Skip to content

Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program

Program Overview:

The Ph.D. Program in Counseling Psychology is offered through the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Utah. Students who complete the Counseling Psychology Program develop comprehensive knowledge and skills in core areas of scientific psychology, psychological inquiry, and the professional practice of psychology. Upon graduation, students accept a wide variety of entry-level positions in higher education (academic departments or counseling centers), hospital and medical settings, community mental health centers and agencies, managed care organizations, departments of corrections, private agencies, and business and organizational settings with diverse clientele. Students graduating from our program will have completed all requirements to apply for licensure as a psychologist, with the exception of states that require additional coursework or postdoctoral supervised hours for licensure.

Students entering the Counseling Psychology Program can expect to spend 5 or more years (slightly less if entering with a master’s degree in counseling) in the program, including a full-year pre-doctoral internship. Program requirements include:

  • Coursework in the behavioral sciences, research and statistics, counseling and psychotherapy, and a special proficiency identified by the student
  • Counseling practice, including an introductory counseling practicum, a 1-year intensive core practicum at the University Counseling Center, approximately 2 years of advanced field practicum, and a 1-year pre-doctoral internship
  • Presentation at a regional/ national conference
  • Submission of a scholarly article or chapter to a peer-reviewed journal
  • Completion of a Pre-dissertation Research Project
  • Successful completion of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination
  • Completion of a Ph.D. Dissertation Research project

For a more complete description of the Counseling Psychology Program, please continue to peruse the website, and be sure to look at the most recent Program Handbook.

The University of Utah's Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program is an organized sequence of study in scientific and professional psychology that follows a scientist-practitioner model. The program has received continuous accreditation from the American Psychological Association since 1957. For more information about what accreditation means, please visit:

Office of Program Consultation & Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
(T) 202-374- 2721; TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123; (F) 202-336-5978;
http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/; apaaccred@apa.org

Program Introduction Video

Counseling Psychology Information Sessions

These video conference information sessions will provide important information about our Ph.D. Program. Please review our program introduction video on this page before the information session. The video includes an introduction to our program, what professionals in these careers do, the job outlook, program requirements, admissions requirements, and the admissions process. The information session will primarily be a question-and-answer session about the program. Video Conference Times are in Mountain Time, so adjust if you are in a different time zone.

Please contact ed-cpasst@utah.edu and specify which date to participate.

Upcoming Info Session Dates/Times:

February 26th 7:30pm-8:30pm MST

April 15th 7:30pm-8:30pm MST

Student Admissions,Outcomes, & Other Data


Contact an Alumnus


Related Talks

Dr. Garth Fowler, the APA Associate Director of the Education Directorate: Career Competencies and the Individual Development Plan:
Click here to watch video

 APA Education Advocacy Workshop (with Dr. Karen Studwell and Ms. Alix Ginsberg): Click here to watch the video

Dr. Mike Parent, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin
Citation Network Analysis
Click here to watch the video

Dr. Mike Parent, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin
Men and Masculinities
Click here to watch the video

Related Websites

Department of Educational Psychology 

College of Education

University of Utah

Last Updated: 3/18/24