The Doctor of Philosophy program in Counseling and Personnel Services (CPS) with a specialization in College Student Personnel (CSP) requires a minimum of 93 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree and is organized in four areas: professional specialty, research and statistics, counseling and foundations, core and internship.
Each student's program is specifically designed to include previous graduate coursework and research interests. Credit hours from an approved CSP or related program may be used to fulfill a portion of the 93 hours. Students with master's degrees in an unrelated field must complete the prerequisite coursework in the CSP program while enrolled as doctoral students.
Doctoral students are required to be in residence for 18 credit hours (i.e. complete 18 hours of coursework) within a given period of twelve months. The residency requirement can be completed any time during the degree program prior to the dissertation. Residency provides students the opportunity to use educational facilities and to participate more fully in the intellectual life and research atmosphere of the University.
As part of the program coursework, the student must register for ECPY 782, Doctoral Internship, which features a complete field experience of no less than 200 hours in a selected site which will offer the student a practical, comprehensive opportunity to engage in professional student personnel activities related to the student's personal interest area.
After the coursework is completed, doctoral students must take written a comprehensive exam to demonstrate their content and research inquiry knowledge by preparing a research proposal that meets doctoral level standards. Students must pass the comprehensive exam before they can move on to the dissertation stage.
A dissertation is required of all candidates for the degree of Ph.D. It is to be a scholarly achievement in basic or applied research in education and/or college student personnel administration that demonstrates a thorough understanding of research techniques in education and the ability to conduct independent research.
After completing the dissertation, the student is required to pass a final oral examination before completing the doctoral degree. The oral examination is a defense of the dissertation and a demonstration of the candidate's master of a specific field of study.
For details about program curriculum, visit the Graduate Catalog.
Prospective students must submit an online application for admission to the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies.
This program are open to all eligible students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.
An applicant who does not meet one of the above criteria and wishes to be considered for admission should include, in his/her application package, a written rationale for why the doctoral admissions committee should consider the application.
Applicants ranked highest by the doctoral admissions committee based on their application package will be interviewed on campus or by telephone.
Visit the Doctoral Student Handbook to learn more about the admission process. If you have questions about the program, e-mail ecpyinfo@louisville.edu.
Spring Term Admission: October 15 only
Fall Term Admission: January 15 (if requesting financial assistance) or March 1 (if no assistance is needed and positions are available).
Note: If spaces are available in the program after the March 1 deadline, fall applications will be considered until May 31. Please check with the department prior to applying.
Amy Hirschy
Department of Counseling and Human Development
College of Education & Human Development
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
502-852-0625
This program is designed to prepare prospective professionals for upper-level positions in student affairs administration in institutions of higher education, and faculty positions in graduate professional preparation programs.
In addition to the financial aid opportunities offered by the University, the College of Education & Human Development also has information about financial aid.
Other financial aid opportunities available include graduate assistantships.