Counseling PhD

Course Requirements

Doctoral students must have met the equivalent of the 48-hour CACREP master’s program requirements, plus complete approximately 69 hours of additional coursework, as outlined below.

1. Master’s Degree—A minimum of 48 semester hours, equal/equivalent to a CACREP-accredited master’s degree, must be completed prior to finishing the doctorate.
2. Doctoral Field Experience—9 semester hours of class, which includes a combination of supervised clinical training, teaching, and clinical supervision.
3. Core Doctoral Courses—18 hours of required doctoral counseling courses, including Coun 650.
4. Cognate Area—9 semester hours from one of several department-approved content areas.
5. Elective Cluster—9 semester hours selected with adviser to build competencies in an area that meets the student’s professional needs.
6. Research Tools—12 semester hours in research methodology and statistics (or documented proficiency) from the University-approved Research Tools options. One of the research tools courses must be a qualitative research course.
7. Dissertation—9 to 12 semester hours. In addition to the courses above, all general catalog requirements for the degree must be met.

Residency

Doctoral student residency in the A&M-Commerce Department of Counseling serves three purposes. First, it is designed to encourage collegial relationships between students and faculty. Second, it introduces students to typical professional expectations
they will encounter as they progress through their careers. Finally, activities with in the residency enhance student learning by supplementing the academic and experiential components of the program.

To fulfill the residency requirements in the Department of Counseling, doctoral students must complete the following activities.

1. Attend a minimum of six doctoral seminars.
2. Assist faculty members on two different projects intended to ultimately lead to either manuscripts submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals or presentation proposals submitted for peer-reviewed program consideration at state, regional, or national conferences. Students must collaborate with at least two different faculty members.
3. Engage in a minimum of two departmental activities. Suggested activities include proctoring master’s comprehensive examinations, assisting with Murphy Day, assisting with the fall school counselor conference, assisting with the Truax celebration, assisting in the preparation of the departmental newsletter, maintaining the departmental bulletin board, maintaining the departmental job board, etc.
4. Actively engage in professional service. Two components comprise this requirement:
   
   1. Holding elected or appointed office in a local (E.g., Chi Sigma Iota, Doctoral student Association, Branch of the Texas Counseling Association), state (e.g., Texas Counseling Association or its divisions), regional (e.g., Southern Region of the American Counseling association), or national (e.g., American Counseling association or its divisions, American College Personnel Association), professional organization or by chairing or serving as a member of a committee of one of these organizations.
   2. Serving on a university, college, or departmental committee or task force (e.g., Master’s Admissions Committee, Departmental Human Subjects Protection Committee, University Library Committee).
5. Completing 24 semester hours at Texas A&M University-Commerce toward the degree. 

There is no specified time limit for completing residency. Full-time students may complete residency in one year while part-time students may take two or more years  to complete all residency requirements.

Note:

The department reserves the right to suspend from the program any student who, in the judgment of a duly constituted departmental committee, does not meet the professional expectations of the field. A copy of the department’s Retention/Dismissal Procedure may be obtained from the departmental office.