Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision program is competitive. There is no guarantee of admission just because an applicant meets or exceeds the minimum criteria. To be considered for admission to the Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision program, applicants must complete a counseling application packet and meet the minimum criteria for admission consideration as described following:

1. Submission of all following required documents by the application due date:

a. Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision Application Form and the $75 fee.

b. Statement describing personal and professional goals (see personal and professional goals statement prompt below*).

c.  Official transcripts from all previous college work (see minimum Graduate level degree requirements below**).

d. Professionally written essay addressing your professional counselor identity and integration of social justice advocacy (see professional essay prompt below***).

e. Three personal reference forms from individuals who can speak to your academic and/or professional abilities. A minimum of two from professionals who hold a doctorate or master’s degree in counseling or a related field (note: a third can be from a current employer who may not have a graduate degree). If the applicant has been out of school for more than five years, suitable references may include professional peers, managers, or supervisors. References from family members or personal friends may not be accepted.

2. MA from Counseling or a related field GPA consideration requirements (at least one of the following criteria must be met):

• Applicants with an LPC or LCPC and MA GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Cumulative MA GPA of 3.0 or higher in a CACREP accredited Counseling program.
• Cumulative MA GPA of 3.0 or higher in a Counseling or a related field (Note: If not graduating from a CACREP accredited master’s program, any of the required MA-Level topic requirement courses with less than a B- grade may be needed to be retaken, see ***Required Graduate Level Degree Requirements information below.) 
• Applicants  with a MA GPA of 2.70 to 2.99 or higher may be considered for the application process if they elect to take, or have taken within the last seven years,  the Graduate Record Exam, General Test (GRE), and scored at least 155 on the verbal portion of the exam.
• After the review of all applications, a select number of applicants will be invited for an interview.

Governors State University’s application link website: https://apply.govst.edu/apply/

For additional information, please contact:

Office of Admission and Student Recruitment

Governors State University

1 University Parkway

University Park, Illinois 60484

(708) 534-4490

*Statement of Personal and Professional Goals Statement Prompt

In your Professional Statements please address any of the below that apply to you and your experience/interests:

1. Professional activities at the local, state, national and international level (e.g.. presentations, offices held in professional organizations, serving on advisory boards, etc.)

2. Your academic potential for being successful in a doctoral program (e.g. ability to write at a professional level, knowledge of the field, research experience, research interests, knowledge of statistics, publications, etc.)

3. Clinical experience.

4. Supervisory experience.

5. Exposure to diverse populations and professional experiences.

6. Why you want to go on for a doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision.

7. Strengths and weaknesses.

**Required Graduate Level Degree Requirements

Applicants with a CACREP accredited master’s level degree will automatically meet this requirement. Applicants with a master’s degree in a non-CACREP accredited counseling or counseling-related program may be considered for the Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision program. In addition to degree transcripts, individual course syllabi may be required to ensure that the applicant has met all the minimum requirements for the program (course work and supervised clinical training required hours). Some of the unmet requirements may be taken concurrently with the Ph.D. in CES program as long as completed within the first two years of the program.

1. Required Master Level Instruction in CACREP’s Eight Entry-Level Core Curriculum (or equivalent):

• Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice

• Social and Cultural Diversity

• Human Growth and Development

• Career Development

• Counseling and Helping Relationships (including Counseling Theories)

• Group Counseling and Group Work

• Assessment and Testing

• Research and Program Evaluation

2. Required CACREP Entry-Level Professional Practice standards (or equivalent)

1. Practicum: Minimum supervised 100 overall clinical hours which includes a minimum of 40 direct client service hours.
2. Internship: Minimum supervised 600 overall clinical hours of which a minimum of 240 direct client service hours.

3. Plus, at least one CACREP curricular requirements (or equivalent) of a specialty area (e.g. addiction counseling, school counseling).

***Professional Essay Prompt

Note: The following will be the specific application prompt for this essay paper:

Governors State University’s (GovState) Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (Ph.D. in CES) focuses on training students to be advanced clinicians, educators, researchers and scholars, and leaders enhancing advocacy in the counseling field. The specific mission of the Ph.D. in CES is:

Graduates with a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at GovState will be prepared to be highly knowledgeable, skilled, dedicated, and ethical professionals, researchers, educators, leaders in the field, and practitioners. Our doctoral graduates will provide leadership and expert service that enhances diverse student development in the school, family, community, and cultural contexts that advance the accountability of counseling services.

Considering GovState’s Ph.D. in CES focus and mission, write a maximum 10-page double-spaced essay addressing the following:

1. How do you define your professional counselor identity?

2. From this professional identity, and as a future leader in the profession how do you:

a. Define Social Justice?

b. See yourself contributing to the advocacy of the profession and for others within your Social Justice definition?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. We are looking for your thoughtful reflection of how you understand and see yourself in the professional counseling field and as a future educator, supervisor, researcher, scholar, leader, and advocate. Note: references from literature to support your position are encouraged but not required. If you use citations within your paper, please provide a reference page.

Academic Advisor and Faculty Advisor

Upon admission to the Ph.D. program in Counselor Education and Supervision, each student will be assigned two advisors. All doctoral students will be assigned to an academic advisor and a faculty advisor. The academic advisor will assist with the coordination of the student’s plan of study and necessary paperwork that is to be filed with the appropriate GSU office for dealing with admission, candidacy, and graduation matters. Together, the academic advisor and faculty advisor work together to decide what courses are allowed to count toward the prerequisite entry-level course work for the doctoral degree. The faculty advisor oversees mentoring the doctoral student and facilitating the comprehensive exam, oral defense, internship, and dissertation project process. As the student’s specialized interest(s) develop, the faculty advisor may be changed by following the procedures outlined in the Program Handbook.

Continuous Enrollment Requirement

Doctoral students must register for a minimum of 6 graduate credits (minimum two courses a semester) each year when they are enrolled in the doctoral program until they graduate (Note: one exception can be when the doctoral student is in their dissertation phase of their program). As the program operates on a cohort model, course registration is fixed during the first two years.

Time Limit

All doctoral requirements must be completed within nine years of starting coursework at Governors State University. Extensions of up to one year may be granted by the Program upon written request by the student and recommendation by the faculty advisor,  Division Chair, and granted by the College Dean.

Credits

The doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision requires a minimum of 60 credit hours. More hours may be taken for the student to specialize in their studies, and/or more credits may be required to meet prerequisite requirements for the doctoral program.

Transfer Credits

Up to 25 percent (15 Credit Hours) post-masters work may be transferred from an accredited college or university. All transfer credit to be considered must be at a grade of “B-” or higher level in graduate courses. Transfer credits earned ten or more years before student’s degree program at GovState will not be accepted toward degree requirements unless approved by the faculty advisor, division chair, and college dean. The credits must be approved as being equivalent to the required coursework in the doctoral program. Any student who seeks to enroll in courses elsewhere while enrolled in the GovState doctoral program must receive prior approval from the faculty advisor, division chair and college dean. Transfer credits from other universities will not be computed as part of a student’s GovState grade point average.

Comprehensive Exam and Oral Defense

Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral students are required to engage in a comprehensive examination before they are granted candidacy. The purpose of the exam is to synthesize previous coursework and experiences and allow students to demonstrate their mastery of in each of the five foci areas of the program related to knowledge and skills.

Candidacy

To qualify for internship II and III a student must have received Candidacy. Candidacy is conferred upon a student once they have completed all coursework required before internship and passed the Comprehensive Exam. Candidacy is part of the ongoing evaluation process of doctoral students, and its conferral is an indication that the faculty agree that the student is ready to progress to internship.

Teaching Experience

Congruent with the mission of Counselor Education programs, doctoral students will be afforded the opportunity to gain experience as a Counselor Educator in the classroom. Following the successful completion of the course Teaching in Psychology and Counseling, a doctoral student will have the opportunity to teach or co-teach under the supervision of a faculty member, an undergraduate and/or a graduate class at Governors State University. Teaching master’s level courses in the counseling program may be part of the student’s doctoral internships II and III.

Internships

Internship I: Doctoral students are required to participate in three internships.  Internship I is strictly focused on advanced clinical work with clients and may be done onsite or offsite and they must equal a minimum of 100 clock hours including a minimum of 40 client contact hours. Students enrolled in  Internship I must have professional insurance and receive weekly on average of one hour of individual/triadic supervision and on average 1.5 hours group supervision. Group supervision will be held at the university within the Counseling Program.

Internship II and III: After earning candidacy, doctoral students are required to complete doctoral-level counseling internships that total a minimum of 600 clock hours. The minimum 600 hours include supervised experiences in advanced clinical  work, teaching, supervision, research and scholarship (not dissertation related), and leadership and advocacy. A minimum of three of these five areas must be covered during all internship experiences (I, II, and III).

The internship includes most of the activities of a regularly employed professional in a professional-related setting. The minimum of 600 hours can be allocated at the discretion of the faculty advisor in consultation with the student, based on experience, training, and post degree student goals. During Internships I and II, if the student is doing advanced clinical work and/or supervision work, they must have their own professional liability insurance. During the doctoral internships II and III students must receive weekly on average one hour of individual/triadic supervision. In addition, students must receive weekly on average 1.5 hours of group supervision. Individual/triadic supervision is usually performed by a site-supervisor and group supervision is usually provided by a program faculty member. As part of the internship process, doctoral students may have the opportunity to teach and supervise Govst’s Counseling Program’s master’s level students.

Dissertation

The Dissertation is used to synthesize the knowledge and skills gained by the student as a result of their matriculation through the Ph.D. program in Counselor Education and Supervision. The dissertation is to consist of quantitative or qualitative inquiry on the part of the student to investigate a topic of interest related to their primary subject area of study. Examples of dissertation projects include quantitative research, phenomenological qualitative investigation, in-depth case studies, or program evaluation through a scientific inquiry process.

A student’s doctoral committee is composed of four individuals with doctorate degrees ( two faculty from the Counseling Program, one faculty from the Division of Psychological and Counseling, and one  university doctoral faculty from outside the  Division of Psychology and Counseling, or a doctoral individual from outside of the university). The doctoral committee will review  the student’s project from its inception to its final defense. The student works with their chair in an advisory manner by which the topic of inquiry will be selected, proposed and formally investigated. The chair and student are responsible at all times for ensuring that the study is properly documented and approved by all necessary channels involved with the review of studies that incorporate human participants. At GovSt, the policies and procedures regarding Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol are to serve this primary capacity. External constituencies may have their own independent review and approval process for research involving human subjects that must also be followed by chair and student in such cases.

Graduation

In order to graduate, a candidate must have completed coursework with a minimum cumulative graduate grade-point average of 3.0 and having earned a grade of “B-” or better in all required doctoral level courses; been advanced to candidacy; passed the comprehensive exam; successfully completed required internship; passed the final dissertation defense; applied for graduation; and paid all fees.

Program Requirements