Ph.D. in Counselor Education

This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.shsu.edu.

The Counselor Education doctoral program provides the highest professional degree available to students who aspire to work in leadership positions in counselor education and supervision or school counseling. Additionally, many of our students have gone on to do entrepreneurial work with a model they created from their dissertation work. The Ph.D. in Counselor Education includes a prescribed curriculum consisting of required and elective courses for 60 hours of post-master's graduate credit. Qualified applicants must be a graduate of a CACREP accredited master's degree or 60-hour equivalent master's degree. Additionally, the doctoral degree is awarded on the basis of successful completion of this coursework and the completion of a major research study resulting in the presentation and defense of a dissertation.

Students who complete the doctoral degree in counselor education will be able to:

  • apply counseling theory and research to the counselor education and/or school counseling leadership functions
  • plan and deliver research-based counselor education didactic courses
  • apply counselor supervision theory and research to individual and group supervision in counselor education and school counseling programs
  • use advanced level communication and interpersonal skills in consultation, counseling, counselor education, supervision, and evaluation
  • interpret the relationships among federal, state, and local agencies and the laws and ethical considerations applicable to the counselor education and school counseling program management fields
  • apply advanced level diagnostic and assessment methodology and develop the capacity to teach appropriate treatment plans for a wide range of psychological concerns to master’s level students
  • demonstrate multicultural awareness and competence during doctoral level counseling, supervision, and consultation
  • incorporate adult education pedagogy and research as a basic tool in administering counselor education and staff development programs
  • design doctoral-level counseling research and interpret results
  • apply data to advanced level counseling capabilities and school counseling leadership functions
  • successfully complete extensive internship experiences directly related to the student’s individual professional goals.


Additional information: Reference the Program Landing Page for additional information, such as cost, delivery format, contact information, or to schedule a visit.