Ph. D. Program

The Ph.D. program is designed to train counselling psychologists as:

The program is for people with relevant experience who want to gain doctoral level competence in:

The program consists of core courses in:

Ph.D. ADMISSION AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Admission criteria for the Ph.D.

· To gain admission into the doctoral program a student must satisfy the general academic standards of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the following standards of the Counselling Psychology Program:

• a thesis-based master's degree in counselling psychology (or its equivalent) with an overall grade average of at least 80%.

• the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) score for the general test with a minimum score of 500 in each verbal, and quantitative categories, and 3.5 in analytical writing.

• if applicable, a TOEFL score of at least 580.

· Ordinarily, applicants are expected to have completed graduate courses in:

psychological testing measurement group counseling theories of counseling career counseling at least 700 hours of supervised practica

research methods statistics (through analysis of variance) counselling for special groups ( e.g.,  children, adolescents, or adults).

Applicants who are deficient in one or more of the above courses, but otherwise competitive for admission, may have courses added to their program of studies.  A qualifying year may be recommended to applicants who are deficient in several of the above courses.

Applicant information:

The following descriptive statistics are for the Ph.D. applicant pool and student body from 1993 to 2002:

Mean Number of applicants to the Ph.D. program in Counselling Psychology = 20
Mean Number of applicants offered admission to the Ph.D. program = 6
Mean Number of applicants who accepted admission to the Ph.D. program for Sept. 2002 = 6 (females = 6)
Mean Number of "accepted admission" entering from the UBC M.A. program in Counselling Psychology = 4.

Of the 45 students admitted to the Ph.D. Program since 1993, 14 are either foreign students, students from visible minorities, students whose first language is neither English nor French, or students with disabilities.

Ph.D. DOCTORAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

NOTE: The Faculty of Graduate Studies also offers the possibility of pursuing an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program if a student's dissertation topic warrants it and an interdisciplinary supervisory committee can be negotiated.

INTERNSHIP

A 1600 hour internship, accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association or the American Psychological Association, or an internship that meets equivalent standards and requirements, is required.  Students may have to fulfill the internship requirement at a site outside of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, as local sites are limited.

PROGRAM ADVISOR AND COMMITTEE

Through the admissions process, the program undertakes to assign a student to a program advisor who will normally become the student's research advisor.  The program advisor is assigned based on common interests of the student and the faculty member and input from both are used in this assignment.  Subsequently, the student in consultation with the advisor will identify two additional faculty members to guide and support successful passage through the initial year of the program.  After the first year, the advisor will continue as the student's research supervisor or help the student find another research supervisor.  The research supervisor is responsible for guiding and supporting the student through the remainder of the doctoral program.  The research supervisor and student consult to establish a dissertation committee. An annual written evaluation is provided to each doctoral student.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Residency:  In order for students to meet deadlines for comprehensive examinations and candidacy, the department requires students to be engaged in full time study for a minimum of two calendar years.  This means engaging in paid work not connected to your graduate program for less than 12 hours per week.

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

(a) Students normally will be Admitted to Candidacy when they have completed the residency period, completed all required coursework, and passed the comprehensive examinations and their research supervisor has certified that their thesis proposal has been accepted by their supervisory committee.

(b) The Faculty of Graduate Studies expects that a typical doctoral student will be Admitted to Candidacy on completion of a two-year full time study period. A student who is not Admitted to Candidacy within a period of three years from the date of initial registration will be required to withdraw from the program. Extension of this period may be permitted by the Dean of Graduate Studies under exceptional circumstances.

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Department of Educational and Counselling
Psychology, and Special Education
UBC Faculty of Education
The University of British Columbia
2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

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