Applicants must complete both a University application and a Counseling Psychology Program application. The program application can be obtained at www.temple.edu/education/counspsych.
Applicants with excellent credentials are invited to campus for an interview with faculty and students and a campus tour. Applications received after January 15 are not reviewed.
Number Required: 3
Letters of recommendation should be obtained from evaluators familiar with the applicant's academic or clinical experience/competencies, particularly college/university faculty members and work supervisors.
A master's degree in a discipline related to the social sciences is required.
Applicants are asked to submit two essays, each 1-2 pages in length double-spaced, that indicate their goals and objectives for obtaining a doctorate. The following questions are to be addressed: 1. What are your three major life goals and how do you plan to achieve them? and 2. Why do you want to become a counselor? This statement is evaluated against the program's mission.
The GRE is required. Scores on both the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE should be above 500.
The GRE Subject Exam in Psychology is required.
Minimum TOEFL score or range of scores needed to be accepted: 600 paper-based, 250 computer-based, or 100 internet-based.
Applicants who pass the initial application screening will be invited for an individual interview with members of the faculty and doctoral students during February and March. The interviews will be used to obtain additional data related to admissions criteria (e.g., clarify questions raised by the candidate's application) and to assess communication skills associated with success in counseling psychology training.
A resume is required.
The student's advisor, in consultation with the Director of Doctoral Training, evaluates the student's transcript during the student's first semester of the program and awards advanced standing based on the relevance of the courses taken in relation to the Counseling Psychology program. The maximum number of advanced standing credits awarded is 30.
Number of Didactic Credits Required Beyond the Master's: 60
Cn Psy 698, 792, 797 (3), 795, 790, 764, 789, 668, 793, 794, 799 (2), 701, 791, 796, 798 (2), 995 (2), 999 (2)
Ed Psych 826, 827
Education 899 (2)
For a semester-by-semester and year-by-year description, visit www.temple.edu/education/counspsych.
Internship: An internship is required. Students must complete 2,000 hours of an internship at a site accredited by the American Psychological Association and approved by the program.
Language Examination: No language examination is required.
The Preliminary Examination in Counseling Psychology is designed to help students integrate the knowledge they have acquired across the diverse fields of study in the doctoral program. It will challenge students to analyze and respond to the difficult and complex problems such as they will face as counseling psychologists. The examination requires them to organize an array of knowledge, think cogently, and produce a publication-quality response. Students take the Preliminary Examination at the end of their second year of the program, assuming that all courses have been successfully completed.
The Preliminary Examination consists of two take-home questions that are to be completed within a 30-day time period. The first question is one that all students complete. The second question is a specialty question that each student works with his/her advisor to develop. In most cases, the specialty question covers an area of interest relevant to the student's area of dissertation research. Each question is to be answered within a 20-page limit.
A committee of three Counseling Psychology faculty members write the common or general question. The composition of the committee varies from year to year. The student's advisor writes the student's specialty question after consultation with the student. The Director of Doctoral Training supervises the distribution, collection, and scoring of the Preliminary Examination.
Each answer is evaluated by two faculty members who read and score each answer independently of each other. Each answer is graded on a pass-fail basis. If there is disagreement between the two raters, a third is asked to read the answer in question. The examination is passed when the answers to both questions have been passed and the results approved by the full faculty.
The dissertation proposal demonstrates the student's knowledge of and ability to conduct the proposed research. Minimally, the proposal should contain a description of the context and background surrounding the particular research question; a survey and review of literature that shows the reader why the research is being proposed; a detailed methodological plan for conducting the investigation; and a timetable for completing the project. The Dissertation Advisory Committee must initially approve the proposal. Then the proposal must be approved by the Proposal Review Committee of the College of Education. Lastly, the College forwards the proposal to the Graduate School for elevation to candidacy.
The doctoral dissertation is an original and scholarly research work that makes a significant contribution to counseling psychology. The majority of dissertations in our program are empirical, typically using statistical analysis as the means of examining the data that are gathered. Other types of scholarship, such as qualitative analysis, are acceptable also. It is expected that a dissertation will be published in a refereed journal.
The Dissertation Advisory Committee consists of a minimum of three graduate faculty members. Two of these faculty members, including the chairperson, must be from the Counseling Psychology Program. The third member must be from one of the other programs of the College or the University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee oversees all aspects of the student's dissertation, from the proposal to the oral defense. Complete details about the dissertation process are available in the College of Education Dissertation Handbook, available from the Psychological Studies in Education department office. For the most up-to-date University information, see the Graduate School's Dissertation Handbook.
The Dissertation Examining Committee consists of the three members of the Advisory Committee, plus two additional graduate faculty members. One of these must be from a program other than Counseling Psychology. The Dissertation Examining Committee evaluates the student's dissertation and the oral defense.
A student may change an advisor or a member of the Advisory Committee by petitioning the Director of Doctoral Training of the Counseling Psychology Program. If approved, the Graduate School requires notification.
The dissertation must be approved by the Dissertation Advisory Committee before the oral exam takes place. Both the Advisory Committee and the Examining Committee will determine if the research has been carried out thoroughly and accurately according to standard research practices and if the conclusions drawn are reasonable and based firmly on the research conducted for the dissertation and the research in the field. The student is expected to use the knowledge acquired throughout the program to put the research forth as a contribution to the field.
A student will arrange for a date and time that is mutually convenient for all members of the Dissertation Examining Committee. Notification of the time and date must be submitted to the Associate Dean of the College of Education no less than three weeks prior to the oral defense. The announcement of the date and time of the oral defense will be sent to the Graduate School by the Associate Dean of the College of Education no less than 10 working days prior to the oral defense.
Counseling Psychology Program
2nd Floor, Weiss Hall (265-63)
1701 North 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122-6085
TuCnPsy@temple.edu
215-204-7331