Counseling and Personnel Services (PhD)
Advance Your Counseling Career
The PhD in Counseling and Personnel Services offers concentrations in college student personnel; counseling psychology; counselor education and supervision and educational psychology, measurement and evaluation. This program emphasizes social justice, leadership, practical experience and research. With mentorship from expert faculty advisors, students are equipped to contribute new knowledge and lead in their disciplines.
Course Catalog
Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling and Personnel Services (CPSPHD)
Unit: College of Education and Human Development (GE)
Department: Counseling and Human Development
Program Website
Academic Plan Code(s): See Specialization Requirements tab.
Program Information
This program offers a combination of coursework, with mostly in person courses. In person courses are offered on campus or in local schools.
The Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling and Personnel Services encompasses two specialization areas:
The doctoral degree is granted in recognition of scholarly proficiency and distinctive achievement in a specific field/discipline. All candidates for a doctoral degree in the College of Education and Human Development must successfully complete qualifying exams and a dissertation/professional portfolio that clearly indicates the candidate has mastered and can exhibit/articulate the content knowledge, skills, and dispositions specific to their discipline, and can utilize appropriate research methodologies to contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
Distinctive Characteristics of Doctoral Programs in the College of Education and Human Development
- Social Justice and Equity
Doctoral students in our program build experience and expertise in the issues of social justice and equity which aligns with our metropolitan mission and focus on student achievement. - Leadership
Our doctoral students gain expertise in supervising and leading others to achieve organizational goals and missions, managing complex systems, addressing administrative issues and procedures, conducting research to enhance leadership and teaching others about the art of organizational leadership. - Practical Experience
The doctoral program contains practicums, internships, or embedded field experience that aligns with program and career goals. These mentored experiences may include teaching, research, administration or other appropriate areas. - Scholarship/Research
An emphasis on scholarship includes experience and mentorship in ethics, publications, presentation, grantsmanship, and other forms of creative activity. The research component is characterized by the development of vertical research teams: senior faculty, junior faculty, doctoral students, master's students, and in some programs, undergraduate students, working together on research projects and research areas. These may be bolstered by partnerships with local school districts, businesses, or community agencies.
Admission Requirements
Application requirements:
- Completed application submitted at https://apply.graduate.louisville.edu/apply/
- Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate coursework completed. Only institutionally accredited bachelor’s degrees will be considered. To be considered official, transcripts must be sent by the issuing institution to the UofL Graduate School directly. Transcripts issued to the student are considered unofficial.
- International transcripts must be evaluated per the grad school requirements: https://graduate.louisville.edu/admission/international/evaluation
- Personal statement (Applicants should submit a personal statement of approximately 500-1,000 words outlining their professional goals and how their research and professional interests might align with those of faculty in the department.)
- Current resume
- Three recommendations (can be academic or professional, personal recommendations not acceptable)
- The GRE is not required and will not be considered.
International Applicants:
- International applicants must submit additional application items and meet additional admission requirements. Information on the internation application and admission requirements can be found here: https://graduate.louisville.edu/admission/international
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo) is required of all students who completed a degree outside the United States from countries in which English is not the native language. Students holding a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution in the United States are exempt from this requirement.
Prerequisite requirements (Counseling and Personnel Services (PhD), Concentration Counseling Psychology):
* There are no prerequisite course requirements for admission to this program. We welcome applicants from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds at both the bachelor’s and graduate levels.
Admission Requirements:
- Completed application (including all checklist items) to be holistically reviewed
- Applicants who receive the highest evaluations from the doctoral admissions committee will be invited to participate in a virtual interview. An interview is required to be considered.
- Undergraduate grade point average greater than 3.0 or a graduate grade point average greater than 3.5.
- Conferred bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution required for unconditional admission. Applicants in their final year of their bachelor’s degree with final courses being completed before the graduate program start, can be reviewed for probationary admission pending a final transcript showing degree conferral by the end of the first semester.
Admission is competitive. Meeting the GPA minimum and all other admission requirements does not guarantee that prospective students will be accepted into the program.
An applicant who does not meet one of the above criteria and wishes to be considered for admission should include, in their application package, a written rationale for why the doctoral admissions committee should consider the application.
Program admission dates:
Application Deadline (Fall): December 1
Program Requirements
The Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling and Personnel Services encompasses four specialization areas. For specific coursework, see Specialization Requirements section.
- Counseling Psychology
- Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation
All ECPY doctoral programs require courses in the following areas:
Specialty -- Specialty courses are designed to prepare the student for work within their selected professional field.
Research Methodology -- The research component prepares students to examine research within the professional area as well as contribute to the existing research.
Electives -- Elective courses are selected in concert with advisor and program committee with consideration to the student's background, interests, and professional goals.
Each doctoral program will have additional requirements related to their program of study.
All candidates for a doctoral degree must successfully complete qualifying exams and a dissertation/professional portfolio that clearly indicates the candidate has mastered and can exhibit/articulate the content knowledge, skills and dispositions specific to their discipline, and can utilize appropriate research methodologies to contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
Specialization Requirements
Specialization in Counseling Psychology
Academic Plan Code(s): CPS_PHDCPS
NOTE: Professional Licensure/Certification is available for this specialization.
The Student and Committee must develop courses, programs and experiences that clearly identify and address the specific themes of Leadership, Scholarship, Social Justice and Equity. These areas of emphasis must have descriptive competencies that the student should attain and the Committee can assess.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty Components | 54 | |
Assessment Core (6 credit hours) | ||
Foundations (21 credit hours) | ||
Counseling Theory and Practice Core (27 credit hours) | ||
| Research Methodology (24 credit hours) | 24 | |
| Practicum and Pre-Internship Field Experience (27 credit hours) | 27 | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 105 | |
- 1
Students will work faculty advisor to select specific courses within each component.
Specialization in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation
Academic Plan Code(s): CPS_PHDPME
The Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation specialization requires a minimum of 90 graduate credit hours distributed in the following areas of study: specialty components , research methodology, and electives. Equivalent courses taken in a master's program may be substituted for required courses with advisor and program committee approval.
At least 45 of the 90 credit hours must be earned at UofL. These 45 credit hours include 18 credit hours fulfilling residency and twelve (12) credit hours required for dissertation research.
The Student and Committee must develop courses, programs and experiences that clearly identify and address the specific themes of Leadership, Scholarship, Social Justice and Equity. These areas of emphasis must have descriptive competencies that the student should attain and the Committee can assess.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty Components | 15 | |
| EPME Core (all required) | ||
ECPY 605 | Human Development | |
ECPY 701 | Doctoral Professional Seminar in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation | |
ECPY 710 | Social Ecology & Social Behavior | |
ECPY 712 | Advanced Issues in Human Development | |
ECPY 775 | Biological Bases of Behavior | |
| Research Methodology | 36-42 | |
| Selected with Program Committee Approval (36 credit hours minimum, 42 credit hours maximum) | ||
LEAD 701 | Intermediate Applied Statistics | |
LEAD 702 | Applied Multiple Regression | |
LEAD 703 | Multivariate Educational Statistics | |
LEAD 704 | Qualitative Field Research Methods | |
ECPY 740 | Psychometrics and Affective Instrument Development | |
ECPY 745 | Systematic Reviewing and Meta-Analysis | |
ECPY 746 | Secondary Data Analysis | |
LEAD 764 | Structural Equation Modeling | |
LEAD 765 | Hierarchical Linear Modeling | |
LEAD 789 | Advanced Research Design | |
LEAD 795 | Doctoral Research | |
| Electives | 39 | |
| Selected with Program Committee Approval | ||
CSE 630 | Advanced Databases | |
CSE 632 | Data Mining | |
ECPY 540 | Evaluation and Measurement in Education | |
ECPY 611 | Learning Systems: Theory and Practice | |
ECPY 631 | Adolescence | |
EDSP 669 | Single Case Research Methods and Designs | |
ECPY 793 | Doctoral Seminar in Educational and Counseling Psychology 1 | |
ECPY 797 | Internship in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation 2 | |
LEAD 602 | Survey Research and Attitude Measurement | |
LEAD 606 | Program Evaluation | |
LEAD 705 | Qualitative Data Analysis and Representation | |
LEAD 750 | Doctoral Seminar in Educational Evaluation | |
LEAD 790 | Problems in Urban Education and Society | |
PHST 620 | Introduction to Statistical Computing | |
PHST 683 | Survival Analysis | |
PHST 710 | Advanced Statistical Computing I | |
PSYC 621 | Cognitive Processes | |
PSYC 636 | Human Memory | |
SOC 710 | Statistics II | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 90 | |
- 1
May be taken up to three times for a maximum of nine (9) credit hours.
- 2
May be taken for a maximum of three (3) credit hours.
The Doctorate in Counseling and Personnel Services - Specialization in Counseling Psychology program prepares students to meet the requirements for certification and/or licensure. If you plan to pursue professional licensure or certification, you should first determine your state’s criteria for examination and licensure to see how/if our program meets those requirements prior to enrollment. We recommend that you also contact your state’s licensing board directly to verify that the requirements have not changed recently and to answer any questions especially those regarding additional requirements beyond the degree.
More information about certification or licensure is available at the following website: https://louisville.edu/about/departments/academic-planning-accountability/disclosures/professional-licensure.
For programs with an online option, more information about certification or licensure is available here:
https://online.louisville.edu/resources/compliance/license.
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