Program Requirements

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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

Program Handbook

You can download archived copies (PDF) of the Counseling Psychology Program Handbook.

Course Requirements

The following courses, or their graduate level equivalent, are required:

Statistics

Ethics and Professional Standards

Research Methods

Note: Students planning projects using special research methods/techniques also are required to take the relevant specialty courses [or equivalents], e.g., EDPS 7420, Qualitative Research in Psychology; EDPS 7410, Single Subject Research Design; EDPS 7570, Multivariate Statistics or advanced special seminars on Structural Equation Modeling, Meta-Analysis, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, etc.

Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior (3 credit hours required)

Individual Differences (6 credit hours required)

The following courses are required:

Assessment

Note: Although not required, EDPS 7190, Applied Neuropsychological Assessment (3), is recommended for students with special interests in psychological assessment. EDPS 7150, Individual Child/Adolescent Assessment (3) is recommended for students with interests in child psychology.

Intervention

Practica

Note: At least 1,000 hours of supervised experience are required across the various practica.

Internship

Note: All students are required to complete an APA-accredited 2,000 hour internship in professional psychology consisting of a year of full-time supervised work.

Special Proficiency

After consultation with the student's faculty advisor, each student completes a minimum of 6 graduate semester hours or its equivalent in a special proficiency of the student’s choosing. Course work must represent an integrated whole and have a coherent focus. In certain circumstances, the student may include prior master’s degree course work, specialty practica, or approved experiences as part of the special proficiency. Required courses do not count toward the special proficiency.

Examples of possible special proficiencies are identified below. Depending on the student's professional goals and interests, other specializations or combinations of the areas noted below may be approved.

Assessment Child/ Adolescent Psychology Family/Marriage/Couples Psychology Forensic Psychology Gender Psychology Adult Life-span Development Health Psychology Higher Education/College Student Personnel Work/College Teaching Individual/Group Psychotherapy Multicultural Psychology Human Diversity Neuropsychology, Applied Organizational Psychology and Consultation Program Development, Evaluation, and Administration Psychometric Theory/Test Construction Psychotherapy Research Rehabilitation Psychology/Chemical Dependency Counseling Research Methods/Statistics Specific Intervention Models (e.g., Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral) Sport Psychology Substance Abuse Vocational Psychology/Career Counseling

Electives

In consultation with their advisors, students may add elective courses to their programs of study that support their personal and professional objectives.

View program requirements PDF

Course Sequencing

*Course offered every other year

*Course offered every other year

Doctoral Qualifying Exam

The Doctoral Qualifying Examination (also called the Prelim Exam) includes written and oral components. The written component is given twice each year shortly after the start of the Fall and Spring semesters. The written exam is broken up into two 3-day segments with three items being administered during each segment. Three Prelim Exam questions (Measurement and Assessment, Multicultural Counseling and Human Diversity, and Research and Psychological Interventions in Counseling Psychology) will be transmitted by e-mail attachment by 8:00 a.m. the Friday of the first segment and must be returned by 8:00 a.m. the following Monday. Three additional Prelim Exam questions (Segment two: Ethics, Methods of Quantitative Research Design and Analysis, and Vocational Psychology and Career Development) will be transmitted by e-mail attachment by 8:00 a.m. the following Friday and must be returned by 8:00 a.m. the following Monday. Students wishing to pick up and deliver hard copies should make arrangements at least two weeks in advance with the Prelim Exam director. Completion of the written component of the Prelim Exam qualifies the student to sit for the oral component. The Counseling Psychology Committee conducts the oral component of the Prelim Exam. The oral component is scheduled approximately three to five weeks after completion of the written exam.

It is strongly recommended that students take the prelims during the academic year prior to applying for internship. It is a program requirement--and is often a requirement of internship sites as well--that students have passed the Prelim Exam prior to applying for internship. In cases where students must retake a portion of the Prelim Exam, it will not be possible to successfully complete this retake before the required deadlines for most internship applications. Students are strongly advised to take the Prelim Exam no later than the Spring before they apply for internships the following Fall.

Please refer to the Prelims Exam Guide for more information on the Doctoral Qualifying Exam, including its purpose, process, structure, and requirements. The Guide also includes study information.

College of Education Licensure Statement

Licensure The Counseling Psychology program, Ph.D. program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). The Counseling Psychology Program prepares graduates for licensure in the state of Utah.