Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counselor Education

The Doctor of Philosophy in rehabilitation counselor education prepares professionals for leadership roles in rehabilitation counselor education, research, administration, and service delivery systems. It provides rehabilitation counselors the opportunity to master knowledge; clinical, teaching, and supervisory skills; and research competencies at the most advanced levels.
Ph.D. students focus on three areas of advanced development: rehabilitation counselor education and supervision, research, and professional practice. The program is flexible, permitting students to pursue individualized plans of study within the required curriculum. Ph.D. graduates are expected to have sufficient knowledge and skill to teach at colleges and universities, supervise other professionals, and provide clinical services to clients. They also should have competencies to engage in and evaluate theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative research.

ADMISSION

Applicants should have a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or a related area and a graduate g.p.a. of 3.00 or higher. One year of full-time work experience in rehabilitation or a related field is strongly encouraged. Applicants should include a written statement of purpose for pursuing the Ph.D. in rehabilitation counselor education and personal career objectives, official score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test, and three letters of recommendation. A personal interview is required.
Applications are accepted for fall, spring, or summer entry; fall entry is strongly advised. Faculty consideration of applications begins January 15 for fall entry, November 15 for spring entry, and April 1 for summer entry.

REQUIREMENTS

The Ph.D. in rehabilitation counselor education requires a minimum of 90 s.h. of graduate credit, including relevant course work taken for the master's degree. Most students complete their course work in three years and take a fourth year to complete the dissertation. Students who have not completed a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling must take appropriate masters-level courses or their equivalents. This combination of master's and doctoral course work ensures exposure to vocational rehabilitation as well as to independent living rehabilitation and community-based counseling processes, concepts, programs, and services.
Each student is required to submit a curriculum plan. The rehabilitation counseling faculty reviews each student annually. To continue in the program, students must meet the department's requirements for maintaining candidacy.
Requirements are as follows.

Department Core

Program Requirements

Students are expected to have completed core rehabilitation counseling requirements during master's degree work (see "M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling" above). The advisor and program faculty determine which master's-level courses must be taken to correct deficiencies. Students also must complete the following.

Statistics and Research Design

One quantitative research methods course chosen from these (at least 3 s.h.):

MINOR AREA

Students plan a minor area in collaboration with their major advisor and curriculum plan committee. The minor area must be outside the department. Students select a minimum of 9 s.h. of course work in the minor area, in collaboration with their minor advisor and with the approval of their curriculum plan committee.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

The comprehensive examination consists of three exams that total nine hours. They cover the department core (three hours), rehabilitation counseling--theory, practice, and research (three hours), and the minor area (three hours).

DISSERTATION

The dissertation is a major research study planned in collaboration with the student's major advisor. At least two rehabilitation counseling faculty members serve on the dissertation committee; one of them chairs or co-chairs the committee.