| COUNSELING
DOCTORAL DEGREE |
Philosophy
and Objectives
Counseling psychology is concerned with the normal
adaptation of individuals to their environment and with helping others
cope with crises, problems of daily living and mental challenges. The
counseling psychology program is committed to the idea that human
problems are the result of complex interaction of environmental factors
and developmental changes in the person.
The Ph.D. counseling psychology program trains
professional psychologists within the broad context of the
scientist-practitioner model. This is achieved through prescribed
course work and practicum experience. The model focuses on application
of the basic principles of psychology and psychotherapy to accomplish
multiple objectives:
- provide instruction in the range of scientific and
practice activities within counseling psychology;
- aid in the resolution and understanding of
psychological and social problems of essentially normal individuals;
- serve as psychotherapeutic agents for persons with
severe problems in personal adjustment; and
- train counseling psychologists in basic research
skills.
The doctoral program in counseling psychology focuses on
preventative aspects of mental health. Training emphasizes acquisition
of counseling skills through exposure to specific educational
experiences according to the developmental perspective held by the
faculty. The program's approach is based on a scientific framework that
stresses commitment to empirical and objective evaluation of theory and
technique.
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Admission
Requirements
In addition to Psychology Department doctoral program
requirements, doctoral applicants must meet the admission requirements
of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.
Admission to the counseling psychology program is not
determined by any single criterion or quantitative measure of
achievement. Motivation, aptitude, self-awareness and interpersonal
poise are highly valued, as are skills in communication, research
methods and professional/scientific writing.
Applicants must submit a resume and a statement of
goals. The statement of goals is an essay in which applicants describe
their interest in seeking a doctoral degree in counseling psychology.
In the statement, applicants can include descriptions of the ways they
can enrich diversity of the program, department, college, and UNT;
foreign language fluencies they may possess; unique life experiences
they have had in/with other cultures; past experiences working with
diverse populations; commitment to working with diverse populations;
career plans that might involve working with diverse populations;
reasons for applying to a counseling program and to UNT; academic
goals; research interests; applied practice goals; etc. The overall
purpose of the self-statement is to give the applicant an opportunity
to convey to the admissions committee a fuller picture of the
applicant's own self beyond the impression that can be formed from
review of past academic records, test scores, and reference letters.
The counseling psychology program regards admission as a
serious commitment on the part of both the applicant and the faculty.
The counseling admission committee's goal is to make an optimal match
between the applicants' qualifications and goals and the training
program's resources and objectives.
Detailed departmental admission requirements and an
application may be obtained from the graduate coordinator or via the
web at www.psyc.unt.edu.
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PhD
Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology requires a
minimum of 111 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including a
one-year supervised internship. Students who are able to devote
themselves full time to their studies may complete the program in five
years. Most students take about six years.
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General
Core Studies
Doctoral students are required to demonstrate competency
(grade of B or better) in 20 hours of core psychology course work:
- PSYC 5060 History and Systems
- PSYC 5090 Social Psychology
- PSYC 5640 Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior
- PSYC 5700 Quantitative Methods I
- PSYC 5710 Quantitative Methods II
- PSYC 5790 Physiological Psychology
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Counseling Concentration
The counseling concentration core consists of 45
semester hours of course work in the following areas: psychotherapy,
assessment, vocational and career counseling, group work,
psychopathology, personality, multicultural issues, human development
and ethics. The goal is to train psychologists in traditional hallmarks
of counseling psychology. An emphasis is placed on developmental and
intervention issues as they relate to normal and atypical or disordered
behavior.
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Counseling
Practicum
The applied training experience in Counseling
Psychology begins in the first semester and may continue throughout the
student's on-campus work. The bulk of applied training occurs at the
Psychology Clinic and the University Counseling and Testing Services.
The Psychology Clinic practicum team is composed of first, second, and
third year students and the supervising psychologist. In the second and
third year of the required practicum sequence, students divide their
training between the Psychology Clinic and the University Counseling
and Testing Services.
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Elective
Cluster
Doctoral counseling students select an elective cluster
of 12 to 15 hours from several options: marriage and family, aging, or
, sport psychology. Students may design other elective clusters with
approval of the counseling committee.
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Research
During their first year, doctoral students formulate a
thesis-related research project to complete during their second year.
Students are also encouraged to involve themselves in faculty members'
research. Second- and third-year counseling students take on increasing
responsibility in research projects that will culminate in the
student's completion of a dissertation. The dissertation is a rigorous
demonstration of the Ph.D. student's understanding of the scientific
base of psychological work and the student's ability to integrate
concepts into a system from which assumptions and hypotheses can be
tested and interpreted.
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Internship
A full-time, calendar-year internship is required.
Internships are independent of academic training programs. Students
bear the responsibility for applying for and gaining acceptance to
internships.
The attached file shows sites where UNT Counseling Psychology students
have obtained internships from 2001-2008.
Internship
site list
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Foreign
Language Requirements
Beyond the 111 hours required for the degree, students
must satisfy the graduate school requirement of a reading knowledge of
a foreign language or have demonstrated competence in a research tool
subject that has been approved by the psychology department and the
Graduate Council.
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Evaluation
of Knowledge and Skills
Throughout training, the counseling program faculty
members assess each student's progress. Evaluation focuses on
development of general knowledge in the field of psychology and the
specialty area of counseling psychology, competence in the delivery of
applied services, skill in scientific investigation, and appropriate
interpersonal and ethical functioning. Students who do not demonstrate
satisfactory and continuous progress in these regards may be terminated
from the counseling psychology program.
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Financial
assistance
Doctoral students may apply for departmentally funded
teaching assistantships and fellowships. The department strives to
support all doctoral students for at least two years (generally the
second and third year). Additionally, competitive scholarships are
available from the graduate school and other sources. Students with
quarter-time assistantships (10 hours per week), employment or other
responsibilities must enroll in 12 hours of course work each regular
semester. Students with half-time assistantships (20 hours per week)
must enroll in 9 hours.
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Facilities
The recently renovated Psychology Clinic is used for
practicum training. The clinic includes psychotherapy and assessment
rooms and rooms with one-way mirrors for live observation of individual
and group sessions. Extensive videotaping capabilities are available
for supervision in training. The counseling psychology program also
uses training resources at the University Counseling and Testing
Services.
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Student
Body and Program Statistics
The rate of attrition from the Ph.D. program in
counseling psychology is very small. At this time the program has a
larger percentage of women than men. Its students are diverse in age,
backgrounds and interests. Most facilities on campus, including the
Department of Psychology, are accessible to students with disabilities.
The Ph.D. program has about 50 students and admits approximately 8
students annually. The internship placement rate in the counseling
psychology program has been about 85 percent for the past six years.
The Doctoral Program in Counseling
Psychology at the University of North Texas provides student, education
and training outcome data, and financial information in response to
directives from the APA Office of Accreditation. The information
provided includes data concerning applicants, admitted students,
internship acceptance rates, time to program completion, licensure,
student attrition rates, and financial costs. The program uses a
process of holistic review for admissions, and admission is not
determined by one criterion or quantitative measure of achievement.
Program
Statistics
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