Counseling, PhD

Admission requirements

Applicants to the doctoral program must meet requirements for admission to the Toulouse Graduate School. The general requirements for admission are described in the College of Education section.

A completed application for admission to the doctoral program, including the names of three professional references, must be submitted to the program. The program makes independent inquiry of the applicant’s references.

Applicants must submit evidence of holding a master’s degree from an accredited college or university and have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on all graduate credit hours. Applicants are expected to meet requirements of a CACREP-accredited master’s degree in counseling. Applicants who do not meet this criterion must complete deficiency course work to meet CACREP-equivalent standards. Applicants must submit GRE scores and any program-specific admission materials. Contact the academic program for information concerning holistic admissions process including possible deficiency course work.

The admission examination and interview process for the counseling program are administered once each year early in the spring term/semester for acceptance to the doctoral program cohort for the following academic year. All required admission materials must be filed in the department office by November 1. All academic prerequisites must be completed prior to enrolling in the first semester of required doctoral course work. Contact program for specific requirements, deadlines and academic schedules.

Upon successful completion of the admission examination and interview process, admission to the counseling doctoral program is provisional until the student’s progress is evaluated by the counseling faculty upon completion of COUN 6090 , COUN 6210 , COUN 6220 , COUN 6230 , COUN 6651 , and COUN 6680 . The student’s progress is evaluated on the basis of the demonstration of adequate course knowledge and personal, interpersonal and counseling skills required for effective counselors/counselor educators. After the progress review, the counseling faculty will recommend that the student continue or continue with specific conditions attached, or reserves the right to withdraw the student from the program.

Course requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy degree in counseling is offered in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education. The degree requires a minimum of 72 semester hours beyond the master’s degree. Courses listed below are 3 semester credit hours unless otherwise specified. Counseling core courses for the doctoral program are:

Research core

Additional requirements

Students also choose a 9-hour counseling specialty from a list of specified course work, and must complete a minor of at least 12 semester hours outside the academic program or, with approval of student’s doctoral advisory committee, may choose the elective option in lieu of minor. Students may not be enrolled in any COUN core course until they have been fully admitted to the doctoral program in counseling. Students are required to meet the UNT doctoral residence requirement during the fall and spring semester of their first year of doctoral study.

In addition to the degree requirements for a PhD in counseling, UNT requires that all doctoral students satisfy a 9-hour tool requirement. The tool subject area is determined by program areas. For students pursuing a PhD in counseling, the required tool subject is research and includes COUN 6130 and two additional 3-hour courses in research. The Counseling Doctoral Program Handbook provides specific details regarding course work requirements, mandatory clinical experiences, and additional professional experiences required in fulfillment of the counseling doctoral portfolio. Students are expected to pursue Texas counselor licensure while enrolled in the doctoral program.