The Counseling Psychology Program helps students develop expertise in the traditional domains of psychology, in counseling interventions as a helping professional, in the scientific skills that will enable them to create new knowledge and to evaluate their own or others’ psychological work, and in the ethical and professional attitudes that promote excellence and leadership in the field of psychology.
The Program is committed to training students to assume emerging diverse roles and responsibilities that will advance a social justice agenda. Our goal is to educate professionals who maintain a continuing pursuit of scholarly activities, who promote psychology as a discipline, and who are concerned with facilitating psychosocial development and mental health and well-being in diverse populations and at multiple levels of the ecological system (e.g., individual, family, community, and society.)
The counseling psychology doctoral (PhD) program is accredited by the American Psychological Association through its Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, phone: 202.336.5500). Our program follows the Boulder model for preparing scientist-practitioners, with an emphasis on social justice issues. The program requires full-time study (9-12 credits per semester) and residence in Lexington. Like all counseling psychology doctoral programs, our program includes a one-year, full-time internship at an APA accredited site, which usually requires relocation to another city or state. As is typical for counseling psychology PhD programs, our program takes most post-master’s students (who enter the program with an applied mental health master’s degree) five years to complete and most pre-master’s students seven years to complete.
Admission Requirements
Generally, students who enter the doctoral program have completed the master’s degree in psychology or counseling. We may accept strong applicants who have completed an undergraduate degree in psychology or a related discipline (e.g., sociology, pre-med), but do not have a master’s degree; these students are expected to complete our master’s level coursework and practica prior to beginning the doctoral coursework and practica.
Applications for admission are evaluated by the program faculty who carefully review the applicant’s (a) GPA; (b) GRE scores, when provided; (c) letters of recommendation addressing academic, research, and counseling experiences and interpersonal skills; (d) match with faculty research interests; (e) Statement of Purpose outlining professional goals (i.e., is it commensurate with our training model and social justice values, and does it demonstrate excellence in written communication); (f) writing sample demonstrating excellence in written communication; and (g) contribution to diversity, broadly defined to include individual social identities and background experiences. The program faculty holistically considers the entire application of a prospective student and makes decisions based not only on numerical criteria but also on perceived fit with program goals, needs, and values. Therefore, a low score in one area can be off-set by professional strengths in another area. Minimum GPA is >2.75 for undergraduate and >3.00 for graduate. Minimum TOEFL score is 79. It is crucial that students articulate in their Statement of Purpose how their specific research interests match the research program of one or two of the counseling psychology faculty members.
Degree Requirements
See the counseling psychology PhD program website (https://education.uky.edu/edp/counseling-psychology-overview/phd-program-in-counseling-psychology/) for degree requirements.
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