College: School of Education
Designation: Department
Majors and degrees offered: M.S. in Counseling; Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Other: Ph.D. Minor in Counseling
Tracks: M.S. program only: school counseling, community agencies, higher education
Faculty: Professors Wampold (chair), Coleman, Gloria, Nelson, Quintana; Associate Professor Hoyt; Assistant Professors Byars-Winston, Howard
The department offers a doctoral program in counseling psychology, which is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association, and a terminal master's program in counseling. Requirements for the doctorate are planned to ensure a high level of competence in the scientific discipline of psychology and in research, teaching/supervision, and counseling interventions. Requirements for the master's degree are designed to ensure that each student possesses or attains a substantive social science base (combining psychology, sociology, and education) and demonstrates competency in the intervention strategies of counseling, group work, instruction, consultation, program development/management, research, and knowledge of the professional field. Ph.D. graduates are eligible for licensure as psychologists and master's graduates may be licensed as professional counselors.
Supervised practicum and internship experiences are available through the department training clinic/laboratory, University Counseling and Consultation Services, The County Mental Health Center of Dane County, WISPIC and numerous other campus units and community agencies. Research projects in progress within the department focus on cross-cultural and multicultural counseling and the psychological impact of biculturalism; computer applications in the work of counselors and counseling psychologists; the selection, development, and supervision of counselors; methods to analyze discourse; counseling families; child and adolescent counseling; group counseling; counseling women; applications of cognitive psychology to counseling; minorities in higher education; career development; and counseling the gifted and talented and the "at-risk."
Currently, there are approximately 55 master's students and 70 doctoral students enrolled in the department: more than 40 percent are minorities, 5 percent have disabilities, and ages range from 22 to 55.
Master's graduates are employed as school counselors, in higher education, in community agencies, and in noncounseling positions. Ph.D. graduates are employed in private practice, community agencies, government agencies, hospitals, professional organizations, and as college/university teachers and researchers, school administrators, and public and private consultants.
The M.S. program has three areas of emphasis: school counseling, counseling in community/agency settings (including university and college counseling centers), and higher education/student personnel.
The master's degree strongly emphasizes service delivery, and its practica/internship components reflect that emphasis. The curriculum stresses knowledge and development of skills in individual and group counseling, consultation, program development, assessment, and evaluation. Students are prepared to work predominantly as practitioners in schools, postsecondary educational institutions, community agencies, business, and industry. The school counselor option leads to licensure by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The community agency track may lead to licensure as a professional counselor. Currently, most positions in higher education do not require licensure.
The sequence of required courses combined with lab and field experiences can be planned on either a full-time or part-time basis, but care must be taken in proper sequencing of courses for those attending part-time. Part-time students should consult the department's student handbook for courses that must precede enrollment in the field practicum (CP807/808). Those students enrolling on a full-time basis typically complete the program in two years, including summer classes.
A student seeking licensure enrolls in a sequence including required course work and supervised practicum. Upon completion of the master's degree, the student is recommended for the initial educator license.
A student interested in being licensed (certified) as a school counselor in states other than Wisconsin should contact that state by writing to the Bureau of Certification, State Education Department, for a copy of the school counselor licensure law. In most cases, a program of study can be designed for students wanting to study at UW-Madison in preparation for practice in another state.
The APA-accredited doctoral program in counseling psychology is based on the scientist/practitioner model of professional psychology and integrates counseling and psychological theory, scientific inquiry, and supervised practice. Counseling psychology is a psychoeducational specialty in which practitioners help others to improve their well-being, alleviate their distress, resolve their crises, and increase their ability to solve problems and make decisions. Counseling psychologists apply systematic, research-based approaches to help themselves and others understand and develop solutions to problems that are educational, vocational, emotional, social, health-related, or developmental in nature.
Compared to other doctoral programs in counseling psychology, the UW-Madison program places more emphasis on the multicultural aspects of counseling psychology research and practice, preparation for psychoeducational roles, clinical supervision research and practice, and consultation. The theoretical orientation of the program is best described as multiculturally integrative. Course work emphasizes the research base of counseling psychology and students are expected to involve themselves in faculty research. The length of the program for students entering with a master's degree is usually five years, depending on academic background and career objectives.
The mission of the counseling psychology program is to broadly prepare students for a number of professional roles: direct service, research, teaching, clinical supervision, and consultation. Graduates find employment in counseling and mental health centers, academic departments of counseling and psychology, hospitals, educational institutions (K-12 and postsecondary), and government service.
Students from other departments may complete an academic minor that provides preparation for the helping professions. Students in business, communication, education, medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, and sociology, in particular, may find opportunities for study closely related to their major fields of study. Students must secure an advisor from the counseling psychology faculty and this must be approved before taking courses in the minor. Doctoral minors may not enroll in practica unless they have been admitted by the doctoral committee into the "professional practice minor." Only students who are enrolled in other professional psychology programs may be admitted to the practice minor.
Under current rules of the Psychology Examining Board, a graduate of the APA-approved doctoral program in counseling psychology may apply for licensure as a psychologist in Wisconsin. Licensure is not a province of the department, however, and there is little reciprocity among states for such licensure. Students interested in licensure as a psychologist should acquire a copy of the licensure law of the particular state by writing to the psychology examining board in the appropriate state capital.
Funding is somewhat limited in the Department of Counseling Psychology and, with the exception of the Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, is available only to doctoral students. The department nominates eligible applicants/students for university and AOF fellowships early in the year. Applications to the program should be made by early January. The department makes its selections based on materials submitted in the application file.
Assistantships (research, project, and teaching) within the counseling psychology department are available primarily to doctoral-level students and are announced in early spring to those who are admitted to the Ph.D. program and to continuing Ph.D. students. (International students are eligible to apply for assistantships at UW-Madison.) Occasionally, qualified master's students may be hired as program assistants within the department. However, most master's-level students who seek employment find work elsewhere on or off campus. Applicants are also encouraged to seek other private or federal funding sources. Applicants may obtain additional funding information from the department, the local/college library, and the Office of Student Financial Services (which also has information on loans and work study).
Admission to both programs is highly competitive. Approximately 200 master's applications and 100 doctoral applications from throughout the country and the world are received each year. The department enrolls about 24 master's applicants and 7-10 doctoral applicants per year.
Students are admitted once per year for either summer or fall matriculation. The admission deadline for the master's program is February 15 and the Ph.D. admission deadline is December 15. Ph.D. applicants are notified of the admissions decision in early March and M.S. applicants are notified in early April.
In addition to acquired academic competencies and counseling skills, the counseling profession requires a high level of ethical behavior, self-awareness, and personal maturity. All are considered in assessing a student's fitness for a career as a professional counselor or counseling psychologist.
The applicant will be expected to meet minimum requirements for admission set by the Graduate School. Department requirements may be more rigorous. A master's degree (may or may not be in the counseling field) is required for the Ph.D. program, and an undergraduate degree is required for the master's program.
Applicants for both programs should have the equivalent of at least 6 semester credits beyond introductory psychology (including 3 semester credits in abnormal psychology), 6 semester credits of social and cultural foundations (sociology, women's studies, anthropology, philosophy, or ethnic studies), and 3 semester credits in measurement (statistics). If the applicant has not completed the necessary requirements at the time of application, he or she may be admitted with deficiencies and complete the course work in addition to the program requirements. Ph.D. applicants who do not have a master's in a counseling-related field may have to make up deficiencies by enrolling in certain courses from the master's program before taking the advanced doctoral course work. It should be noted that these courses do not count toward the actual degree requirements.
All materials listed below must be submitted to the department at the time of application:
* The general Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required and should be taken in October for applications in the next year. There are no set cutoff scores in the department, but average scores of admitted students range from 550 to 650 in each area. The subject test in psychology is optional. Scores are considered in conjunction with other admission information in the admission decision.
* Applicants must furnish transcripts from all institutions attended since high school. The last 60 semester credits (or last two years) of undergraduate work is calculated and should be at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Average undergraduate GPAs of admitted applicants are above 3.3, and average graduate GPAs for those with prior graduate work are above 3.5 (4.0 scale).
* Letters of recommendation should include at least three recent letters that address the applicant's current professional and scholarly competence and potential.
* All work (volunteer or paid) experiences should be included whether or not they are counseling-related. Most successful Ph.D. applicants have at least one year of successful work experience in a counseling capacity.
* Any publications and research experiences should be included in the application.
* A statement of one to three pages should address specific goals and interests; background preparation, both academic and professional; and reasons for graduate study in the Department of Counseling Psychology.
For more information: Admissions Coordinator, Department of Counseling Psychology, 321 Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706; 608/263-2746; fax 608/265-3347; counpsych@education.wisc.edu; www.education.wisc.edu/cp.