;

Graduate Catalog 2024-2025

Counseling Psychology Ph.D.

Program Overview

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

General Doctoral Degree Admission Requirements

View delivery options, start terms and admission requirements

Chair: Heather Helm, Ph.D.

Location: McKee 248

Telephone: 970.351.2731

Website: www.unco.edu/cebs/applied-psychology-counselor-education/counseling-psychology/

The Counseling Psychology program at UNC has been in existence since 1984. It became accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1995 as a PsyD program. The curriculum was modified to offer only the PhD in Counseling Psychology and has been accredited by APA since January 15, 2010. For more information about APA accreditation, contact the American Psychological Association's Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation at 750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, by phone at (202) 336-5979, or on the web at http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/.

In our doctoral program at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), we offer a Major Area of Study in Counseling Psychology with a minimum of 3 full-time academic years of graduate study in didactic course work and supervised clinical training in that Major Area of Study, which includes completing a dissertation that is consistent with the field of Counseling Psychology; students also complete 1 additional year of pre-doctoral internship. Students must complete at least 2 of the 3 academic training years as a full-time resident at UNC. Students that complete our program are appropriately trained in the area of health service psychology to be eligible for licensure as doctoral level psychologists. We offer students experience in being trained in treatment interventions from multiple modalities by completing: two individual practica courses, one couples and family practicum course, and a group practicum course. Live supervision is provided for these practica courses at our on-site training clinic that provides psychological services to community members and university students. Students are also exposed to psychological assessment by completing a cognitive assessment course and a personality assessment course, as well as the option of completing additional assessment courses. Furthermore, our students are trained to create, disseminate, and utilize scholarly research to engage in evidence-based practice. Our program places relatively greater concentration on training related to research. Students take six courses in the area of research and have the option of completing one additional research course in order to receive a doctoral minor in applied statistics and research methods.

Degree Requirements — 123 Credits*

Introductory Core Required — 17 hours

APCE 612Practicum in Individual Counseling

5

APCE 660Psychological Consultation: Theory and Practice

3

APCE 669Advanced Methods: Couples and Family Therapy

3

SRM 600Introduction to Graduate Research

3

APCE 658Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

3

Counseling Psychology Core — 7 hours

APCE 616Career Theory, Counseling and Assessment

3

APCE 701Professional Development Seminar in Counseling Psychology

1

PSY 530Life Span Developmental Psychology

3

Research Core — 18 hours

APCE 733Seminar in Research Methods in Counseling Psychology

3

SRM 602Statistical Methods I

3

SRM 603Statistical Methods II

3

SRM 610Statistical Methods III

3

SRM 680Introduction to Qualitative Research

3

SRM 700Advanced Research Methods

3

Suggested Electives for Students Completing Quantitative Dissertations:

SRM 607Non-Parametric Statistics

3

or

SRM 609Sampling Methods

3

or

SRM 625Applied Multiple Regression Analysis

3

or

SRM 627Survey Research Methods

3

Suggested Electives for Students Completing Qualitative Dissertations:

SRM 685Educational Ethnography

3

or

SRM 686Qualitative Case Study Research

3

or

SRM 687Narrative Inquiry

3

or

SRM 688Writing Qualitative Research

3

Practica Required — 28 hours

APCE 694Practicum in Couples and Family Therapy

4

APCE 702Practicum in Counseling

4

APCE 712Advanced Practicum in Individual Counseling

4

APCE 714Practicum in Supervision of Counseling

3- 6

APCE 715Seminar in Counselor Supervision and Theory

2

APCE 762Practicum in Group Facilitation

4

APCE 793Practicum in Clinic Administration and Service Delivery

3

APCE 794Advanced Practicum in Clinic Administration and Service Delivery

1

APCE 795External Practicum in Counseling Psychology

3

APCE 714: 3 credits required.

Suggested Practica Electives:

APCE 617Play Therapy: Theory and Practicum

3

APCE 713Practicum in Supervision of Play Therapy

3

APCE 774Practicum in Supervision of Family Therapy

3

APCE 785Advanced Practicum in Community Engagement: Campus Connections

1

Assessment Core Required — 9 hours

APCE 674Assessment for Intervention: Cognitive and Academic

4

APCE 677Psychometrics in Counseling Psychology

1

APCE 678Assessment for Intervention: Personality and Behavior

4

Suggested Assessment Elective:

APCE 782Introduction to Rorschach Administration and Scoring

3

Licensing Core — 25 hours

APCE 623Understanding and Counseling Diverse Populations

3

APCE 657Legal and Ethical Aspects of Counseling and Psychology

3

APCE 682Biological Aspects of Behavior

3

APCE 683Affective Aspects of Behavior

1

APCE 707Seminar in Personality and Counseling Theories

3

PSY 540Theories and Principles of Learning

3

PSY 587Social Cognitive Neuroscience

3

PSY 590Seminar in History of Psychology

3

PSY 664Advanced Social Psychology

3

Internship — 3 hours

APCE 791Internship in Counseling Psychology

1- 5

APCE 791: 1 Year, 2,000 Hours

Research Proposal/Dissertation — 16 hours

APCE 797Doctoral Proposal Research

1- 4

APCE 799Doctoral Dissertation

1-12

APCE 797: Take 4

APCE 799: Take 12

Program Notes

*A student entering with previously completed graduate coursework equivalent to coursework required for the Ph.D. degree may have course(s) waived with advisor consent and may significantly reduce the total number of hours required to complete the program. A plan of study for the degree must contain a minimum of 72 hours of coursework in addition to doctoral research (16) and internship hours (3-18).

In addition to formal course requirements, students are required to successfully complete a doctoral comprehensive examination, a dissertation, and a one-year, 2,000-hour internship.

Back to Top