Counselor Education & Supervision
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
College
College of EducationGraduate Coordinator
Dr. Zaccheus Ahonlezja34@msstate.edu
Overview
The doctoral program in counseling at Mississippi State University builds upon the knowledge, skills, and work experiences students have acquired in counseling or counseling related fields and prepares them to become highly competent practitioners, faculty researchers and scholars, administrators, leaders in the profession, and excellent teachers and clinical supervisors. The program's design and training philosophy is based on the scientist-practitioner model and emphasizes critical thinking skills, the integration of theory with practice, experiential learning, scholarly research, advocacy and social justice awareness and activities, and professional identity and leadership roles. The program is a focused, developmental sequence of advanced coursework which include a counseling core, a minor or focus area, elective courses, practicum and internship, extensive research and statistics, passing written and oral doctoral comprehensive exams, and successfully planning and defending the dissertation. Counseling core coursework includes advanced studies emphasizing theory, clinical supervision, multicultural competencies, assessment and appraisal, teaching, advocacy, social justice, and leadership, ethics, consultation, research skills development, and critical thinking. Doctoral students also complete a minor or focus area from any academic department in the university offering graduate coursework with a prefix different from the COE program emphasis. This gives doctoral students the opportunity to benefit from a broad array of theory, practice, and research in fields related to counseling. Doctoral students must also complete 900 hours of practicum and internship experiences in a setting appropriate to their program concentration area.
Requirements
Admission to the doctoral programs is offered with a priority deadline of February 1st. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis until all program spots are filled. Applicants must have a master's degree, or its equivalent, from a fully accredited educational institution, and earned a minimum GPA of 3.40 (based on a 4.00 system) on all prior graduate coursework. Additionally, applicants are required to provide official transcripts from all degree programs, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal, quantitative and analytical writing scores no more than 5 years old, and three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's educational skills, abilities, and character. Applicants are also expected to provide a personal statement to include reasons for pursuing doctoral study, a discussion of career goals and plans, full time work experiences (at least two years), professional activities, and contributions they can make to the program and to the profession. Applicants who have a strong chance for success in the program and have met all of the above requirements will be invited by the department for an on campus interview. The interview will include meetings with departmental faculty and current doctoral students, participating in a work sample/demonstration of clinical skills, and submission of a current vita and writing samples. After the interview process has been completed, applicants will be notified if they have been selected for admission to the program. Applicants are encouraged to check with the program for additional requirements. Further information may be obtained from the Bulletin of the Graduate School and the graduate application may be obtained online at: https://apply.grad.msstate.edu/
