PhD in Counseling Psychology
Counseling and Educational Psychology (CEP)
What Makes Us Exceptional
- A Highly Sought After & Competitive Program
- Comprehensive curriculum provides students with intense and in-depth training in both science and practice.
- From your first semester, learn to design, conduct, and evaluate research relevant to Counseling Psychologists.
- Paid assistantships and other financial opportunities are available to our students:
- Earn money and gain experience teaching college-level courses.
- Most PhD Counseling Psychology students receive paid graduate assistantships during their first year of study.
- UMKC School of Education Scholarships
- UMKC School of Graduate Studies Scholarships and Financial Assistance
- The UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office
- Nationally Accredited by the American Psychological Association
- Match Your Learning Experience to Your Interests!
- Participate in faculty-guided research teams focusing on multicultural and international issues in a variety of areas including:
- Counseling
- Career Development
- Secondary School Contexts
- Domestic Violence
- Couples and Family Issues
- Flow
- Religious Issues
- Social Justice Advocacy
- Sport Psychology
- Immigrants and Refugees
- A Great Urban Location! here’s why
- Diverse, Supportive Faculty Who Are Active In the Field! here’s why
- Our Own Student Training Facility! (CCAS)
The Program
Consistent with UMKC’s urban mission, the Ph.D. program emphasizes cultural and individual diversity within a scientist-practitioner model. Our students learn to be ethical and flexible professionals who can work in a variety of settings while relying on the underlying philosophies of Counseling Psychology and the scientist-practitioner model. Students are encouraged to develop primary identification with the core values of Counseling Psychology as presented in the 2005 Model Training Program for Counseling Psychology (Epperson, Fouad, Stoltenberg, & Murdock, 2005; a joint document prepared by the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs and Division 17 of the American Psychological Association) that emphasize:
- Assets, strengths, and positive mental health regardless of level of functioning
- Respect for cultural and individual diversity, including race, ethnicity, religion/spirituality, nationality, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ability, etc.
- Commitment to scientific method
- Developmental framework to human growth and development
- Relatively brief counseling interventions
- Person-environment interactions
- Prevention
- Educational/vocational development
Program graduates apply these values in a variety of settings, including two and four-year colleges and universities, university counseling centers, veteran affairs facilities, hospitals, community mental health centers, and private practice. Many also become professional consultants, writers, and scholars.
Our program emphasizes a scientist-practitioner model in which students are informed about and contribute to scientific knowledge and are committed to life-long learning. Student practice activities are informed by research and a scientific attitude, and all professional activities are approached and critically evaluated with an ethical, multicultural, and professional mind-set. Students are also trained to work effectively and ethically with diverse clients, using interventions based on theory and informed by science. Our developmental model provides early and progressive training in both research and practice activity, culminating in professionals who can design, conduct, and evaluate research relevant to the field of psychology.
Full-time students usually complete the degree in 6 - 7 years by following the program curriculum. In addition, please see our admission information for application materials, GRE preparation, and tuition information.
Accreditation
The Ph.D. degree program in counseling psychology has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association since 1985. If you have questions about our program’s accreditation status, please contact:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/
All Counseling and Educational Psychology programs are in cooperation with the Department of Psychology within the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences.