PhD in Counseling Psychology Curriculum

The Counseling Psychology Program at The University of Akron provides a generalist training that is rooted in current best practice and counseling psychology values, particularly those related to diversity and social justice. The curriculum reflects this focus, with the following courses required for all students (note that students with related master’s degrees may be able to transfer in coursework):

• Assessment courses
• Advanced Psychological Tests and Measurements
• Intelligence Testing
• Objective Personality Evaluation
• Counseling psychology core courses
• Introduction to Counseling Psychology
• Psychopathology
• Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Counseling Psychology
• Supervision in Counseling Psychology
• Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Vocational Psychology
• Diversity and social justice courses
• Multicultural Counseling
• Issues of Diversity in Counseling Psychology
• Oppression and Social Liberation
• Lifespan Gender Development (also a psychology core course)
• Interventions for Social Justice: Consultation, Prevention, and Advocacy
• Practicum sequence
• Two years of required practicum in the Counseling Psychology Clinic
• Two years of required practicum at external sites
• Opportunity to engage in supplemental practicum for specialized training (e.g., assessment-focused practica)
• Psychology core courses
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Neuropsychology: Theory, Research, and Application
• Social Psychology
• Research and statistics courses
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Psychological Research: Quantitative and Computational Methods I and II
• Multivariate Statistics
• Applications of Quantitative Statistical Methods (or appropriate substitution)
• A research/statistics sequence that may fulfill the doctoral language requirement
• Thesis credits
• Dissertation credits

A full list of all courses and their sequence can be found in our handbook in the "For Current Students" section.

Additional curriculum-related requirements include:

• Successful completion of a thesis waiver project as specified in the Graduate Student Manual of the Department of Psychology.
• Successful completion of a dissertation as specified in the Graduate Student Manual of the Department of Psychology.
• Successful completion of a comprehensive exam. This exam is prepared, administered, and graded by program faculty.
• Successful completion of an internship (2,000 hours over no more than two years). The internship site must be approved in advance by the CPP Internship Committee.