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Impact the Field of Counseling
A campus-based, doctoral program requiring 4-5 years of study
The Ph.D. program in counseling is based on a researcher practitioner model; it is primarily designed to train researchers, scholars, academicians, and highly skilled practitioners with an emphasis on promoting social justice. We train Ph.D. students with the skills, attitudes, and knowledge valued in academic, research, and service-providing settings. Our program infuses social justice throughout the curriculum and prepares students to acknowledge and validate their clients’ complex and diverse cultural identities and fight against systemic issues of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, and other forms of social injustices. The Ph.D. deepens a student's counseling knowledge and builds refined research, teaching, supervision, counseling, and leadership and advocacy skills. The University of Missouri—St. Louis (UMSL) Ph.D. program holds advanced accreditation by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP); it is the only doctoral counseling program in Missouri that holds CACREP accreditation. It is also one of the only counseling Ph.D. programs in the country that offers students the opportunity to complete a three-article dissertation format which puts students in a better position to publish multiple articles from their dissertations.
The UMSL Ph.D. program is nationally recognized and regularly graduates students who go on to make meaningful and lasting contributions to the field. Many graduates of the program are practicing counselors or counselor educators. Graduates of the doctoral program have been placed in academic positions at major universities throughout the USA. A major emphasis in all of our graduate training is our commitment to cultural diversity and social justice.
Graduates of the program will have a degree that clearly distinguishes them from the entry-level practitioner -- to the level of research, advocacy and leadership, counseling, supervision, and teaching of an expert in the field of counseling. The Ph.D. degree internship (a 600-contact hour field experience) requires a combination of research activity, graduate teaching, supervision experience with master’s-level students, leadership and advocacy, and counseling practice in a balanced that students design with the advisors and committees to meet their unique career goals. The Department has a counseling social-justice-focused training center on campus, the Counseling and Social Advocacy Center (CSAC), where students get practical experience under close supervision.
Our program consistently attracts diverse students from across the nation as well as internationally. Students achieve high levels of competency in the areas of research, supervision, teaching, leadership and advocacy, and clinical work. Faculty offer intentional and ongoing support to Ph.D. students throughout their time in the program to help ensure their success. About 80% of our students who start the program complete it. Our students are consistently able to find jobs in the field after they graduate. Most graduates (about 98%) are employed in the field.
Phillip Waalkes
p: (314) 516-6086
- Deadline to Apply:
- December 1st
- Counseling 6
- Doctoral 21
- Flexible Options 21
- Education Sciences and Professional Programs (ESPP) 33
- Fieldwork Included: Internship and/or Practicum 69
- School Counselor Career Path Program 3
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Counseling 2
- Main Campus 124
- Counseling 4
- Doctoral Studies 20
- Graduate 100
- Doctoral 21
Admission and General Requirements
In addition to meeting the application and admissions requirements of the Graduate School, students must submit:
- Three letters of recommendation (at least two from individuals with earned doctorates, preferably prior instructors).
- An original essay.
- A professional resume.
- Evidence of above-average academic records. A GPA of 3.5 or higher is preferred.
- GRE scores. Quantitative and verbal scores at or above the 50th percentile are preferred. An analytical writing score of 4.0 or higher is preferred.
Admission is competitive, and a favorable vote of an admission interview committee, composed of faculty in the emphasis area, is required.
Degree Program
- Coursework: A minimum of 60 credit hours is required beyond the Master’s degree, including 6 hours of dissertation research. A minimum of 42 of these hours must be completed in residence. For students who have not completed a Master’s degree, a minimum of 90 hours, postbaccalaureate, is required, including 6 hours of dissertation research (the Graduate School’s residency requirement applies). Students in the Counseling emphasis area complete the following requirements: a minimum 90 hours, postbaccalaureate, including 12 hours of dissertation research (the Graduate School’s residency requirement applies).
- Dissertation: All students must defend orally a written dissertation proposal to their dissertation committee. A dissertation embodying the results of original research must be accepted by the dissertation committee and the Graduate School.
Admission Application
To ensure time for review and decision, applicants should submit the Graduate School application, college transcripts, and any program-specific materials (e.g. supplemental application, letters of recommendation, etc.) well in advance of the December 1st deadline. Please note that unofficial transcripts can be uploaded with the Graduate School application to expedite admissions decisions; however, official transcripts must be received directly from all prior institutions attended before regular admission to any program will be granted. In addition, applicants are urged to request transcripts and letters or recommendation two weeks before completing the online application. Consideration of applications cannot be undertaken until all materials are available.
Degree Requirements
Students in the Teaching-Learning Processes, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and Educational Psychology emphasis areas complete the following requirements.
| 1. Research Methods | 15-18 | |
| Students in the Teaching –Learning Processes, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and Educational Psychology emphasis areas should complete the following research methods courses (or equivalent). | ||
ED REM 6735 | Statistical Analysis for Education Research (Prerequisite) | |
ED REM 6750 | Advanced Research Design in Education | |
| Plus any three methods courses from the following: | ||
ED REM 7771 | Quantitative Research Methods I | |
ED REM 7772 | Quantitative Research Methods II | |
ED REM 7781 | Qualitative Methods in Educational Research I | |
ED REM 7782 | Qualitative Methods in Educational Research II | |
| This sequence totals 15 hours of methods courses. Remaining hours can be completed with other ED REM courses numbered 6000 or higher or research courses in another curriculum. | ||
| 2. Program Area of Study to Develop Discipline Knowledge (as determined by student, advisor, and program) | 24-26 | |
| 3. Core courses | 10-14 | |
| EDUC 7490 | Directed Readings in the Education Research Literature | 1-3 |
| EDUC 7050 | The Research Process I: Framing Research Questions in Education Research | 3 |
| EDUC 7605 | Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Educational Practice | 2 |
| EDUC 7625 | Building Socially Just and Ethical Educational Communities | 3 |
| Electives | 2-4 | |
| 4. Dissertation Proposal Writing | ||
| EDUC 7950 | Preparation for Writing the Dissertation Proposal | 1-3 |
| 5. Dissertation | ||
| EDUC 7999 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
Admission Requirements
In addition to meeting the application and admissions requirements of the Graduate School, students must submit:
- Three letters of recommendation (at least two from individuals with earned doctorates, preferably prior instructors).
- A copy of a paper you have written on a scholarly topic, as a writing sample.
- A professional resume.
- Evidence of above-average academic records. A GPA of 3.5 or higher is preferred.
- GRE scores. Quantitative and verbal scores at or above the 50th percentile are preferred. An analytical writing score of 4.0 or higher is preferred.
- Answers to these three questions (limit responses to 300 words or less per question), sent to CounselingDocApps@umsl.edu:
- How do you envision the UMSL doctoral program preparing you to meet your career goals?
- What are your experiences working with diverse populations and what you have learned from these experiences?
- What personal qualities do you possess that relate to your interest in doctoral education in Counseling?
Admission is competitive, and a favorable vote of an admission interview committee, composed of faculty in the emphasis area, is required.
Degree Program
- Coursework: A minimum of 60 credit hours is required beyond the Master’s degree, including 6 hours of dissertation research. A minimum of 42 of these hours must be completed in residence.
- Dissertation: All students must defend orally a written dissertation proposal to their dissertation committee. A dissertation embodying the results of original research must be accepted by the dissertation committee and the Graduate School.
Admission Application
To ensure time for review and decision, applicants should submit the Graduate School application, college transcripts, and any program-specific materials (e.g. supplemental application, letters of recommendation, etc.) well in advance of the December 1st deadline. Please note that unofficial transcripts can be uploaded with the Graduate School application to expedite admissions decisions; however, official transcripts must be received directly from all prior institutions attended before regular admission to any program will be granted. In addition, applicants are urged to request transcripts and letters or recommendation two weeks before completing the online application. Consideration of applications cannot be undertaken until all materials are available.
Degree Requirements
Students in the Counseling emphasis area complete the following requirements:
| Research Methods (21 hours) | ||
| ED REM 6710 | Educational Research Methods and Design 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 7020 | Seminar in Counseling Research | 3 |
| CNS ED 7025 | Advanced Counseling Research | 3 |
| ED REM 7771 | Quantitative Research Methods I | 3 |
| ED REM 7781 | Qualitative Methods in Educational Research I | 3 |
| One of the following: | 3 | |
ED REM 7772 | Quantitative Research Methods II | |
ED REM 7782 | Qualitative Methods in Educational Research II | |
| One of the following: | 3 | |
ED REM 6730 | Educational Program Development and Evaluation | |
ED REM 7772 | Quantitative Research Methods II (if not taken above) | |
ED REM 7782 | Qualitative Methods in Educational Research II (if not taken above) | |
| Counseling Core (57 hours) | ||
| CNS ED 6010 | Theories of Counseling 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6020 | Ethical and Professional Issues in Counseling 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6030 | Foundations for Multicultural Counseling 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6040 | Group Procedures in Counseling 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6050 | Individual Inventory 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6270 | School Counseling Practicum 1 | 3 |
| or CNS ED 6370 | Clinical Mental Health Counseling Practicum I | |
| CNS ED 6280 | School Counseling Field Experience 1 | 6 |
| or CNS ED 6380 | Clinical Mental Health Counseling Field Experience | |
| CNS ED 6400 | Career Information and Development 1 | 3 |
| CNS ED 6410 | Advanced Career Development | 3 |
| CNS ED 7000 | Advanced Theories and Practice of Counseling | 6 |
| CNS ED 7010 | Advanced Multicultural Counseling | 3 |
| CNS ED 7030 | Counselor Education and Supervision of Individuals and Groups | 6 |
| CNS ED 7075 | Teaching, Learning, and Technology in Counselor Education | 3 |
| ED PSY 6210 | Life-Span: Individual and Family Development 1 | 3 |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Internship | ||
| CNS ED 7780 | Doctoral Internship | 6 |
| Dissertation Research | ||
| EDUC 7999 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Total Hours | 90 | |
| 1 | These courses are normally part of a master's program. Equivalent graduate coursework may count as transfer credit toward the degree with approval of the Ph.D. program. |
Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph.D.
Professor
Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph.D., received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and women’s studies from the University of Michigan, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining the UMSL faculty in 2001, she taught psychology at Drake University (89-93) and Texas Tech University (93-01). She is a licensed psychologist ...
Mary Edwin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Mary Edwin is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education in the Department of Education Sciences and Professional Programs. Prior to becoming a faculty member, Dr. Edwin served as a career counselor and an elementary and middle school counselor. Her research focuses on K-12 career development, career decision-making skills of undergraduate students, and the inf...
Emily Oliveira, Ph.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
Mark Pope, Ed.D.
Curators' Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Mark Pope, Ed.D. received his A.B. (Political Science and Sociology) and M.Ed. (Counseling and Personnel Services) from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his Ed.D. (Counseling and Educational Psychology) from the University of San Francisco. Dr. Pope is a National Certified Counselor, Master Career Counselor, National Certified Career Counselor, Master Addictions Cou...
