DOCTORAL PROGRAM
A variety of elements of doctoral study are discussed in detail in the Graduate Catalog within the initial section on "General Information" as well as under the section devoted to a discussion of policies concerning the "College of Education." In the Student Handbook is supplemental to these concerns, students are encouraged to examine all relevant areas of the Graduate Catalog to clarify the key aspects of doctoral study.
Program Description and Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree may be earned in Counselor Education. Through this preparation program, a variety of professional counseling goals may be met. These include the preparation of: counselor educators for professorial positions in colleges and universities; student personnel, pupil personnel, or rehabilitation administrators; counselor supervisors; counseling specialists for community settings, such as family counseling clinics, community mental health centers, rehabilitation facilities, substance abuse centers, and governmental agencies; and private counseling practitioners.
Graduate study at the doctoral level requires rigorous application on the part of the student, as well as a substantial investment of time on the part of the student's Program Advisory and Dissertation committees. Because there is a very real limit to the amount of time and effort that faculty can devote to this kind of responsibility, not all aspirants for the doctoral program can be accommodated. Some prospective students must be denied admission despite their apparent promise to successfully complete the program if more staff and other institutional resources were available. Degree-seeking status in doctoral study involves successful and sequential completion of all of the following elements.
EXPERIENTIAL REQUIREMENT FOR DOCTORAL STUDY
An element of advanced study toward a terminal degree in Counselor Education is applied professional experience on the part of prospective students. Thus, one year of paid, professional, post-master’s experience in a human-service field is a requirement for students wishing to be screened as degree-seeking doctoral students in Counselor Education. Students wishing to complete the prerequisite experiential element of doctoral study coincidental with enrollment for post-master’s graduate study prior to screening may provide a written petition to Program faculty for permission to pursue this option. Such requests will be examined on an individual basis at regularly scheduled faculty meetings. Decisions will be communicated by the Program Chair or a faculty designee.
GRADUATE ADMISSION
As an initial step in pursuing the doctoral degree in Counselor Education, applicants must have completed the master's degree and have been admitted, without condition, to The University of Alabama Graduate School. As an alternative to this initial step, applicants may be considered for admission into doctoral study with conditional admissibility to the Graduate School plus evidence of other factors indicative of promise of success in doctoral study. Such factors would include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) national certification, (b) state licensure, (c) research and scholarly activity, (d) exceptional professional experience, or (e) exceptional academic performance. Consideration of conditionally admissible applicants within the alternative option will be based upon faculty judgment.
Application forms for admission to the Graduate School may be obtained by contacting The Graduate School, P.O. Box 870118, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0118 (205-348-5921). Applicants should understand that admission with the Graduate School is only the initial step for doctoral study and is not admission for degree-seeking status in pursuit of the doctoral degree in Counselor Education.