Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Exchange Program with Universidad de La Coruña
Beginning in 1999, the Doctoral program in counseling psychology and the
Universidad de La Coruña, La Coruña, Spain, entered into an
exchange agreement. Doctoral students in their third year (or beyond) who
are reasonably fluent in Spanish may go to Spain for a period of 2 months
to 1 year to train in La Coruña’s interdisciplinary Postgraduate
Family Intervention Program, directed by Dr. Valentín Escudero. See
this
page for a description of the program.
See this page for information on Meniños
a community clinic for families with maltreated and neglected children,
a popular practicum site.
Eligibility for the program is determined by the Director of Doctoral Training in consultation with the faculty. To be eligible, students must demonstrate proficiency in Spanish, be in good academic standing, and have completed all required practica in the program.
Students must enroll for at least 3 credits per semester at UAlbany (Fall or Spring; 1 credit in the summer session). Tuition at the Universidad de La Coruña is waived in exchange for 5-6 hours of research assistance.
A description of the exchange program was published in The
Counseling Psychologist:
Friedlander, M. L., Escudero, V., & Guzman, M. (2001). International
exchanges in family therapy: Training, research, and practice in Spain and
the U.S. The Counseling Psychologist, 30, 314-329.
The ongoing family therapy research program that is being done both at UAlbany and in Spain can be seen at www.softa-soatif.net.
Below is a photo of our first Spanish exchange student, Ana Martinez-Risco, who received her Master's degree diploma in December, 2003.
The Portugal Connection
Since the early 1990s, UAlbany’s Counseling Psychology faculty and several psychology and education faculty at the University of Coimbra (Coimbra, Portugal) have enjoyed a mutually-enhancing relationship, which was formalized by both universities in 1994. Not only has there been a substantial research collaboration and numerous faculty and student visits across the Atlantic, but also we have jointly sponsored colloquia, a videoconference, and live conferences. One member of our faculty, Prof. Richard Haase, has sat on Coimbra dissertation committees, and two Coimbra faculty, Prof. Joaquim Armando Ferreira and Prof. Eduardo J. R. Santos, are adjunct faculty in the Counseling Psychology program at UAlbany.
In October, 2007, four UAlbany faculty and 15 PhD students traveled to Coimbra to co-host a large, three-day conference and workshops, entitled Counseling Psychology at the Crossroads. Many new alliances (and friendships) were formed among faculty and students, including initial discussions of a plan to allow UAlbany PhD students to take up to a year of comparable coursework in Coimbra (note: texts/tests are in English, Portuguese faculty speak English fluently). The photos below depict the city of Coimbra, the University (3rd oldest in Europe, dating from 1290), the cobblestoned streets of this college town, and some of the Albany posters and presentations from the October 2007 conference.
The West Indies Connection
The University at Albany, and the Division of Counseling Psychology in particular, have an ongoing collaboration with the Department of Psychology at the University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago (UWI-SA). Specifically, there are opportunities between UA and UWI-SA for collaborative research, for student and faculty exchanges, and for the student study abroad program. Thus far, we have had two graduate psychology students from UWI-SA studying here. We are currently developing similar opportunities at the UWI-Cave Hill campus in Barbados. These are wonderful opportunities for immersion experiences in cultural diversity.
