Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Coursework Requirements
The following is a list of the courses required for the PhD in Counseling Psychology.
Area A. Professional Core in Counseling Psychology
Courses include theory and research in individual and group interventions,
assessment procedures, vocational development, professional issues, counseling
research methodology, and special topics. A minimum of 29 credit hours is
needed in Area A coursework.
In addition to those listed above, one professional core elective is required. Courses used in the past have included family therapy, counseling children, multicultural counseling, eating disorders, health psychology, sports psychology, substance abuse, and projective assessment.
| Title | Credits | |
| ECPY 601 | Introduction to Counseling Theory & Practice | 3 |
| ECPY 605 | Advanced Career Development | 3 |
| ECPY 702 | Ethics and Professional Issues in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| ECPY 704 | Theories & Research in Counseling Psychology I | 3 |
| ECPY 705 | Theories & Research in Counseling Psychology II | 3 |
| ECPY 706 | Assessment in Counseling Psychology I | 3 |
| ECPY 707 | Assessment in Counseling Psychology II | 3 |
| ECPY 708 | Theories of Career Development in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| ECPY 718 | Group Counseling Research and Practice | 3 |
| ECPY 820 | Proseminar in Research in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| ECPY 840 | Clinical Supervision and Consultation | 3 |
Area B. Supervised Practica in Counseling Psychology
Courses include beginning and advanced individual practica and practica
in specialized procedures. The advanced counseling practica (ECPY 805 and
806) are taken at the university-operated Psychological
Services Center. The Center, which offers its services to the community,
is a training facility for graduate students in the counseling and clinical
psychology programs.
Students are supervised through closed-circuit TV by faculty who are licensed psychologists. Opportunities for the practicum in specialized procedures (ECPY 808) are community-based and include in- and out-patient assessment and interventions in a wide variety of colleges or universities, hospitals, residential treatment or other community agencies. 18 credits are required in Area B.
| Title | Credits | |
| ECPY 700 | Pre-practicum in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| ECPY 805 | Doctoral Practicum in Counseling Psychology I | 6 |
| ECPY 806 | Doctoral Practicum in Counseling Psychology II | 6 |
| ECPY 808 | Doctoral Practicum in Specialized Procedures |
3 |
Area C. Statistics and Research Design
Four statistics courses are required. ECPY 767, the introductory
research methodology course in the program, must be taken prior to ECPY
820 (see Area A) the advanced level, research methods course. A minimum
of 12 hours are required in Area C.
| Title | Credits | |
| EPSY 530 | Statistics I | 3 |
| EPSY 630 | Statistics II | 3 |
| ECPY 767 | Research Principles and Methods in Counseling | 3 |
| ECPY 724 | Regression Analysis for Counseling Research | 3 |
| ECPY 725 | Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
Area D. Psychological Foundations
Coursework in this area covers five major substantive areas within general
psychology: biological determinants of behavior, human learning, individual
behavior, social determinants of behavior, and the history of psychology.
Each course is three (3) credits.
D 1: One Course in Biological Basis of Behavior
(Course selected should focus on how various physiological systems affect
human behavior) Possible courses fulfilling requirement: APSY 514 Hormones,
Brain, and Behavior; APSY 601 Proseminar Biopsychology; APSY 745 or ECPY
730 Psychopharmacology; APSY 777 Clinical Neuropsychology; and ESPY 798
Selected Topics (Neuropsychology).
D 2: One Course in Cognitive/Affective Basis of Behavior
(Course selected should expose students to a variety of the major viewpoints
in the fields of learning, memory, cognition, or motivation) Possible courses
fulfilling requirement: APSY 602 Proseminar Learning; APSY 603 Proseminar
in Cognitive Psychology; APSY 647 Work Motivation; EPSY 610 Adv. Ed. Psych.
Learning; EPSY 612 Motivation; EPSY 614 Children's Learning; EPSY 715 Seminar
in Learning.
D 3: One Course in Individual Basis of Behavior
(Course selected should expose students to a variety of the major viewpoints
in the fields of personality, human development, or behavior disorders)
Possible courses fulfilling requirement: APSY 604 Proseminar in Developmental
Psychology; APSY 606 Intro to Personality; APSY 623 Adv. Child Development;
APSY 640 Psychopathology; EPSY 623 Advanced Developmental Psychology; EPSY
721 Comparative Theories of Human Development; EPSY 725 Seminar in Human
Development; ECPY 630 Behavior Disorders plus auditing a developmental course
listed above.
D 4: One Course in Social Basis of Behavior
(Course selected should expose students to a variety of the major viewpoints
in social psychology) Possible courses fulfilling requirement: APSY 605
Proseminar in Social Psychology; APSY 606 Social Psychology II; APSY 641
Survey of Organizational Psychology; APSY 730 Attitudes and Social Cognition;
APSY 780 The Self; ESPY 798 Social Psychology Foundations in Professional
Psychology. Students without a solid foundation course in social psychology
must take either APSY 605 or EPSY 798.
D 5: One Course in History and Systems in Psychology
This course is offered as either EPSY 700 or APSY 610 History of Psychology
Additional Coursework - Minimum of 3 credits
ECPY 895 Doctoral Internship (2 credits)
ECPY 899 Doctoral Dissertation (at least 1 credit)
Other Requirements
Professional Development Activities
In addition to completion of coursework, students are expected to perform ancillary
teaching, research, administrative, or professional duties that contribute
to their professional development. Refer to the assistantships
page for more information.
Mandated Reporter Training
New York State requires that "mandated reporters" of
incidents of child abuse/neglect receive appropriate training related to
issues of reporting. Psychologists are one group of "mandated reporters." The
requisite training entails a two-hour, non-credit, workshop. This training
is provided by the Division of Counseling Psychology at no cost on a regular
basis, and is also available in the community for a fee. Completion of this
training is recorded on the student's transcript.
Research Tool
All graduate students at the University at Albany must demonstrate competence
in a research tool appropriate to their doctoral research. Competence must
be demonstrated in an area relevant to doctoral research in counseling
psychology beyond that which is required in the curriculum. The
key elements of this statement are elaborated as follows:
"Beyond that which is required in the doctoral curriculum" means that
any course required in the curriculum, or any course used to satisfy a required
elective, may not be used to satisfy the Research Tool requirement.
"Relevant to doctoral research in counseling psychology" means that
the area of competence is demonstrably related to the student's intended doctoral
research. It is incumbent on the student to demonstrate the relevance of the
area of competence which s/he proposes to use to satisfy this requirement.
"Competence" may be demonstrated in a variety of ways, including:
1. Receiving a grade of B or better, or a grade of S (S is defined as a "B
or better"), in a specific (relevant) course or courses taken at UA.
2. Demonstrating that a grade of B or better, or a grade of S, obtained
in a specific (relevant) course or courses taken at another institution,
is equivalent to (1) above. This equivalence must be in qualitative standards,
although not necessarily in specific content.
3. Providing evidence through examination, paper, or other method, that
a (relevant) area has been mastered, even if no specific course or courses
have been taken.
Doctoral Qualifying Examination
To move to full status as a doctoral candidate, every student must pass a comprehensive
examination over the major content areas of counseling psychology: intervention,
assessment, career development/vocational psychology, and research design.
The exam is typically taken in the summer following the third year in the program,
although many students entering with a master's degree take it after their
second year.
Doctoral Internship
Every student is required to complete an APA accredited internship that must
span one year of full-time or two years of half-time supervised experience
equivalent to 2,000 hours of work. The internship
is taken after completion of most program requirements. Students enroll for
the national internship matchin program run by APPIC and
may attend any accredited intersnhip in the U.S. or Canada. A list of recent
internship sites is provided in the doctoral
frequently asked questions section
of this website.
Doctoral Dissertation
Every student must submit an acceptable dissertation that demonstrates the
ability to conduct independent scholarly work and formulate appropriate conclusions
to modify or extend previous knowledge. Development of a dissertation
proposal generally occurs in ECPY 890 (Independent Study) under the guidance
of a dissertation chair. A list of recent dissertation topics is provided here.
