing either a  PhD program or a Doctor in Psychology (PsyD)  degree program.

The main difference between the two degrees is the area of focus.

A PhD program is the most popular option and is rooted in conducting research and theory, while a  PsyD program  is rooted in clinical applications and patient interactions. 

A PhD program requires a master’s degree to apply. However, there are a few PsyD programs that will accept students with only a bachelor’s degree. This program typically combines earning both a master’s and doctoral degree with one program.

Both PhD and PsyD programs typically require a dissertation or research project on a specific topic.  

Courses in Counseling PhD Programs

PhD program curriculum may vary based on what program you specialize in.  

However, there are many general core classes that are usually required for all types of psychology programs. These doctoral-level classes may include:

• Counseling theory
• Human behavior
• Group therapy
• Social issues
• Abuse and trauma
• Substance abuse
• Interpersonal relationships

Programs also conclude with a research-based practicum or dissertation. 

Skills Learned in a PhD in Counseling Program

The skills you will learn in a PhD program will help guide your career as a counselor and help you make a significant impact on your clients or patients.  

A few of these  vital skills  include:

• Problem Solving
• Leadership skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Project management
• Organizational skills
• Self management
• Written and oral communication skills

How Long Does it Take to Get a Counseling PhD?

On average, a PhD program usually takes about 4-8 years to complete. This timeline depends on:

• Whether you study online
• Full-time or part-time learning
• Previous education
• Your specialization
• How long it takes to complete your dissertation 

PhD programs in counseling typically require 90-150 semester credit hours depending on the area of concentration and program modality.

Choosing the Best PhD in Counseling

Your decision on what PhD program to pursue is highly individual and should focus on your career goals, financial situation, family obligations, and whether you will be working while attending school. 

10 Best Schools With Counseling Programs in the US

• Northwestern University
• Boston College
• University of Chicago
• Columbia University in the City of New York
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Denver
• Lehigh University
• Northeastern University
• Fordham University
• Boston University

If you’re looking for other schools that offer Counseling PhD programs, check out the Find Your Perfect “U” tool. You can search over 6,000 colleges and universities with 11 different filters to find the  perfect school for you !

Counseling PhD Specializations

There are many areas of focus for those with a PhD in counseling and can include:

• Marriage and family therapy
• Education/school
• Mental health counseling
• Rehabilitation
• Program director

Online vs. On Campus Degrees

Online PhD programs are becoming more abundant, and many schools allow students to complete the degree on a part-time or full-time basis. The biggest benefits of online learning include:

• Flexibility and self-paced learning
• Better time management
• Improved virtual and communication and collaboration
• Faster graduation times
• Ability to work from anywhere

However, many students may choose to complete an in-person program for its networking and social aspects.

How Long do Online Courses Take to Complete?

On average, an online PhD degree in counseling usually takes about 4 years to complete. However, this timeline is dependent on if you study full-time or part-time, as well as previous education completed.

Accelerated programs are also available that allow you to complete the program in less time, but are faced-paced and rigorous. 

Counseling Certifications and Licensure

Many careers in counseling also require a license or certification to practice or obtain a job. It is important to research requirements for your desired career path and choose a school, program, and specialty that prepare you to meet your career goals. 

The specific license or certification required varies by state. Make sure to check your desired field’s requirements before you commit to a school or program.  

Accreditation

Accreditation is critical for any education institute as it certifies that the school and its curriculum meet the appropriate standards and qualifications outlined by the  U.S. Department of Education  and/or the  Council for Higher Education  accreditation. 

Choosing an accredited program is extremely important as it gives degrees credibility and is valued by employers. 

Many programs and departments within a school may have a separate accreditation called programmatic accreditation. This accreditation elevates the credibility of the program and shows that the department has designed a program that meets industry standards. 

Programmatic accreditation, such as from the  Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs  (CACREP) also ensures that students receive the appropriate training and knowledge to be successful in their given fields. 

Applying to Counseling Programs

Admissions requirements for PhD in counseling degree programs depend on the type of school, degree, and program modality desired. A master’s degree, letters of recommendation, GRE score, work experience, and prior grades are a few examples of typical application requirements.

There are many resources available to help you find schools, research financial aid packages, and apply to college programs. For example, the  Common App  is a one-stop shop for planning your educational future. 

Admission Requirements for PhD in Counseling Programs

Admission requirements for a phd in counseling degree program typically include:.

• Transcripts (high GPAs are preferred)
• Master’s degree
• Resume of work and experience
• 2-3 Letters of recommendation
• Formal interview
• Criminal background check
• Application fee

Paying for a PhD in Counseling

Deciding to go back to school is not only a big-time commitment, but it is also a big financial commitment. Tuition costs can vary depending on the school, program, required units, and projects.

There are many avenues of financial assistance available to help with tuition costs including financial aid,  scholarships , grants, internships, work study programs, and corporate reimbursement from your current company. 

Counseling PhD Degree Costs

Tuition costs for a master’s program depend on if the school is private or public and instate vs. out-of-state residence status. Depending on this criteria, one can expect to pay in the range on average $30,000 a year to complete a PhD program.

Scholarships for Counseling Students

Many scholarship opportunities are available for counseling students. Here are a few opportunities to consider.

• NAJA Graduate Scholarship
• Institute for Human Studies Hayek Fund for Scholars
• Medical research scholarships 
• GFWC of Massachusetts Memorial Education Scholarship for Graduate Studies

Counseling Career Resources

Professional organizations are a great way to stay up-to-date on current psychology trends as well as a place to seek networking and educational opportunities. Here are a few options:

• American Psychological Association (APA)
• American Counseling Association (ACA)
• International Association of Counselors (IAC)
• American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)

Counseling PhD FAQ

• Yes. As mental health becomes a more prominent and talked about public health issue, job opportunities for counselors will be on the rise. Having a PhD in the field opens up many options and career paths. 
• There are many career options for someone with a PhD in counseling including; professor, researcher, school counselor, program manager, mental health counselor, and marriage and family therapist.
• The BLS estimates that a counselor with a PhD on average will make  $79,820 .
• The average time it takes to get a PhD is usually between 4-8 years depending on whether you study full or part-time, whether you work while in the program, and how long it takes to finish your dissertation. 

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• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm#tab-6
• https://www.counseling.org/aca-community/learn-about-counseling/what-is-counseling
• https:/ / www.bestcounselingdegrees.net/degrees/doctorate-in-counseling/
• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm#tab-5
• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm
• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/rehabilitation-counselors.htm
• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm
• https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/marriage-and-family-therapists.htm
• https://www.bestcounselingdegrees.net/rankings/doctoral/counseling-psychology-programs/
• https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology/psyd-vs-phd-programs/
• https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/counseling/phd/
• https://careercenter.umich.edu/article/phd-transferable-skills
• https://www.beyondphdcoaching.com/academic-career/how-much-does-a-phd-cost/#:~:text=The%20average%20cost%20of%20a,quarter%20of%20a%20million%20dollars.
• https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarship-directory/academic-major/psychology-counseling

Counseling Psychology, PhD

• Program description
• At a glance
• Degree requirements
• Admission requirements
• Tuition information
• Application deadlines
• Career opportunities
• Professional licensure
• Contact information

Diversity, Health, Mental Health, Psychology, School, Scientist, Wellness, clinical, counseling, helping

Prepare to be part of the next generation of psychologists. Train to serve diverse communities in clinical settings in the U.S. Southwest and beyond. You can also use this degree to pursue an academic career.

This American Psychological Association-accredited PhD program in counseling psychology adheres closely to the scientist-practitioner training model in preparing graduates for employment in academic and clinical settings.

Although faculty interests are diverse, there is a common emphasis on using empirical data as the basis for culturally-responsive professional practice. The program boasts a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as evidenced in course offerings, clinical training, professional development activities and research foci.

Faculty research foci include the following:

• acculturative stress
• cultural socialization
• LGBTQ+ mental health
• mental health disparities
• microaggressions
• psychotherapy process and outcome
• retention in graduate education
• social and personal relationships
• socioeconomic status and financial stress
• trans and nonbinary minority stress and resilience

Students enjoy exceptional clinical opportunities including placement in local hospitals, university and college counseling centers, community agencies and assessment sites. The program's state-of-the-art Counselor Training Center provides practicum experiences with campus and community clients as well as clinical supervision experiences. The center supports three complementary functions: clinical service provision, high-quality training, and innovative process and outcome research.

• College/school: College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
• Location: Tempe

115 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Counseling Essentials Core Area (27 credit hours) CED522 Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy (3) CED523 Psychological Tests (3) CED534 Occupations and Careers (3) CED545 Assessment and Diagnosis (3) CED567 Group Dynamics and Counseling (3) CED 576 Foundations of Counseling (3) CED577 Counseling Pre-practicum (3) CPY645 Professional Issues and Ethics (3) CPY671 Multicultural Counseling (3)

General Psychology Core Area (15 credit hours) CPY679 History and Systems (3) CPY654 Biological Bases (3) CPY676 Social Bases of Behavior (3) CED529 Lifespan Human Development (3) CPY691 Advanced Aspects of Cognitive and Affective Psychology (3)

Empirical Foundations Core Area (15 credit hours) CPY701 Science and Practice of Counseling Psychology (3) CPY702 Research Methods in Counseling Psychology (3) CED502 Counseling Data Analysis (3) EDP552 Multiple Regression and Correlation Methods (3) COE503 Intro to Qualitative Research (3)

Clinical Sequencing (21 credit hours) CED680 Beginning Practicum (3) CPY780 Advanced Practicum (3) CPY783 Fieldwork (12) CPY784 Pre-doctoral Internship (3) CPY691 Advanced Aspects of Cognitive and Affective Psychology (3)

Professional Development (4) CPY635 Professional Development (1)

Counseling Theory and Method (18 credit hours) CPY 677 Advanced Counseling (3) CPY 678 Supervision Theory (3) CPY 651 Personality Assessment (3) CPY 644 Psychology of Career (3) CPY 660 Prevention and Consultation (3) Diversity Course elective (3)

Research (3 or 6 credit hours) CPY592 Research Topic: Pre-Dissertation Research Paper (3) CPY 792 Research (3)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) CPY 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Students will take four semesters of CPY635 at one credit hour per semester. For the diversity course elective in the Counseling Theory and Method coursework, students will select from a list of electives in Area 5 as provided in the Graduate Student Handbook. Research courses should be selected in consultation with your program advisor.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or they must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• personal statement
• a completed biographical information form
• writing sample
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

The personal statement should be single-spaced, roughly 600--800 words, and it should describe the applicant's history, academic and professional goals, and reasons for selecting the counseling psychology program at ASU.

Applicants must submit a sample of their expository writing (e.g., taken from a paper prepared for a course or a report on a project the applicant has completed in this field) not to exceed 1MB.

At least two of the recommendation letters must be from persons familiar with the applicant's academic work.

Graduates provide clinical services in a variety of settings, such as community agencies, hospitals, private practice and university counseling centers. They also are employed in academic positions in universities across the country.

ASU programs that may lead to professional licensure or certification are intended to prepare students for potential licensure or certification in Arizona. Completion of an ASU program may not meet educational requirements for licensure or certification in another state. For more information, students should visit the ASU professional licensure webpage.

Graduates of the counseling psychology doctoral program meet the licensure requirements of most states. Because requirements vary by state, it is recommend that students consult the licensing requirements for the state in which they intend to reside.

School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology | EDB 446 [email protected] 480-965-8733

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Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Evan Polenghi

Ph.D. vs. Psy.D.

Job opportunities, earning a degree, specialty areas, alternatives.

Getting a Ph.D. in psychology can open up a whole new world of career opportunities. For many careers paths in psychology-related career paths, a doctoral degree is necessary to obtain work and certification. A Ph.D. is one option, but it is not the only educational path that's available to reach some of these goals.

A Ph.D., or doctor of philosophy, is one of the highest level degrees you can earn in the field of psychology . If you're considering pursuing a graduate degree, you might be wondering how long it takes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology . Generally, a bachelor's degree takes four years of study. While a master's degree requires an additional two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's, a doctoral degree can take between four to six years of additional graduate study after earning your bachelor's degree.

Recently, a new degree option known as the Psy.D. , or doctor of psychology, has grown in popularity as an alternative to the Ph.D. The type of degree you decide to pursue depends on a variety of factors, including your own interests and your career aspirations.

Before deciding which is right for you, research your options and decide if graduate school in psychology is even the best choice for you. Depending on your career goals, you might need to earn a master's or doctoral degree in psychology in order to practice in your chosen field. In other instances, a degree in a similar subject such as counseling or social work may be more appropriate.

A doctorate in psychology is required if you want to open your own private practice.

If you want to become a licensed psychologist, you must earn either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.

In most cases, you will also need a doctorate if you want to teach and conduct research at the college or university level. While there are some opportunities available for people with a master's degree in various specialty fields, such as industrial-organizational psychology and health psychology , those with a doctorate will generally find higher pay, greater job demand, and more opportunity for growth.

In order to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, you need to first begin by earning your bachelor's degree. While earning your undergraduate degree in psychology can be helpful, students with bachelor's degrees in other subjects can also apply their knowledge to psychology Ph.D. programs . Some students in doctorate programs may have a master's degree in psychology , but most doctorate programs do not require it.

After you’ve been admitted to a graduate program, it generally takes at least four years to earn a Ph.D. and another year to complete an internship. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, you can take state and national exams to become licensed to practice psychology in the state where you wish to work.

Once you enter the graduate level of psychology, you will need to choose an area of specialization, such as clinical psychology , counseling psychology, health psychology, or cognitive psychology . The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits graduate programs in three areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology.   If you are interested in going into one of these specialty areas, it's important to choose a school that has received accreditation through the APA.

For many students, the choice may come down to a clinical psychology program versus a counseling psychology program. There are many similarities between these two Ph.D. options, but there are important distinctions that students should consider. Clinical programs may have more of a research focus while counseling programs tend to focus more on professional practice. The path you choose will depend largely on what you plan to do after you complete your degree.

Of course, the Ph.D. in psychology is not the only graduate degree option. The Psy.D. is a doctorate degree option that you might also want to consider. While there are many similarities between these two degrees, traditional Ph.D. programs tend to be more research-oriented while Psy.D. programs are often more practice-oriented.

The Ph.D. option may be your top choice if you want to mix professional practice with teaching and research, while the Psy.D. option may be preferred if you want to open your own private psychology practice.

In the book "An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology," authors John C. Norcross and Michael A. Sayette suggest that one of the key differences between the two-degree options is that the Ph.D. programs train producers of research while Psy.D. programs train consumers of research. However, professional opportunities for practice are very similar with both degree types.

Research suggests that there are few discernible differences in terms of professional recognition, employment opportunities, or clinical skills between students trained in the Ph.D. or Psy.D. models. One of the few differences is that those with a Ph.D. degree are far more likely to be employed in academic settings and medical schools.

Social work, counseling, education, and the health sciences are other graduate options that you may want to consider if you decide that a doctorate degree is not the best fit for your interests and career goals.

A Word From Verywell

If you are considering a Ph.D. in psychology, spend some time carefully researching your options and thinking about your future goals. A doctoral degree is a major commitment of time, resources, and effort, so it is worth it to take time to consider the right option for your goals. The Ph.D. in psychology can be a great choice if you are interested in being a scientist-practitioner in the field and want to combine doing research with professional practice. It's also great training if you're interested in working at a university where you would teach classes and conduct research on psychological topics.

University of Pennsylvania; School of Arts and Sciences. Information for applicants .

American Psychological Association. Doctoral degrees in psychology: How are they different, or not so different?

U.S. Department of Labor.  Psychologists . Occupational Outlook Handbook .

Norcross JC, Sayette MA. An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (2020/2021 ed.) . New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2020.

Davis SF, Giordano PJ, Licht CA. Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work . John Wiley & Sons; 2012. doi:10.1002/9781444315929

US Department of Education. Bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by sex of student and discipline division: 2016-17 .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

What Is A Doctorate In Counseling? Everything You Should Know

Updated: Jan 20, 2023, 11:00am

Pursuing a doctorate in counseling requires careful consideration, especially regarding your career goals, schedule and financial backing. Counseling doctoral programs often require a master’s degree for admission, plus coursework, a dissertation and an internship to earn the degree.

In this article, we overview the two types of doctorates in counseling, along with common admission and course requirements and potential careers for graduates.

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What Does a Doctorate in Counseling Entail?

Like most doctoral degrees, a doctorate in counseling requires a significant time commitment. Program length and credit requirements vary by institution. However, many programs allow candidates to complete their doctorates in three to eight years. Subjects covered typically include counseling and research, practicum training, an internship and a dissertation.

Doctorate in Counseling Admission Requirements

Competition is fierce among doctoral programs, which carry more stringent admission requirements than bachelor’s and master’s degrees. While certain admission requirements are common for counseling doctoral programs, exact requirements vary by institution.

Requirements typically include a master’s in counseling or a mental-health-related field, professional letters of recommendation, official transcripts from previous coursework, a resume or curriculum vitae, GRE scores, a personal statement and an interview.

As previously stated, however, requirements may vary. Some universities may ask that applicants hold a master’s degree accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). You might have a traditional or online master’s in counseling , a master of education in counseling or a similar degree. Applicants with other master’s degrees may need to complete additional coursework.

Some programs may have minimum GPA standards or require applicants to complete oral and written admission exams or submit a writing sample.

Types of Doctorate in Counseling Degrees

You can earn two types of doctoral degrees in counseling: a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) or a doctor of education (Ed.D.). Most states require licensed clinical professional counselors (LCPCs) to hold CACREP-accredited degrees. CACREP accredits both Ph.D.s and Ed.D.s, meaning either degree type can lead to an LCPC license or the equivalent licensure.

Counseling Ph.D. Programs

Ph.D. in counseling programs are more common than Ed.D.s. and tend to be highly competitive, often accepting fewer than 10 graduates annually.

A Ph.D. program typically involves four to six years of full-time learning. Ph.D. programs emphasize research or teaching experience rather than working directly with patients. Still, Ph.D. in counseling programs generally include a year-long internship and may lead to licensure.

Ph.D. programs often provide students with various opportunities for tuition reduction or stipends through teaching or research assistantships, scholarships, fellowships or even tuition remission.

Counseling Ed.D. Programs

Since an Ed.D. is an education degree, counseling Ed.D. programs typically cater to education professionals who work or want to work in the counseling space.

These degrees examine the ways in which counseling and education intersect. Graduates might go on to work in research, education administration, higher education or clinical practice.

Many Ed.D. programs take just three years for full-time students to complete, but completion times vary widely depending on enrollment status and other factors.

CACREP accredits Ed.D. programs much less frequently than Ph.D. programs. However, several CACREP-accredited Ed.D. programs exist. For example, National Louis University’s Ed.D. in counselor education and supervision and Shippensburg University’s Ed.D. in counselor education and supervision are both set to receive CACREP accreditation within two years.

Common Requirements for Counseling Doctoral Programs

Courses in counseling doctoral programs vary by university, but certain courses, such as those below, are common among most programs.

Advanced Theories of Counseling

An effective counselor can meet the unique needs and circumstances of each client. This course prepares students with a variety of traditional and contemporary counseling theories and methods, including psychoanalytic, cognitive, humanistic and constructivist.

Advanced Multicultural Counseling

In addition to advanced theories of counseling, doctoral students study the implications of counseling in our multicultural society. Learners engage in in-depth study of various oppression models, racial and ethnic identity development and practices for counseling culturally diverse clients.

Counseling Internship

Near the end of their program, doctoral candidates put theory into practice. They are expected to complete a supervised internship in which they meet a specified number of practice hours. The internship is often in addition to a practicum or externship requirement. In some cases, doctoral candidates must have a dissertation proposal approved and complete all required examinations before they qualify to pursue an internship.

Dissertation

Typically the final requirement of a doctorate program, the dissertation is a research project that entails a significant amount of original research. Students develop and present a prospectus—a preliminary document that overviews their thesis, means of research and expected outcomes—to their dissertation committee for approval. Once approved, doctoral candidates carry out their research, write their dissertation and defend it in front of the committee.

The dissertation is often the most time-consuming part of a doctoral program and can take over a year to complete. In their final semesters, candidates can expect to enroll in a dissertation advisement course for a year, followed by dissertation extension courses as allowed by their program.

Careers for Doctorate in Counseling Graduates

Licensed professional counselor.

Median Annual Salary: $48,520 Projected Job Growth (2021-2031): +22% Job Description: Licensed professional counselors evaluate clients’ mental and physical health, create treatment plans, help clients identify detrimental behaviors that inhibit their progress and assist with developing coping skills. Job specifics may vary depending on a counselor’s specialty. Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors, for example, may work with clients who are court-ordered or in crisis situations.

Postsecondary Education Administrator

Median Annual Salary: $96,910 Projected Job Growth (2021-2031): +7% Job Description: There are many postsecondary administrative roles within colleges and universities, and two of the most common are provost and dean. A provost oversees all departments and works directly with the college president on policy development, budget management and tenure decisions. An academic dean typically oversees academics, research and budget for a particular department.

Postsecondary Psychology Teacher

Median Annual Salary: $77,860 Projected Job Growth (2021-2031): +10% Job Description: Postsecondary psychology teachers may teach various higher education courses either online or in person. Their responsibilities include developing syllabi, designing lessons and assessing student learning. Additional duties may include supervising graduate students, conducting and publishing research and serving on committees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Counseling Doctoral Programs

Is it worth it to get a ph.d. in counseling.

If you are interested in working in postsecondary education as a professor or dean at a university, a Ph.D. is often required and therefore worth the investment. On the other hand, if you’re wondering how to become a mental health counselor , a master’s degree in counseling suffices for licensure, so you may not need a doctoral degree.

What does a Ph.D. in counseling look like?

A Ph.D. in counseling typically takes at least four years of full-time study. This degree often takes longer to complete, however, depending on the time required to write and defend your dissertation. Doctoral students can expect to complete core coursework in areas like counseling, research practices and general psychology.

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Brandon Galarita is a freelance writer and K-12 educator in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is passionate about technology in education, college and career readiness and school improvement through data-driven practices.

College of Education

Counseling psychology doctoral program.

The University of Houston's Counseling Psychology doctoral program generates new knowledge and trains community-engaged change agents. We provide our students the tools they need to help others navigate the modern world. Our students have the opportunity to contribute to unique research opportunities in behavioral health, multiculturalism and social justice. Situated within one of the nation's most diverse cities, we have developed relationships with a variety of unique practicum locations, including several within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center.

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About the Program

The Counseling Psychology doctoral program trains psychologists to become health service psychologists and psychological researchers. Our nationally recognized and competitive program offers a challenging curriculum, a supportive student environment, student-faculty mentorship, excellent and diverse sites for clinical training, and multiple opportunities for research.

The following faculty are currently accepting new students:

Dr. blake allan, dr. consuelo arbona, dr. virmarie correa-fernández, dr. marcel de dios, dr. nathan grant smith, option: health psychology emphasis.

For those Counseling Psychology doctoral students who wish to add a Health Psychology Emphasis to their doctoral training, there is additional coursework that can be integrated into your program. This 15-hour minor includes three courses (two required and one elective) and two semesters of clinical health psychology practicum (which can be one of the practicum placements already included in the doctoral program). Hence, this is only an addition of nine credit hours. It is also possible to gain exposure to this topic by taking one or two courses. For more details on this option, please see pages 11-12 of the doctoral program handbook available on this website.

• Accredited American Psychological Association since 1987
• 5 - 6 years to complete the degree
• Counseling Psychology Student Handbook
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What will I learn while attending the counseling psychology program?

Students develop professional leadership, ethical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills through:

• Candidacy research project
• Comprehensive exam
• Dissertation

Since degree plans change periodically, students will follow the degree plan that is in place at the time in which they complete an official, approved degree plan. Students enter the program with either a Master’s or Undergraduate degree. Please see page 13 of the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. Program Handbook for the most current sample degree plans.

What can I do with my degree?

The program offers the preparation necessary for students to apply for licensure as psychologists in Texas. Our graduates are employed in settings such as:

• Colleges and University Psychology Departments
• University and College Counseling Centers
• Community Agencies
• Private Practice
• K-12 schools

Important Counseling Psychology Documents and Resources

The following is a collection of important documents and other resources

• Resource Guide for Ethnic Minority Graduate Students
• A Guide for LGBT Students Navigating Graduate Training
• Evaluation of Practicum Student Competencies
• Sample Practicum Contract
• Supervisor Evaluation Form
• Practicum Hours Log

Counseling Psychology Faculty

The following is a list of current counseling psychology faculty:.

Counseling Psychology Program

Faculty Profile | Email

Dr. Chakema Carmack

Dr. robert h. mcpherson.

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The Counseling Psychology faculty's research ranges from stress and coping in the LGBTQ community and tobacco cessation to minority stress and health disparities. Visit the PHLS Research Portal to learn more about our diverse interests and discover faculty pursuing answers to the questions that matter to you.

Feel free to contact faculty directly to learn more about their research. You can find contact information in the Research Portal or by visiting the COE Faculty Directory .

• PHLS Research Portal

Financial Aid

All Counseling Psychology doctoral students are encouraged to apply for scholarships through the UH and the College of Education. To learn more about how to fund your graduate studies, visit the Graduate Funding page .

Graduate Tuition Fellowship

Graduate Tuition Fellowship (GTF) provides tuition remission for 9 credit hours, during the academic year, to students who enroll in at least 9 credit hours. During the summer term, GTFs are contingent upon available budget. Not all years in the graduate program may be covered by this program.

Assistantships

Graduate appointments are usually available to students during the first two years of graduate studies. The program doesn't cover mandatory fees or course fees. Not all years in the graduate program are covered by this program. 

To learn more about funding your education, contact the COE's College of Graduate Studies at  [email protected]  or call 713-743-7676.

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Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and one of the nation's most diverse cities. This fact benefits our students and faculty both personally and professionally. Home to more than 100 different nationalities and where more than 60 different languages are spoken, Houston is the perfect environment to practice what you're learning in the classroom. The city also boasts more than 12,000 theater seats and 11,000 diverse restaurants featuring cuisines from around the globe (Don't know where to start? Just ask a Houstonian, and they're sure to bombard you with at least a dozen places to eat.) 

Houston is bustling with culture, energy and offers something for everyone inside and outside the classroom.

(Background photo: “ Metropolis ” by eflon is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .)

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Ready to Apply?

Are you ready to apply to the University of Houston Counseling Psychology doctoral program ? Yes? You can learn more about the application process by visiting the College of Education's Graduate Admissions page  or jump right into the application process by visiting the UH's How to Apply to Graduate School page .

If you need more information about the Counseling Psychology program, we are here to help. You can always contact the COE Office of Graduate Studies by phone at 713-743-7676  or by email .

The Counseling Psychology doctoral program is a member of UH's Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences department .

Training and Program Director:  Dr. Consuelo Arbona

UH College of Education Stephen Power Farish Hall 3657 Cullen Blvd., Room 491 Houston, TX 77204-5023

Undergraduate: [email protected] or 713-743-5000 Graduate: [email protected] or 713-743-7676 General: [email protected] or 713-743-5010

*Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:

The Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 (202) 336-5979 [email protected] http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/

A Career in Clinical or Counseling Psychology

All About Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology is one of the largest specialty areas within psychology. Having a passion for discovery, learning and listening are part of what it takes to be successful as a psychologist who delivers clinical or counseling services.

Psychologists trained to provide clinical services work in research, education, training and health sectors. Others specialize in areas such as counseling and school psychology. Working with numerous populations, they focus on individual differences, normal and abnormal behavior, mental and emotional health, healthy behaviors and mental disorders and their prevention.

Health service psychologists are an example of psychologists working in clinical practice. They apply psychological science in their work in ways that range from helping patients overcome depression or anxiety to better understanding how to manage stress. Others specialize in physical health concerns and help patients manage diabetes or other chronic illnesses. Still others specialize in working with the elderly and the challenges of aging, or working with children or college students. The possibilities for a career as a health service psychologist are vast and varied.

If you are interested in understanding human behavior and enjoy working with people, a career as a clinical or counseling psychologist may be for you.

What You Can Do

Psychologists who provide clinical or counseling services are trained in a range of techniques and theoretical approaches, making hospitals, schools, counseling centers, group or private health care practices and hospital systems all good places to launch a career. Some psychologists working in clinical practice choose to specialize in treating those with chronic illnesses such as obesity or diabetes; others specialize in treating people with specific psychological disorders, such as anxiety, schizophrenia or depression. Others work with school children who have learning disabilities or in college counseling centers to promote wellness and academic success.

If you are passionate about working with special populations like children, the economically disadvantaged or seniors, you might consider looking at community-based organizations that work with these groups.

Making It Happen

The path to becoming a psychologist usually begins with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, where students learn the fundamentals. You must then obtain a graduate degree. While some graduate programs accept applicants with an undergraduate degree in other disciplines, most encourage students to get a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Each graduate program determines its own entrance requirements. Some doctoral programs require applicants to have a master’s degree in psychology. Some students enroll in programs that culminate in a master’s degree, planning then to enroll in a doctoral program either immediately upon completion or after a few years of work. Others enter doctoral programs with only a bachelor’s degree and work directly on a doctorate. Anyone working in psychology with a master’s degree is usually supervised by someone with a doctoral degree. In most states, the independent practice of psychology requires a doctoral degree and a state license.

Most doctoral degrees take five to seven years to complete. Some institutions require their students to complete their doctoral studies within 10 years of admission to the institution. In addition, you must pass a comprehensive exam and write and defend a dissertation.

If you want to practice as a psychologist in clinical, counseling or school psychology, you will also have to complete a one-year internship as part of your doctoral study in your area of practice. Some universities and professional schools offer a PsyD degree in lieu of the traditional research PhD or EdD degree. PsyD degrees, with their emphasis on clinical psychology, are designed for students who want to do clinical work.

What You Can Earn

In May 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median annual salary of clinical psychologists was $67,800. The salaries of clinical psychologists vary depending on work setting, experience and work location.

Helpful Resources

Clinical Psychology is a recognized specialty in professional psychology.

APA Division 12: Society of Clinical Psychology Division 12: Society of Clinical Psychology  includes APA members who are active in practice, research, teaching, administration and/or study in the field of clinical psychology.

Finding the Right Job Searching for a new job—or your first job—can be challenging. APA has resources to help you navigate your search for the clinical psychology job that’s right for you.

PhD in Counseling: Your Complete Guide to Selecting a Doctorate in Counseling

A PhD in Counseling is the highest degree available in the field. It takes between three and six years to complete and covers advanced coursework that prepares graduates to supervise and train other counselors. The key element of any PhD is the doctoral dissertation project, which involves writing about and presenting the findings of original research. A PhD in counseling qualifies graduates to work in advanced clinical practice, research, education, or in supervisory roles in the field.

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What can you do with a phd in counseling, should you pursue a phd after a master’s in counseling, calculating the costs of phd counseling programs, doctorate in counseling coursework and field experience is intense, counseling psychology degrees are not the same as phds in counseling, different types of specialized counseling phds to pursue.

A doctorate in counseling will take you directly to the highest levels of knowledge and expertise in the field. That means the whole counseling community – from practitioners out in the field to academics and research professors – look to that elite group for a higher level of understanding of the human condition and how to help people.

Counseling PhDs are involved in:

• Groundbreaking Research in Counseling – Counseling is an evidence-based profession, and that evidence is usually developed by researchers who have learned their experimental skills through doctoral counseling programs. With dedicated training in experimental design, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and the ethics of human research, these are the experts that forge new paths in the practice of counseling.
• High-level Treatment Options – When all the other options run out, when nothing you have tried is working, when your usual network of clinical contacts all shake their heads at your case, a doctoral graduate in counseling is who you turn to for ideas or a referral. The kind of specialist treatment they can offer is well beyond the level of care that a master’s-level graduate in counseling can provide, even after years of experience.
• Clinical Supervision and Teaching – Counseling PhDs are uniquely designed so that every graduate also gets a dedicated course of instruction in training other counselors. Since all licensed clinical counselors are required to earn 2,000 or more hours of post-graduate supervised experience before licensure, this makes doctoral graduates in the field a key piece of the process of developing the next generation of clinical counselors. PhD graduates are also commonly hired as instructors in master’s-level counseling degree programs, working academically as much as clinically in the field.

Those skills and that respect don’t come easy, though. Earning a doctorate in counseling is serious business. You’ll be putting a lot of commitment and a lot of hours on the line to get there.

So what you have to ask yourself as you consider moving up to the next level is, what new sort of fulfillment and opportunities will it bring you?

Earning a counseling PhD unlocks new positions and new opportunities in practice, and also in academia.

Most PhD graduates are bound for positions in research or academia. When you went through your undergraduate program in counseling, or even a master’s program, most of your instructors probably had PhDs in the field. A doctorate is the traditional way to prepare for a career as a university professor or researcher in the field.

But modern counseling doctorate programs also expand your clinical and leadership skills. That can make a PhD key to becoming a leader and respected supervisor in clinical counseling. It’s also a path to developing trusted expertise in your area of practice, the practitioner that everyone in the region consults on hard cases or refers the most difficult clients to.

• The Clinical Path – Pursuing advanced clinical training puts counselors in a position to solve problems that master’s-level clinicians can’t approach. This role can put you into leadership in mental health treatment organizations or as a trusted resource in your local counseling community, someone used for consultations and relied on to offer supervision to newly minted counselors.
• The Academic Path – The academic world is founded in research, teaching, and experimentation. You can aim for a position teaching counselors at any level of college, or for a research position at non-profits or academic institutions. Many counselors taking the academic track also end up having real and heavy influence on public mental health policy issues. It’s a path to thought-leadership and influence on the larger world of counseling and mental health treatment.

Many PhDs in counseling follow a hybrid between clinical practice and academic research. Doctoral degrees in counseling also specifically prepare you to fill one of the most important roles in the field: clinical supervisor.

You underwent clinical supervision as you were learning how to become a counselor and then afterward, as you built up your practice hours to qualify for licensure. You probably looked up to your supervisor as a fearsome figure with incredible insight and almost telepathic understanding of clients. Many of those supervisors got those kind of advanced skills in the same way you can, by pursuing a PhD in counseling.

What Will a PhD in Counseling Do For Your Salary?

It’s harder to calculate what kind of salary bump you might get out of earning a doctorate in counseling. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the go-to source for salary data for counseling professions. They do not specifically track that information against level of education, however.

For master’s-prepared counselors, it’s relatively easy to figure it out. That’s because a master’s is the minimum qualification level required for licensed professional counselors, so you know that just about everyone in that group also earned a master’s degree.

Some of them have also earned doctorates, but there is no real way to separate them out.

You can make a guess, though, that anyone who put the time and effort into getting a PhD is probably in the upper range of salaries for counseling professions. The BLS data for the top ten percent of earners in related counseling professions come in over the following rates:

• Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors – $78,700
• Rehabilitation Counselors – $66,180
• School and Career Counselors and Advisors – $58,120

Many PhD grads also go on to academic pursuits. The median salary for postsecondary teachers, which is the category that college instructors fall in, is a cool $80,790 per year. Those in the top ten percent of the profession earn more than $180,360 per year.

Demand is jumping for college professors; BLS forecasts an increase of 9 percent between 2019 and 2029 for that profession, much faster than the average rate of growth.

If the higher salaries aren’t enough, consider the extra flexibility in positions that are available, too. You can take you career in any direction, landing on the top of the resume stack at any organization you apply with.

All of the respect and skills that come with a PhD sound great, but now it’s time to talk about what it takes to earn one. The price tag is steep, both in terms of time and money. Although you can expect a salary bump to come along with your new expertise, that’s probably not going to be your biggest motivation.

Instead, you’ll have to look inside. It wasn’t easy to earn that master’s degree you already have. You spent two hard years cracking the books, observing counselors in practice, and interning on the job, working with difficult cases and seeing people in real trauma.

More than likely, you also put in another two years of supervised clinical practice, more than 2,000 hours, qualifying for state licensure. Now you are eligible for, or already have, the ability to treat patients in independent practice.

As a practicing clinical mental health counselor , you are already doing a lot of good with the skills you have developed. You can also make a solid living anywhere in the country. Counselors are always in demand. There are many new opportunities and fulfilling jobs that a PhD can qualify you for, no question. But it’s a demanding process that will add years to your career path.

You might start by looking at what that process looks like and whether or not you have the time and qualifications to pursue it.

How Do You Qualify to Enroll in a PhD in Counseling Program?

Almost all PhD candidates in counseling come from extensive backgrounds as a professional counselor. That means they have already earned a master’s degree in counseling, and passed the rigorous state tests and qualifications to become licensed professional counselors (LPCs) or Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs).

That existing master’s degree is one important qualification you will need before you apply to a PhD in counseling program.

In most cases, you will need a master’s from a CACREP-accredited program to be considered for a PhD in counseling program.

In some cases, you may be required to take additional coursework upon admission. That’s particularly true if you don’t have that CACREP-approved master’s in your back pocket. Many schools also have a minimum GPA requirement that you must have earned at the master’s level.

The license to practice is also often a requirement. In most cases, that license will have to be current and in good-standing. Additionally, many schools will want to see your scores on the NCE (National Counselor Examination) or NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination) that you had to take to qualify for licensure.

Some programs require you to submit scores from another test, the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). These usually have to be recent, so don’t count on using test scores from your master’s application. Also, you may be asked to submit writing samples of an academic nature, or to write an essay about your aspirations that the PhD can help you accomplish.

Multiple letters of recommendation and a current curriculum vitae are also par for the course in PhD application packets. The more impressive the recommendations, the better off you are, of course.

On top of all that, of course, you will face interviews with faculty members or the admissions committee. All these programs receive more applications than they have slots for enrollment. You need to have both the ambition and the brains to prove to those professors that you will take the opportunity they give you and do great things with it.

How Long Does a PhD in Counseling Take to Complete?

You can complete a PhD in counseling in somewhere from three to five years in most cases. Four years is typical for full-time study. Three is more accessible if you are in an accelerated pathway, and five or six isn’t unheard of if you are taking coursework on a part-time basis.

That period typically includes between 50 and 70 semester credit hours of coursework, along with several hundred hours of practicum and internship time.

Plenty of programs let you structure your schedule to meet your own needs. Don’t be shy about taking advantage of that.

There’s no one answer to how long it should take. By the time you have reached this point in your career, you may have professional obligations taking up your time. Maybe the reason you are aiming for your PhD is that you’ve already started supervising other counselors and want to up your game… but that supervision work takes time out of your schedule already.

Whether it’s family and the kids’ soccer practice or your current professional obligations, few doctoral students have the luxury of following a prescribed full-time academic schedule and completion times typically reflect that reality.

Specialty Accreditation Ensures First-Rate Education in Counseling PhD Degrees

You’re already familiar with CACREP, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs . They are the outfit that put that big fat stamp of approval on your master’s in counseling program.

Turns out they also work at the doctoral level. There are 84 CACREP-accredited PhD programs in counseling in the United States.

CACREP treats their doctoral accreditation standards as an extension of their master’s-level requirements, so most of what they verify in PhD programs is very similar to what you saw at your master’s program.

The PhD program requirements sets additional standards for:

• Admissions criteria
• Knowledge evaluation
• Minimum credit hours offered
• Dissertation topics
• Faculty standards
• Practicum and internship hours

They also require a strong emphasis on teaching, leadership and supervision, and research. All of those are in line with the roles PhD graduates in counseling are expected to fill in the community.

What About the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council?

There is another specialty accreditor in the area of counseling— MPCAC, the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council. Although it’s smaller and newer than CACREP, there is some chance that you actually earned your counseling master’s degree from an MPCAC program.

If that is the case, you’re probably wondering whether or not you should look for a PhD program also accredited by MPCAC. But you would be looking for a long time… there aren’t any!

The clue is right in the name. It’s the MASTERS in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council.

The reason is that the folks behind MPCAC spotted a small gap in the accreditation and licensure program standards—although a master’s in psychology offered all the skills needed for counseling work, psychology programs are accredited by the APA (American Psychological Association)—but not at the master’s level. That made none of them easily accepted for counseling licensure by states.

MPCAC crosses the boundary, giving a counseling perspective on both counseling and psychology master’s programs that state licensing boards can rely on. But that’s not needed at the doctoral level, since there’s no additional licensing process involved.

What About Earning a PhD in Counseling Online?

Online counseling doctorate programs can take a lot of the sting out of the time and energy that a PhD requires.

Studying online offers you the kind of flexibility in your schedule that traditional programs have trouble matching. You can engage with professors and fellow students through email, class forums, or chat sessions any time. Zoom puts in the same virtual room when real-time connection is needed. Materials can be accessed any time, day or night.

That’s the kind of freedom you need if you are trying to hold down a job while you are studying, or if you have regular family commitments to meet. It’s no big deal to put on your scholarly cap after you put the kids to bed, or to sneak in some reading and Q&A on your lunch hour at work.

Other programs shoot for the best of both worlds by taking a hybrid approach to education. Professors and students may meet once or twice a quarter in person in weekend sessions that allow you to hold down a regular job while still getting the kind of face-to-face instruction and consultation that some people really need to grasp advanced concepts.

Either way, a PhD in counseling online, even if only partly online, can really make advanced studies accessible for people with both personal and professional obligations.

Another factor is location. With only 84 PhD programs with CACREP-accreditation in the country, the cities where you can earn this degree aren’t nearly as plentiful as they were at the master’s level. Many states don’t have a single PhD in counseling program—Texas, for some reason, has eight of them, but then the Lone Star state covers a lot of territory so that’s not as crowded as it seems—so the ability to attend remotely is a lifesaver for many students.

The precise cost of your PhD in counseling is going to vary based on the college you go to and how long it takes you to get through the program. Private schools are going to be more expensive, public schools a little less. Either way, you’re going to end up cutting checks that may be closer to what it cost for your undergraduate degree than for your master’s program.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) pegged the average cost for a year of graduate-level education at American colleges at $19,314 in 2019.

That figure covers tuition and fees, but not housing or other expenses. If you add it up for the three to five years a doctoral program typically takes, you can see that you are going to end up putting between $60,000 and $96,000 into your PhD.

Although many people continue working through the course of their doctoral studies, you usually can’t keep up the same case load or hours that you could if you weren’t doubling up. That means leaving some money on the table in terms of salary on top of what you will spend on school itself.

Paying for a Doctoral Degree in Counseling: Loans Are the Most Common Financing Option for Counseling PhD Degrees

That salary may end up getting a big chunk taken out of it for a few years depending on how you end up paying for your tuition costs. Most people don’t have the kind of cash laying around to shell out more than $19,000 a year out-of-pocket.

That means either taking out loans or getting grants of some sort to help pay for it.

Again, unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’re probably already familiar with student loans. The federal government is the big player here—the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau calculates that more than half of all student loans are originated through the Department of Education . Much of the rest is goes through schools themselves, but is backed by the federal Perkins Loan program.

Interestingly, NCES data shows that while almost 70 percent of students use federal student loans to finance their undergraduate degree, only around 10 percent of graduate students do so. The amount borrowed is lower, also, with an average of $25,600.

That may suggest that your time in professional practice won’t be wasted if you use it to save up some of the tuition cost for your PhD, instead of relying on loans. It might also reflect the strong competition to get into PhD programs and the relative availability of scholarships and fellowships to those accepted.

Scholarships and Fellowships Offer Funding You Don’t Have to Repay

Doctoral students have often exhausted their options for federal grant money toward school tuition. The lifetime limit for the Pell Grant program is the equivalent of six years of full-time study. That was enough to get you through your bachelor’s program and maybe even cover you during your master’s studies. If you used it then, though, it’s going to have run empty by the time you apply to your PhD program.

On the other hand, there is another option that is more commonly offered to graduate students that you probably didn’t have access to as an undergrad. Those are fellowship programs.

A fellowship is a sort of scholarship, but one with more strings attached. Fellowships may or may not offer direct tuition grants. They are often offered for research funding, which can be an important part of your doctoral program. And they frequently have some service commitments, including pursuing specific research projects, serving as a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses, or participating in a specific internship.

The National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program is a good example of the kind counseling fellowship that could be available to you. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funds up to 24 doctoral-level minority fellowships annually, in return for a two-year commitment of service in qualifying positions in high-need communities.

One good thing about fellowships is that they are usually demand-driven rather than needs based. That means you don’t have to qualify on the basis of your family’s financial status. You qualify based on your pursuits and competency.

Of course, traditional scholarships are still on the table for grad students. Those often do come with financial qualifications and often other kinds of qualifiers, such as ethnicity or the counseling specialization you are pursuing.

In both cases, competition is fierce at the doctoral level, so you’ll need to shine up your CV and work on your essay-writing skills. Recommendations from your grad school professors and professional associates won’t hurt, either.

A PhD program is intense enough that you will usually only take one or two classes per semester. If that seems light, there’s a reason for it: you’re going to have to put all your brains and effort into those two courses just to get by.

The good news is that courses at the doctoral level are tuned in to your interests and ideas like you have never experienced before. It’s true you’re going to be getting a lot of data and learning a lot of things from your professors. But the course of study is often more of a collaboration than something dictated by the curriculum. Although you usually have very few elective options, it doesn’t matter as much since the core curriculum will be designed around your interests anyway.

Certain areas are required to be covered by CACREP standards for PhD in counseling programs. You can expect the specific topics of study in these areas to be tailored around your research and specialization, however.

• Counseling Theory and Practice – These courses get right to the core of expertise in counseling skills. You can expect to undertake a scholarly examination of the theoretical basis of counseling treatment, and how those integrate with larger theories of human psychology and behavior. You will learn advanced evidence-based counseling practices, and study the ways in which that evidence is built and assessed. Extra time is spent on ethical and cultural aspects of counseling practice in modern, multicultural society.
• Supervision – Many PhDs in counseling are actually titled “PhD in Counseling Education.” That’s because supervision is a huge part of the training of a professional counselor, and PhD programs are a key part of training the trainers. Courses here explore the roles and relationships involved in clinical supervision, oversight and personal skills you need to develop, and the administrative procedures and processes. Expect to spend a lot of time exploring the legal and ethical issues involved, preparing you to break them down to your supervisees.
• Teaching – As an important part of the preparation for anyone looking to become an instructor in counseling, you will be taught pedagogy and instructional methods relevant to counseling. You’ll learn models of adult development and learning, and talk about the roles and responsibilities present in counselor education. Learning assessment and ethical and cultural considerations for the modern classroom are also taught here.
• Research and Scholarship – Quantitative and qualitative research processes are taught along with the appropriate ways to design research for valid answers in those contexts. You’ll learn a bit about the models and methods of program evaluation, as well as cutting edge subjects in counseling research. You covered some of this in your master’s program, but at this level you’ll also dive into professional writing and editing for journals, and how to prepare professional conference presentations of your work. And you’ll go to the other side of the table, too, learning how to evaluate research proposals and standards for human experiment designs.
• Leadership and Advocacy – Doctoral graduates are expected to be leaders in the field of counseling. It’s a learned ability, and you will study leadership roles and strategies, administration in counseling organizations, and how current topical and political issues are affecting the field. You’ll even learn about the accreditation standards and processes that lead to these studies!

To Cohort or Not to Cohort

A cohort was originally one of the ten divisions in a Roman legion, but today, it can refer to any group bonded by common purpose and and support. That makes it a strong model for intensive educational programs like PhD studies in counseling.

In the collegiate sense, cohort-driven programs are more than just those where you develop strong bonds with your fellow students. They are designed so that everyone in the group is admitted to the program at the same time and follows the same course progression through until graduation. It’s a way to keep everyone in lockstep, so your friends and fellows are always engaged in thinking about and working on the same things you are.

For anyone who thrives on working with a team and values the boost from fellow students, though, cohort models are a real find.

A PhD in Counseling Takes Field Experience To The Next Level

CACREP also dictates high standards in field experience for counseling PhD programs. You’ll go through special doctoral level internships and practicum placements.

• Internships – A minimum of 600 clock hours in at least three of the five doctoral core areas listed above
• Practicum – At least 100 hours, including 40 providing direct counseling services

Even though you’ve already undergone supervised field experience as part of your master’s program and on your path to licensure, this process will take your expertise to the next level. You already have all the basics down. In a doctoral field training placement, you’ll focus closely on high-level counseling work. Frequently, it will be aligned with your personal research interests and dissertation topic.

Dissertations Are The Big Difference in Doctoral Studies

It’s not just your field experience, either. Your entire doctoral program will revolve around your dissertation project. As a master’s student, you had to complete a thesis or capstone project in order to graduate. It probably seemed like a pretty big deal at the time, 40 to 80 pages of tightly-written, well-supported, explicitly-researched analysis and conclusions on a counseling topic of your choice. You probably felt pretty good about yourself when you successfully defended it in front of your thesis committee.

A dissertation project takes that basic format of research and writing to another level. In one way or another, almost your entire course of study as a doctoral student will revolve around formulating, researching, or writing your dissertation. When you’re done with it, you’ll have a publication-worthy piece of research and analysis that represents you own original thinking and interests in the field.

The dissertation is so important that at least part of your choice of school will probably revolve around finding a program where the right type of research is being conducted and the professors have the right kind of expertise to advise you in the project.

As you are looking around at counseling PhD programs, your Google search is inevitably going to turn up a lot of results for programs in counseling psychology. It’s only one word difference. But it’s a very important word!

That’s because a PhD in counseling psychology is actually a psychology doctorate. It can take as much as two years longer to complete. And at the end of it, you’re not really studying the distinct, but related, field of counseling… you’re preparing yourself for a career in either clinical or academic psychology practice.

That’s not a particularly unusual course for counselors, however. Some people get their master’s in counseling and go into clinical counseling practice only to find that the mechanisms of the psychological issues they are seeing fascinates them. Counselors have a lane, and it revolves around practical, immediate intervention to get people’s lives back on track. That involves getting a handle on the issues that are causing the biggest problems today, and using standard therapeutic techniques to address them.

When run into deep-seated issues like schizophrenia, psychopathy, or psychosis, counselors have to refer patients out to psychologists. Counselor training, even at the PhD level, doesn’t equip you to get into that kind of deep analysis and therapy.

For some counselors, that’s not enough. They want to get in deeper, take the plumbing apart, see exactly what makes people tick and get to the root of the problem.

A counseling psychology degree takes you to the next level in clinical practice.

What Can You Do with a PhD in Counseling Psychology?

A PhD in counseling psychology sets you up to become a clinical psychologist, if you choose to go that route. In day-to-day terms, your practice may not even look all that different from what you performed as a counselor.

Psychologists follow a model of practice that is more medically-informed, incorporating a lot of the same diagnostic and clinical approaches you would find in medicine. They are more formally trained in research, and bring experimental design skills to their treatment practice. They’ll usually spend more time in assessment and work with more critical and complicated cases of mental illness than counselors.

Psychologists have all the same range of different specializations as counselors, but counseling psychology is usually considered its own concentration. You can still choose to work in different kinds of settings, from mental hospitals to private practice. You can also specialize in different types of trauma or patients, whether that means couples counseling or dealing in addiction treatment.

Although it’s definitely a longer and somewhat different course of study, it can be quite lucrative. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, psychologists earned a median salary of $82,180 in 2020. But a PhD in counseling psychology qualifies you to become a clinical psychologist, which BLS tracks in a sub-category. The median pay for that group is $105,780. Those in the top ten percent make more than $137,590 annually.

Should You Consider a Master’s and PhD Combined Program in Counseling Psychology?

Combined programs often don’t advertise as such, because many psychology PhDs are designed for students who are coming in fresh from their undergraduate degree program. In other words, you only need a bachelor’s degree to start in on a typical counseling psychology PhD.

That’s the typical path to becoming a clinical psychologist, and it’s one reason that counseling psychology PhD programs tend to be a couple years longer than a counseling doctorate.

So many counseling psychology PhD programs already include the coursework you need to earn a master’s, too. In some cases, they will just automatically grant you the master’s when you reach that level of the program.

There is another kind of combined master/doctoral program to be aware of in counseling psychology, however. Those are programs that offer the PhD in counseling psychology, but the master’s in a different field entirely.

This is useful for students who plan to keep a lot of plates spinning or want to specialize in a field of practice that benefits from additional master’s coursework from outside the field of psychology. For instance, a combined master of criminal justice/doctor of philosophy in psychology program gives you unparalleled expertise in dealing the the psychology of incarceration.

Not all of these degrees will be found with exactly the title listed below. In most cases, colleges offering CACREP-accredited programs use the official title of Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision. Many of those programs, however, offer specializations in the subjects shown here, each of which can take your doctorate in a unique direction with highly specific skills in your area of interest.

PhD in Mental Health Counseling

This doctoral specialization really dives in to the practical clinical treatment skills that the community expects of a PhD-level counselor A mental health counseling focus will equip you with advanced therapeutic practice and research skills. Psychopharmocology and the implications of drug therapy for counseling are covered. You can expect to get cozy with the DSM 5 as you learn about advanced diagnostics and treatment modalities to cover every scenarios. You might also be able to find concentrations in areas like:

• Grief counseling
• Substance abuse counseling
• Positive psychotherapy

PhD in School Counseling

PhD in Guidance Counseling

Guidance counseling is closely related to school counseling as a PhD specialization, but usually is aimed more toward college-level work than the P-12 focus on school counseling. You will explore more appropriate levels of mental and psychosocial development, and also go into career and vocational counseling material. This kind of counseling also requires a high level of knowledge of academic processes and procedures, which is exactly what you will get in these programs.

PhD in Substance Abuse Counseling

Substance abuse specializations, or addiction counseling as they are sometimes called, prepare you to help patients break the deadly cycle of addictions to both drugs and other harmful activities. That means you learn the same advanced clinical counseling and therapy techniques as any counseling PhD, but also specific training in addictive behaviors and intervention techniques that are needed in this field. Studies leading to a PhD in addiction counseling online are also popular.

PhD in Family Counseling

PhD in Trauma Counseling

Trauma and crisis counseling is a particularly difficult area for any counselor to specialize in, and it rewards the in-depth experience and research expertise that comes with a PhD. You will dive deep into the processes of grief and bereavement and study the latest techniques in bringing healing to survivors. This specialization can also extend into critical incident and crisis management, advising administrators and decision-makers on the best ways to handle disasters for long-term wellness. You may also find community counseling options here, learning how to craft public messaging for large groups that have experienced trauma.

PhD in Christian Counseling / Pastoral Counseling

PhD in Career Counseling

This specialty is related to guidance counseling, but is usually seen more in the context of rehabilitation counseling work. You’ll be lucky to find a PhD program that offers this as a specific course of study, but that’s the beauty of doctoral studies: if you find the right advisor and topics, you can take it in any direction you like. Extensive investigation and work in vocational education and counseling are the way to go here. You can explore new frontiers in injured worker rehabilitation work or find ways to offer insights to individuals in industries that are undergoing big changes through shifts in the global economy.

In any specialization, in any track of the many careers a professional counselor can take, there is room for the experience and expertise you can only get in a counseling PhD program. The field has a small but consistent need for people like you to step up and lead through this advanced education. You can build both your profession and your career with the skills you will get in these programs, and help both individuals and communities more than ever.

May 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and job growth figures for Postsecondary Teachers , Psychologists , Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors , Rehabilitation Counselors , and School and Career Counselors and Advisors represents national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary.

Tuition data provided by College Scorecard and the National Center for Education Statistics , services of the U.S. Department of Education, using data collected for the 2019 school year. NCES loan and scholarship data comes from an April 2017 report published by the Department of Education.

Data Accessed July 2021.

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Is a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology Worth it – (Pros VS. Cons)

Do you have a bachelor's or master's degree in psychology or another related field? Are you interested in a career where you can counsel clients and help them deal with life's challenges? If so, a Ph.D. in counseling psychology is an excellent career to pursue. Maybe you thought of this career path but wondered, "Is a Ph.D. in counseling psychology worth it?” In this article, I will share information with you about this specialized degree and offer you 25 reasons why a Ph.D. in counseling psychology is worth it and also 7 reasons why it may not be the right degree for you to consider. When you finish reading, you can weigh the pros and cons and decide if this is the career path you want to follow.

WHAT IS A PH.D. IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE?

How long does a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree take, how much does a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree cost, what are the admission requirements for a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree.

• Complete an online application • Provide a copy of your resume • A written letter of intent, statement of purpose, or other introductory letter explaining why you want to pursue this degree • Official transcripts from your previous undergraduate and master’s programs • Previous GPA of 3.0 or above • 2-3 professional letters of recommendation • GRE test score • Academic writing sample • Complete any required prerequisites before the start of the program

WHY IS A PH.D. IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY WORTH IT? – THE PROS

Reason #1: you will earn the highest degree possible in your field., reason #2: you will have more career opportunities., reason #3: you can work in research., reason #4: you can provide care for people with severe or complex psychological disorders, making a difference in their lives., reason #5: you can earn a generous income., reason #6: you will earn the credentials that make you eligible for leadership positions., reason #7: you can directly influence patient outcomes., reason #8: you can care for people across their lifespan., reason #9: you can open your own practice., reason #10: you can become an author and write a book., reason #11: you can pursue a career path involving public or motivational speaking., reason #12: you can develop specialty mental coaching programs., reason #13: you may be able to get your school paid for., reason #14: you can help meet the growing demand for mental health care services., reason #15: you will gain a deeper understanding of human behavior., reason #16: you can work one-on-one with patients., reason #17: you can complete a dissertation that distinguishes you from others in your field., reason #18: you can pursue a tenure track in academia., reason #19: a ph.d. in counseling psychology offers a positive job outlook., reason #20: you can work to bring better services to underserved communities., reason #21: you can provide crisis intervention services., reason #22: you want the title of doctor., reason #23: you enjoy the college experience., reason #24: you can work with veterans or other military service members., reason #25: you want to improve how mental health services are delivered., why a ph.d. in counseling psychology may not be worth it for you – the cons, reason #1: ph.d. in counseling psychology programs can be expensive., reason #2: ph.d. in counseling psychology programs take a serious time commitment., reason #3: admission to ph.d. in counseling psychology programs is competitive., reason #4: you do not like research., reason #5: the job market for ph.d. in counseling psychology graduates is competitive., reason #6: you have poor writing skills and no desire to improve., reason #7: the job you get could be emotionally taxing., what are the 3 main reasons behind the demand for ph.d. in counseling psychology degree holders, 1. increased need for school psychologists:, 2. the impacts of the pandemic and other global issues:, 3. employers are offering free or reduced-price mental health services:, what is the starting salary for new ph.d. in counseling psychology degree holders.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SALARY FOR EXPERIENCED PH.D. IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE HOLDERS?

IS THE COST OF A PH.D. IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE WORTH THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)?

What are the 3 best jobs you can get with a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree, 1. substance abuse counselor:, 2. school counselor:, 3. psychology professor:, bonus 3 tips to make more money with a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree, 1. develop and sell self-help material:, 2. offer telehealth services:, 3. move to a higher-paying state:, so, is a ph.d. in counseling psychology worth your time and money – my final thoughts, frequently asked questions answered, 1. what is the best age to pursue a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree, 2. how hard is it to get into a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree program, 3. do i need work experience to get into a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree program, 4. what is the minimum gpa to get into a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree program, 5. are online ph.d. in counseling psychology degree programs worth it, 6. are scholarships and grants available for ph.d. in counseling psychology degree programs, 7. is it hard to complete a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree, 8. can ph.d. in counseling psychology students have a life, 9. can i work part-time and successfully complete the ph.d. in counseling psychology degree program, 10. can i work full-time and successfully complete the ph.d. in counseling psychology degree program, 11. do students fail in ph.d. in counseling psychology degree programs, 12. will i ever regret getting a ph.d. in counseling psychology degree, 13. how much does a ph.d. in counseling psychology graduate make per hour.

14. How Much Does A Ph.D. In Counseling Psychology Graduate Make Per Year?

15. Will Ph.D. In Counseling Psychology Graduates Be Paid Less In The Future?

16. are all ph.d. in counseling psychology graduates successful in their careers, 17. are ph.d. in counseling psychology graduates happy with their jobs, 18. can ph.d. in counseling psychology degree holders become rich, 19. what are some of the best ph.d. in counseling psychology degree alternatives.

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5 reasons to get a phd in a non-clinical counseling & psychology program.

Students, graduates, and faculty from our PhD in Counseling & Psychology: Transformative Leadership, Education, and Applied Research share their thoughts.

If you’re a mental health counselor or clinician, you might be wondering what the next step in your education or career could be. Perhaps you’ve researched doctoral programs in Counseling & Psychology but have discovered that many are clinical in nature. 

Suppose you’ve been practicing for several years, and you aren’t primarily looking for additional clinical training. In that case, a non-clinical program—like our PhD in Counseling & Psychology: Transformative Leadership, Education, and Applied Research at Lesley University—could be the best way to reach your personal and professional goals. 

Here are the top reasons our students, graduates, and faculty recommend getting your PhD and how you could benefit from Lesley’s program.

1. You want to advance into a leadership role in local, regional, national, or international settings .

By expanding your skills and expertise, you’ll be ready to work in leadership roles in the mental health field that require, or are more accessible with, doctoral-level training. A PhD can open opportunities in teaching and research at higher education institutions, consulting or training, and directing mental health programs in hospitals, schools, and other settings. The possibility of participating in an international counseling network as part of your PhD program can also deepen your understanding of mental health and counseling in global contexts. This will help make you a well-rounded leader who can understand different worldviews and perspectives.

2. You want to drive change in organizations and communities. 

As an advanced practitioner, you understand the urgent issues that schools, organizations, and communities face. A PhD gives you the credibility, status, and knowledge you need to make substantive contributions that support social and emotional wellness, and to promote social justice in the counseling profession. As a leader, you’ll be in a better position to infuse creativity and decision-making into your role. You’ll be able to challenge mainstream models in mental health counseling, design programs to address critical needs, pursue innovative ways of offering care, and implement your ideas for transformation.

3. You want advanced training in research method olog ies and critical inquiry . 

As a doctoral student, you’ll receive advanced education in various research methodologies, writing, and publishing. These skills can help you become a teacher or scholar in higher learning institutions, solve problems through applied research, or contribute new knowledge to the profession. Starting with your doctoral research, you can transform the mental health counseling field as you explore areas of inquiry that are professionally and personally meaningful to you. You’ll add to the body of existing scholarship and challenge conventional thinking to push the field forward. 

Dissertations from Lesley PhD Graduates

With our curriculum that emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, most students center their dissertation on a social justice issue.

The Pursuit of Housing

Centering the voices of transgender supervisees, how children understand disability, counseling while black, navigating parenting a transgender adolescent or child, disrupting cis/heteronormativity and interrogating whiteness, exploring the experience of psychological distress for young adults with cancer, women's lived experience with benevolent sexism, grandparent caregiver well-being and identity development, an exploratory study of an arts-based measure and research model, 4. you want to experience personal transformation and growth..

Doctoral study encourages deep engagement with your ideas and existing knowledge. It also introduces you to new possibilities and challenges you to explore different worldviews. Through the doctoral process, you’ll build an analytical framework and enhance your critical thinking skills. You’ll examine your own identity, positionality, and reflexivity as you explore concepts of self as an instrument of change, and self as a researcher and a leader, all while growing as an individual. 

5. You want to become a more effective facilitator of change at the micro-level.

Although non-clinical PhD programs tend to focus on research, teaching, and driving change, you’ll also emerge with enhanced skills in interpersonal communication that will support your clinical practice. Your advanced understanding of macro-level structural and systemic forces that produce and reproduce social inequity, and individual and cultural trauma, will fundamentally shift how you approach your clinical work on the ground. 

Clinical and Non-Clinical Doctoral Programs in Counseling & Psychology: What’s the Difference?  

While every program is different depending on the school, here are some general characteristics of clinical versus non-clinical doctoral programs.

Are you ready to take that next step in your education and mental health counseling career? Our doctoral program in Counseling & Psychology: Transformative Leadership, Education, and Applied Research is a 48-credit non-clinical program for licensed counselors and clinicians offered in a convenient, weekend cohort model starting each Fall (September).

Designed for working professionals, you’ll meet with your faculty and classmates for one weekend a month and continue your studies remotely between meetings. You'll work with faculty practitioners with expertise in trauma-informed leadership, school and community counseling, critical and liberation psychology, critically oriented and community-focused research methodologies, and many other areas. Apply today and get started on your path toward advancing social justice, mental health, and inclusive communities.  

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Learn more about a few of our graduates who have transformed research, education, and the community with their degrees.

Brandon Jones ’20

Resisting oppression in the healing fields

Myisha Rodrigues ’21

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7 Psychology Specializations: Which is Right For You?

By examining the link between brain function and human behavior, psychology can positively influence collective outcomes and impact individual well-being.

Not surprisingly, it’s a diverse field of study—nested within this discipline are several specializations that often overlap with medical sciences, social sciences, and education. Of all the possibilities, how do you discern which psychology degree is right for you?

The right specialization depends on your interests, career goals, and where you aspire to make a difference. Explore our guide to psychology specializations below to find your perfect fit.

Doctoral Programs in Psychology

What are the 7 Types of Psychology Specializations?

Whether you envision yourself supporting people through life’s many adversities or joining a faculty of researchers to advance accomplishments in psychological treatments, seven specializations in psychology cater to almost any area of interest or expertise.

1. Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology addresses common human problems through assessment of behaviors, diagnosis of symptoms, treatment plans, and prevention. These problems span a spectrum of mental, emotional, behavioral, and situational issues. Some issues a clinical psychologist might assess are: 1

• Emotional difficulties or distress in relational dynamics 
• Chronic stress
• Addiction 

A career in clinical psychology can also offer practitioners a variety of places to work, like hospitals, schools, and social service organizations. Oftentimes, you can’t be a clinical psychologist with just a master’s degree . You will need to enroll in a psychology doctoral program to gain the proper education and experience for the role. If you want to know how to get a PsyD or PhD, look no further than Alliant International University.

Benefit from the latest research methods and learn through hands-on experiences through the two clinical psychology degree programs – PhD or PsyD . With expert guidance and in-depth clinical training, you can access the knowledge you need to start your path toward a career in clinical psychology.

2. Counseling Psychology

Counseling psychology examines how a patient's identity and experiences can impact them at any stage of life. A counseling psychologist addresses common developmental disorders like Autism and ADHD, physical disabilities, and mental health issues, like depression. 2

By applying the latest tools and research in psychology through a lens of solution-oriented support, counseling psychologists can:

• Increase a patient’s ability to adjust to life’s changes, like divorce or loss
• Alleviate distress and address dysfunction related to physical or mental health
• Support crisis resolution 
• Improve overall well-being

With a focus on multicultural competence and ethical practice, the psychology programs at Alliant, like school counseling , clinical counseling , and marital and family therapy , help prepare students for careers in counseling across dynamic environments.

3. Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychologists apply psychological science alongside forensic evaluation to offer vital services in public safety, the military, and the judicial system. 3 The role of a forensic psychologist can include:

• Leading assessments that can inform legal proceedings
• Assisting attorneys in jury selection
• Studying physical evidence of a crime
• Identifying early predictors to prevent violent crimes

The California School of Forensic Studies at Alliant offers specialized coursework and internship opportunities that can help students advance their professional practice. From certificate programs to master’s of science and PhD programs , we train students for real-world situations so they can make a difference in public opinion and policy alike.

Explore Psychology Programs

4. Industrial-Organizational Psychology

An industrial-organizational psychologist (I-O) applies psychological principles in the workplace to solve work-related problems and influence the quality of work culture. 4 Some responsibilities an I-O can undertake in an organizational setting are:

• Examining and evaluating individual and group dynamics 
• Identifying opportunities for further training
• Applying and evaluating training programs
• Coaching employees or organizational leaders

Many I-Os enjoy positions in corporate settings, academia, and community healthcare.

At Alliant, our industrial-organizational psychology programs help prepare students to impact change across various institutions by mastering an understanding of organizational behavior, honing in on performance improvement, and emphasizing leadership skills.

5. Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology studies the link between brain function, cognition, and behavior. Most neuropsychologists work in research and clinical settings to address a wide range of concerns related to brain function, such as: 5

• Memory loss 
• Speech issues
• Cognitive capacity related to human performance 
• Brain function and injury recovery

Neuropsychologists often focus their work exclusively on specific problems or segments of the population, such as the science of addiction, adults with Alzheimer’s, or children with developmental issues.

6. School Psychology

School psychology considers how social-emotional development, behavioral issues, and learning disabilities impact educational performance. A school psychologist may partner with academic institutions, teachers, and parents to support student learning and mental health by: 6

• Evaluating educational or developmental problems that impact learning
• Intervening in student crises that impact mental health 
• Implementing support plans for children with disabilities or adjustment issues

At Alliant, our school psychology programs prepare students to work in diverse educational settings. With courses in subjects like adolescent behavior, multicultural counseling, and developmental psychopathology, there are also many opportunities to choose from.

7. Social Psychology

Social psychologists focus on how interpersonal dynamics affect personal perception, cultural attitudes, and decision-making. 7 By seeking to understand how people perceive themselves in relation to their community, social psychology asks broader questions on individual and collective motivation, such as:

• What factors influence an individual’s social behaviors?  
• What types of biases affect how different racial or cultural groups interact?
• What social relationships impact well-being, and do they change over time?

With our programs in school counseling, social work, and public policy and law, students at Alliant can incorporate social psychology into broader research and practice to impact positive change in environments like higher education, professional organizations, or non-profits.

Considerations for Selecting a Specialization

Choosing a psychology specialization can lead to an exciting and fulfilling career. A few key considerations can help you discern which is right for you:

• What are your career aspirations? 
• What are your interests? 
• Where do you want to affect change or make a societal impact? 
• Do you want to work with a particular group or demographic?
• What is your ideal work location?

Pursuing a doctorate can offer students even more exhilarating opportunities to dig deeper into their chosen specialization.

The Role of Doctoral Education

Obtaining a doctorate in psychology is an enticing prospect. A doctorate can expand expertise, deepen professional development, and advance your career in specialized fields.

One may ask, “ How long does it take to get a Psychology PhD or PsyD?” It varies, but on average, it can take between five to seven years to complete. At Alliant, our APA-accredited doctoral programs provide specialized tracks and elective courses tailored to students' interests. Through our extensive academic resources and professional guidance, students can develop their clinical skills and learn how to leave a lasting impact on individuals and communities.

Find Your Niche in Psychology with Alliant

Alliant International University offers online and on-campus psychology programs that cater to every student’s education level, from MA to PsyD.

Learn alongside elite faculty members, gain hands-on, practical experience in research and clinical settings, and benefit from specialized coursework that can prepare you for positions in the field of your choice.

Apply today , and turn your experience into expertise.

• “Clinical Psychology.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/clinical#:~:text=Clinical%20… . Accessed April 17, 2024.
• “Counseling Psychology.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/counseling . Accessed April 17, 2024.
• “Understanding Forensic and Public Service Psychology.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/forensic . Accessed April 18, 2024.
• “I/O Psychology Provides Workplace Solutions.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/organizational . Accessed April 17, 2024.
• “A Career in Brain Science.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/brain-science/educ… . Accessed April 17, 2024.
• “Who Are School Psychologists.” National Association of School Psychologists. https://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/who-are-school-psych… . Accessed April 17, 2024. 
• Cherry, Kendra. “An Overview of Social Psychology.” Verywell Mind, October 23, 2023. https://www.verywellmind.com/social-psychology-4157177 . Accessed April 18, 2024. 

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• School of Humanities and Social Sciences
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• Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

Program Requirements for Clinical Psychology

Academic eligibility requirements.

For admission to the Graduate School at Penn State , an applicant must hold either: (1) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or (2) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. This degree must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which it operates.

Admission decisions are based on the complete application portfolio. Admission to the Clinical Psychology program is granted jointly by The Graduate School of Penn State University and Penn State Behrend's School of Humanities and Social Sciences .

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School , the following is required by the Clinical Psychology program: 

Students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale) in the last 60 credits of course work. The undergraduate work must include a statistics course and a psychology research methods course with grades of B or higher.

The applicant must have completed at least 18 credits in psychology as part of their four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

Supporting Materials

• Before you apply, be sure to have official transcripts from all institutions attended. In the application, skip any questions that don’t apply, such as junior/senior GPA, GMAT/GRE scores, etc.
• A copy of an official transcript from each institution attended except Penn State
• Three professional letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be academic
• Include any and all job experience, research experience, and/or clinical or clinically-related experience 
• Include any and all skills that would assist you in completing a rigorous graduate program
• The writing sample should demonstrate your ability to write in a scientific manner (i.e., command of APA style, reference to and synthesis of scholarly sources) and your overall writing ability.
• Why have you chosen to pursue a Clinical Psychology degree at Penn State Behrend?
• How will these studies help you achieve your personal and professional goals?
• How will your participation contribute to Penn State Behrend's Clinical Psychology program?
• Indicate your current or most recent work, internship, and/or clinical experiences.
• You also can address any concerns that you have regarding GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, or the like.
• GRE scores are not required for admission, but students who do not submit GRE scores will not be eligible for most graduate assistantships and/or scholarships.
• A personal interview is required.

Clinical Psychology Application Deadlines

The deadline to apply for admission to the fall semester is April 30.

• The Admissions Review Committee will begin reviewing completed applications in mid-February. A second round of applications will be reviewed beyond April 30, if space is available in the program.
• Domestic applicants can apply now for Fall 2025. A complete application should be ready for review by April 30. 
• International applicants should have a complete application ready for review by mid-February. 
• All application requirements, including references, are due by the deadline.
• Once your application is accessible, Graduate Admissions will begin assembling your application portfolio and will send a confirmation email.
• View semester dates and student action guidelines on Penn State's academic calendar .
• Early application is encouraged, especially for anyone who is hoping to be considered for merit-based awards. Decisions are made on a rolling basis beginning in February. Only completed applications received by April 30 will be considered for the subsequent fall semester.

Admissions Timeline

• Submit completed application and application fee, including all components listed below, through the application portal. Please note: Your application will not be reviewed by the program faculty until it is complete, including your letters of recommendation.
• The Program Coordinator will review your application to verify you have met the minimum application requirements. They will then determine, based on the strength of your application, whether you will be interviewed.
• A core faculty member will interview selected applicants via Zoom. Interviews typically last 20-30 minutes; applicants should come prepared with any questions they might have. If the interviewing faculty member feels more information is needed after an interview, or believes a specific faculty may want to discuss the program further with an applicant (e.g., an applicant with an addictions focus may benefit from a second interview with a faculty member in that research area), a second interview may be required. Request for a second interview does not automatically indicate that the first interview was subpar.
• Interviewing faculty member(s) will share their impressions with the Program Coordinator, who will make a final decision in admittance.
• Given the rolling admissions nature of our application process, applicants who have been offered acceptance must decide about their standing in the program within two weeks of their offer. The Program Coordinator may allow extensions on a case-by-case basis.
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