Academic Program

Counseling

Doctoral Degree

The CACREP accredited Doctoral Program in Counseling prepares counselors skilled in teaching, supervising, and researching counseling from an ecological perspective. Doctoral graduates are committed to providing service for diverse populations, emphasizing underserved groups. Candidates selected for inclusion in the program typically possess clinical competence through their Master's program training. Doctoral training is intended to augment clinical skills by emphasizing advanced competence in planning, evaluation, change strategies, teaching and research.

It is expected that doctoral graduates will assume leadership positions within the profession because of their multifaceted competencies. Doctoral students work closely with their advisors to carry out a program of study, internship experiences, and original research that are consistent with their strengths, interests, and long-term professional goals.

Program Requirements

Program Details

Listed below are the important stages that mark the progression through all programs leading to a Doctoral Degree in Education. The primary stages for completion of a doctoral program are as follows:

  • Application for admission
  • Financial aid application
  • Notification of acceptance
  • Program planning, preliminary hearing, and selection of program committee
  • Completion of a Program of Study
  • Completion of Portfolio as summative review of training experiences
  • Oral comprehensive examination
  • Advancement to candidacy
  • Formation of dissertation committee
  • Dissertation proposal hearing
  • Dissertation defense
  • Graduation
Career Possibilities

Graduates of the Doctoral Program in Counseling will be prepared to assume leadership positions within the field of counseling. Key examples include:

  • Counseling Center Administrator or Supervisor: providing leadership within a mental health services center;
  • Consultant in Ecological Counseling: providing assistance with program development and evaluation for those wishing to adopt an ecological perspective in counseling service delivery; and
  • Counselor Educator: teaching and supervising counselor trainees in a counselor training program at an institution of higher education.
  • Counseling Practitioner: Direct service delivery, either as a private practitioner or as a staff member, remains an additional avenue of employment for doctorally prepared graduates. Graduates choosing this career path typically prepare to work with a specialized population and/or in specialist roles (e.g., trainer).

Therefore, the Doctoral Program is geared towards preparing students to assume counseling and mental health management, research, program development and evaluation, consultation, or teaching positions. The market for such roles is exceedingly strong. Annual follow-up studies demonstrate consistently that our Doctoral graduates are successful in securing desired employment in the field within the roles mentioned previously.

Financial Aid

The University of Cincinnati participates in a full range of state and federal financial aid programs. For example, graduate students may qualify for assistance under the federal Work-Study, Guaranteed Student Loan, or National Direct Student Loan programs. The University also sponsors work-study, loan, and budgeting programs. Some teaching, research, or program-assistance graduate assistantships are available. Finally, many deserving graduate students may qualify for tuition remission scholarships that can ease the burden especially for out-of-state students.

Graduate Assistantship (GA): A Graduate Assistantship is a financial award and stipend for full-time graduate students. GA's usually carry teaching and/or research responsibilities, requiring an average of 20 hours of service per week. These assistantships carry stipends ranging from $5000 to $11000, plus a tuition remission and coverage of general fees. GA awards are available for the academic year only. Most GA's are made available from programs or services outside the counseling program.

University Graduate Scholarship (UGS): A University Graduate Scholarship is a university-funded, tuition-only scholarship which covers a portion of instructional fees for full-time graduate students. These awards do not cover the general fees that are assessed each quarter. UGS monies are available for the academic calendar year and also for the summer session.

In order to be eligible for financial assistance, all international students must demonstrate basic proficiency in English. The University of Cincinnati conducts a testing program to determine such proficiency. International student recipients of financial aid who, after testing, are deemed lacking in English proficiency, must improve their abilities and achieve a passing score on the proficiency test to become eligible for financial aid beyond that academic year.

For additional information on these financial assistance awards and other sources of assistance, one may refer to the Graduate Awards Manual, available upon request from the Graduate Office of Education. In addition, the Program Secretary may be of personal assistance in the application process.