Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, PhD

The Counselor Education Doctoral Program offers a Departmental Ph.D. degree with a formal option in Counselor Education, Research, and Policy. The doctoral program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).The doctoral program is campus- based and is not offered on-line. We have carefully designed our doctoral curriculum to meet the needs of students who are preparing for careers in rehabilitation counselor education, research, and administration. Our students complete advanced doctoral seminars in rehabilitation counseling research, psychosocial aspects of chronic illnesses and disability, rehabilitation counseling theory, professional rehabilitation counseling issues, and rehabilitation administration and policy. In these courses, students explore a wide range of psychosocial, societal, and international perspectives on disability and counseling. In addition to the counseling professional seminars, doctoral students’ complete coursework in the following areas:  

1. A Graduate Core (23 hours), including coursework in college and university teaching, grant writing, clinical practicum experiences and practicum experiences in university teaching, and dissertation residency.  
2. A Counselor Education area of emphasis core (15 hours) (counseling professional seminars, described above).  
3. A thematic support area from outside the area of emphasis (15 hours), including interdisciplinary coursework consisting of courses from outside the Department, such as: Psychology, Rehabilitation Sciences, Educational and Counseling Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Communication Disorders, or other areas, designed to develop the student’s expertise in a focused area of rehabilitation counseling research, and typically this core directly relates to the student’s dissertation topic.  
4. A research block (21 hours), including course work in statistical methods, quantitative research methods, qualitative research methods, and mixed method approaches, and research internships.  

Each student’s program of studies is planned and supervised by an Advisory Committee consisting of 4 individuals, including the student’s major professor and two other members from the Department. The remaining member represents the student’s outside support area. Upon completion of the prescribed coursework, students are examined to evaluate their preparedness to be advanced to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. The basis of this evaluation is completion of a qualifying examination administered by the student’s Advisory Committee. 

 

Admission Requirements  

Applicants are required to have an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75.  

A Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling or a closely-related field with a GPA of at least 3.5. (Note: Students who are entering with a non-Rehabilitation Counseling Master’s degree program may be required to take leveling, or foundational courses as described below.).  

Submission of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (mandatory for all doctoral applicants).  

Minimum of one year (at least two preferred) of post- Master’s experience in rehabilitation counseling or a related field (program will alternatively consider extensive prior related experience and exceptional academic performance on an individual basis).  

• At least three (3) positive recommendations attesting to the candidate’s professional disposition and fitness for the profession, self-awareness and emotional stability, oral and written communication skills, cultural sensitivity and awareness, and potential for scholarship, professional leadership, and advocacy.  

• Written statement of the applicant’s objectives for completing a doctoral program; and  

• A sample of the applicant’s academic and/or professional writing. Final admissions decisions are the purview of the Department’s faculty.  

Note: For students applying to the Ph.D. Formal Option with a Master’s or graduate degree that is not from a CORE- or CACREP-accredited rehabilitation counseling program, foundational rehabilitation counseling content and core counseling content courses may be required prior to, or concurrent with enrollment. Decisions about the need for foundational coursework are the purview of the Program faculty and will be made on an individual basis, based on review of the applicant’s previous graduate coursework, review of applicant’s transcripts and course descriptions; previous graduate coursework may in some cases be substituted.  

Foundational Coursework includes the following: (a) Foundations or Principles of Rehabilitation Counseling or Counseling, (b) Social and Cultural Diversity, (c) Human Growth and Development, (d) Career Theory and Development, (e) Individual and Group Counseling Theories and Models, (f ) Assessment and Testing, (g) Research and Program Evaluation, (h) Psychosocial and Medical Aspects of Disability. 

 

Degree Requirements  

A typical course sequence is as follows: 

1. Coursework from Professional Seminars in Advanced Rehabilitation Counseling may include: 

• CED 740 ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION AND PROGRAM EVALUATION IN REHABILITATION COUNSELING    

• CED 735 ADVANCED METHODS FOR TEACHING AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE    

• CED 711 SEMINAR IN ADVANCED REHABILITATION PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES  

• CED 760 CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES IN REHABILITATION   

• CED 715 ADVANCED SEMINAR IN PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHRONIC ILLNESS AND DISABILITY  

• CED 770 ADVANCED SEMINAR IN REHABILITATION COUNSELING THEORY, PRACTICE, AND EDUCATION    

2. EDS 701   / CED 701   / IEC 701  : Seminar for EDSRC Leadership Personnel (1 credit each, 4 semesters) (4)  

3. EDS 712   / CED 712   / IEC 712   : Seminar in EDSCE Professional Services (3)  

4. EDS 720   / CED 720   / IEC 720  : Seminar in EDSCE Teacher Preparation (3)  

5. EDS 721   / CED 721   / IEC 721  : Practicum in EDSCE Personnel Preparation (3-9)  

6. EDS 767   / CED 767   / IEC 767   : Dissertation Residency Credit (4). EDS 767 is taken for a minimum of two credits per semester for two semesters (excluding summer terms) after successful completion of the qualifying examination.  

7. CED 710 CLINICAL PRACTICUM IN COUNSELING  (Doctoral Section)

Rehabilitation Counseling Area of Emphasis (15 credits)  

Thematic Support Area (15 credits)  

Research Tools (21 credits)  

Required Practicum Experiences

Clinical practicum experiences are required of all doctoral students. As with the didactic portion of the curriculum, practica experiences are planned according to the individual backgrounds and needs of each student. Students are required to complete a 200-hour clinical practicum (40% of which must be direct client contact hours).  

Required Internship Experience  

In the course of their program plan, students will complete 600-clock hours of supervised internship, addressing three of the five following areas: Counseling, Supervision, Teaching, Research and Scholarship, Leadership and Advocacy. The internships are designed to ensure doctoral-level experience in counselor education areas including: campus and distance-based teaching, supervision, and clinical counseling. The nature and focus of the internship will be determined in consultation with each student individually.  

Professional Involvement  

We encourage and support student’s professional development, with an emphasis on participation in the rehabilitation counseling profession at the national level through research, publication, and participation in national conferences and leadership opportunities in our national and regional rehabilitation counseling professional associations. We provide support to our students through research grants and teaching assistantships, and a number of funding opportunities that are available to our doctoral students through our graduate school.