Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology

The Counseling Psychology Doctoral program began in 1978 and currently resides in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology. The program's philosophy holds that theory, research and practice are interdependent and complementary and is based on a scientist-practitioner model. The curriculum and practical experiences are designed to ensure professional competency in all three dimensions and to facilitate their integration.

The counseling psychology program's student admissions, outcomes and other data are provided to help potential doctoral students make an informed decision. Program graduates are typically employed in a variety of settings including academic departments, university counseling centers, community mental health agencies, hospitals and independent practices.

The Counseling Psychology Training Committee is responsible for administering the program. Graduates of the program meet curriculum requirements for licensure as a psychologist in Michigan. Because the program is accredited by APA, students are typically in a good position to meet curricular requirements for licensing in other states.

Students who enter the program with Masters’ degrees in counseling psychology or counseling often meet all the Master’s level prerequisites for doctoral courses and may have already have had a few of the required doctoral courses. Students, who enter with a Bachelor ’s degree, or a Master ’s degree in a non-counseling related area, will have to take additional Masters’ level coursework and practica. For this reason, there may be higher mean and median amounts of time to complete the program for years in which a higher percentages of our graduates had entered the program with a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree in a non-counseling related area.

Minimum English proficiency test scores:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): 80 iBT

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic: 6.5

Pearson Test of English, Academic Module (PTE): 54

Michigan English Test (MET): 57

Application deadline: Dec. 1 for the fall semester