Program Overview
Counseling Psychology, PhD
The APA-accredited doctoral program in counseling psychology is based on the scientist/practitioner model of professional psychology and integrates counseling and psychological theory, scientific inquiry, and supervised practice. Counseling psychology is a psycho-educational specialty in which practitioners help others to improve their well-being, alleviate their distress, resolve their crises, and increase their ability to solve problems and make decisions. Counseling psychologists apply systematic, research-based approaches to help themselves and others understand and develop solutions to problems that are educational, vocational, emotional, social, cultural, health-related, or developmental in nature.
Program Emphasis
The UWMadison program places special emphasis on multicultural competence and social justice, integration of research and practice, and preparation for ethical and professional conduct as either a researcher, teacher, or practitioner. The theoretical orientation of the program is best described as eclectic. Coursework emphasizes the research base of counseling psychology and students are expected to involve themselves in faculty research. All students complete a one-year, full-time pre-doctoral internship as a culminating training experience.
Program Length
The planned length of the program for students entering with a master's degree (post-MA track) is five years, although students may opt to take additional time depending on academic background and career objectives. The department also admits a small number of students to a postBA track. These students apply to the PhD program at the completion of their undergraduate degree and are required to integrate coursework and professional practice training at the master's level, as well as introductory doctoral coursework, during the first two years of study. Students admitted to the postBA track typically have excellent academic records and experiences that demonstrate high levels of both helping skills and research skills prior to admissions. The planned length of the postBA track is six years, although actual completion times will vary depending on student needs and career goals.
Mission
The mission of the counseling psychology PhD program is to train health service psychologists who are skillful in research and intervention with diverse populations, who integrate science and practice into their professional roles, and who uphold high ethical and professional standards as psychologists. Program graduates are broadly prepared for a number of professional roles, including direct service, research, teaching, clinical supervision, and program design and evaluation.
Admissions
- Fall Deadline: December 1
- Spring Deadline: The program does not admit in the spring.
- Summer Deadline: The program does not admit in the summer.
- GRE (Graduate Record Examinations): Not Required but may be considered if available.
- English Proficiency Test: Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy.
- Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT): n/a
- Letters of Recommendation Required: 3
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursars Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School.
Program Resources
The Department of Counseling Psychology has been very successful in providing financial support for PhD students who remain in good standing in the program. Funding is contingent upon the availability of resources and usually comes from multiple sources during doctoral study, including fellowships and assistantships, and currently includes tuition remission (except for the final year in the APA-accredited internship) and health benefits, as well as providing valuable research/teaching/clinical experiences.
Curricular Requirements
- Minimum Credit Requirement:
- PostMA: 77 credits
- PostBA: 89 credits
- Minimum Residence Credit Requirement:
- PostMA: 51 credits
- PostBA: 63 credits
- Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement: Half of degree coursework must be graduate-level coursework.
- Overall Graduate GPA Requirement: 3.00 GPA required.
- Other Grade Requirements: Students are required to attain a minimum course grade of B for all required courses.
Assessments and Examinations
Satisfactory progress is demonstrated by earning a minimum grade of B in all required courses, demonstration of competency on routine evaluation milestones, responsible professional conduct in employment and practicum settings, and timely progress on independent work. A comprehensive formative review of student performance, encompassing academic and clinical training, research involvement, and other roles such as employment and departmental activities, is conducted annually.
Required Courses
There are two primary curriculum domains of the doctoral program. Required coursework and practicum experiences contribute to each students competency in these areas. The core curriculum areas are:
- Discipline-Specific Knowledge
- History and Systems of Psychology
- Basic Psychology Content Areas
- Research, Quantitative Methods, and Psychometrics
- Advanced Integrative Knowledge in Scientific Psychology
- Profession-Wide Competencies
- Integration of Science and Practice
- Ethical and Legal Standards
- Individual and Cultural Diversity
- Professional Values and Attitudes
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills
- Assessment
- Intervention
- Supervision
- Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills
PostMA Pathway
Course List:
- COUN PSY/ED PSYCH/RP & SE 737: Seminar in History and Systems of Psychology
- COUN PSY/PSYCH/RP & SE 729: Advanced Social Psychology
- ED PSYCH 542: The Biological Basis of Behavior
- ED PSYCH/HDFS 725: Theory and Issues in Human Development
- ED PSYCH 533: Thinking, Feeling, & Learning
- COUN PSY/ED PSYCH/RP & SE 736: Seminar in Psychology of Individual Differences
- COUN PSY 926: Seminar in Ethical and Professional Issues in Counseling Psychology
- COUN PSY 740: Abnormal Behavior and Psychopathology
- COUN PSY 905: Research Practicum in Counseling Psychology
- COUN PSY 950: Research Methods in Counseling Psychology
- COUN PSY 960: Research Methods in Counseling Psychology, II
- COUN PSY 951: Counseling Psychology Research in Individual Intervention
- COUN PSY 956: Seminar: Research in Vocational Psychology and Career Development
- COUN PSY 850: Mental Health Consultation in Health Service Psychology
- COUN PSY 810: Professional Development and Clinical Practice
- COUN PSY 900: Counseling Psychology Practicum--Foundational
- COUN PSY 903: Counseling Psychology Practicum--Advanced
- COUN PSY 902: Counseling Psychology Practicum in Supervision
- COUN PSY 890: Advanced Assessment Techniques in Counseling Psychology
- COUN PSY 990: Research or Thesis
- COUN PSY/ED PSYCH/PSYCH 995: Predoctoral Internship
- COUN PSY 904: Counseling Psychology Externship
- COUN PSY 908: Pre-Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology Preparation Seminar
PostBA Pathway
In addition to the PostMA pathway courses, Post-BA track students must complete:
- COUN PSY 800: Theories of Counseling
- COUN PSY 802: Group Dynamics Processing and Counseling
- COUN PSY 805: Helping Relationships and Techniques
- COUN PSY 806: Supervised Practicum in Counseling
Policies
Prior Coursework
- Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions: With program approval, students are allowed to transfer no more than 21 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions.
- Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison: No credits from another institution or UWMadison undergraduate degree are allowed to transfer toward the degree.
- Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison: Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
- Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UWMadison: With program approval, students are allowed to transfer no more than 9 credits of coursework numbered 300 or above taken as a UWMadison University Special student.
Probation
Placement on probation indicates a very serious faculty concern about a student's performance. Students are placed on probation, as opposed to being dismissed from the program, when the faculty determines that the student likely will be able to address the difficulty that led to the probation if appropriate remediation is provided.
Advisor / Committee
Upon admission to the doctoral program, all students are assigned a faculty advisor. The doctoral student may select a major professor from the Department of Counseling Psychology who is not the original faculty advisor.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum.
Time Limits
Students have eight years from the date of admission to complete all of the necessary courses. Courses that are more than eight years old will not fulfill program completion requirements for admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy occurs when students successfully complete all required coursework and pass their doctoral preliminary examinations. Students must be admitted to candidacy within ten years of admission to the department. Once admitted to candidacy (dissertator status) the student has five years to complete the dissertation and pass the final oral examination.
Professional Development
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Learning Outcomes
- Prepare for role as professional psychologist.
- Apply professional standards and conduct.
- Demonstrate scientific foundations.
- Acquire knowledge and skill in psychological practice.
- Acquire knowledge and skills in clinical supervision.
- Develop relational skills.
- Gain an understanding of the scientific basis for practice.
- Acquire knowledge of research methods.
- Apply research findings to psychological practice.
- Apply scientific thinking to practice.
- Develop a multicultural competence and social justice orientation.
- Acquire cultural and scientific knowledge relevant to diverse and underrepresented groups.
- Develop awareness of self as a cultural being.
- Develop skill in application of knowledge of self, culture, and context to clinical work.
Accreditation
American Psychological Association Accreditation status: Accredited. Next accreditation review: 2029.
Certification/Licensure
Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology Note: Because of the relatively small size of many doctoral programs, EPPP pass rates are reported only in terms of the three and five-year moving averages.