Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling
The hybrid online Ph.D.-Coun prepares students to work as advanced practitioners, counselor educators, and supervisors in clinical and academic settings. As a CACREP-accredited program, the Ph.D.-Coun prepares graduates to be leaders and advocates for change in the professional counseling field. The Ph.D.-Coun degree emphasizes student contributions to counselor education through research while understanding and addressing the needs of today's communities. Students can work full-time during the program to continue to provide meaningful professional counseling services to the communities in which they live and work. Face-to-face classes occur only twice each quarter on a Friday through Saturday in the OSU Portland Center. Approximately 12 students are admitted each year into a cohort.
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The OSU Ph.D.-Coun degree is part-time, and financial support such as loans and grants are more limited than for full-time programs. There are no teaching or research assistantships since these require full-time enrollment.
Why a Ph.D.-Coun at Oregon State University?
- Take courses in an online/face-to-face hybrid format. Students meet twice each quarter on a Friday through Saturday at the OSU Portland Center.
- Be able to continue working full-time while taking courses part-time.
- Be a part of a collaborative cohort. Unlike fully online programs, students also meet regularly in-person and develop significant peer relationships. Ph.D.-Coun students complete all courses in a cohort and develop significant peer relationships through frequent class meetings together.
- Learn from nationally recognized scholars and leaders in the professional counseling field with a focus on antiracism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. We are committed to engage in anti-racism work to better serve the needs of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in our community. Most recently, OSU Counseling was honored to receive the 2022 Counseling Program award from the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities. The award is presented to a program that has demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of LGBTGEQIAP+ awareness and affirmation.
- Attend a high-quality online program with a long history of delivering remote education, having offered graduate courses via Extended Campus since 1944 and full graduate degrees via Extended Campus since 1976. The Oregon State University counseling programs are the second oldest in the world, with counseling classes first offered in 1917. The Counseling program at Oregon State University was one of the very first CACREP-accredited programs.
- Graduate from a CACREP-accredited program.
- Participate in meaningful faculty-student mentoring relationships.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
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What to Expect
Coursework is typically completed after two full years of part-time attendance. The remaining 7 credits of internship (630 hours) and 36 credits of dissertation take anywhere from 1 to 3 additional years. The median completion time is 48 months.
The minimum requirements for the Doctoral degree are a Master of Counseling or closely related field with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Academic background, personal and emotional suitability, volunteer or paid experience in the helping professions, and the educational and professional goals of each candidate are evaluated before admission is granted. Screening includes, but is not limited to, three letters of recommendation, one of which must come from a current or recent clinical supervisor, and a writing sample. A personal interview is required for those applicants who meet the initial application criteria.
All information related to applications can be found on the "How to Apply" page.
We do not require the GRE for admission into our program. We believe that there are many other criteria that will reflect if a candidate is a fit for the program including past academic work, professional and volunteer experience.
A new cohort enters the Doctoral degree program starts every summer quarter.
Note: International students are not eligible to apply. Due to the hybrid nature of this program (in person and online), international students are unable to obtain an appropriate educational visa. For more information contact International Admissions.
The Doctoral program is 150 credits (including Master’s transfer credits).
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