Prospective Students

We welcome your interest in our doctoral program in Counselor Education and Supervision. Our dynamic program is designed to meet the changing needs of a global society, CACREP accreditation standards, licensing requirements in the field of counselor education and the professional and academic needs of the students and faculty. The current program is comprised of a four core areas: counseling, supervision, theory and instruction and research. Students select an emphasis area in which they choose a focus for their training. The four emphasis areas are (child and adolescent, couples and family, school, and gerontological counseling. Students may also consider a doctoral minor in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership as a substitute for the emphasis area requirement. Many students opt into the Doctoral Minor in Applied Statistics and Research Methods which is available to students in any UNC doctoral program with the approval of their doctoral program advisor.

The Ph.D. Program in Counselor Education and Supervision is approved by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE’s 15-state region includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Under this approval, students from the other 14 states can attend UNC at the Colorado resident graduate tuition rate rather than the non-resident rate.

Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP)

If you are interested in our program or would like more information please contact Heather M. Helm, Department Chair at heather.helm@unco.edu

Prospective International Applicants

 Please refer to the following website for details

The following are the requirements for the UNC Graduate School and additional information is available on the Graduate School's Web site.

  • TOEFL score – 550 Paper Based Test (PBT), 213 Computer Based Test (CBT), 80 Internet Based Test (IBT), Intensive English Language Test (IELT) of 7. The test results should be submitted to UNC from testing agency. UNC school code is 4074.
  • Completion of a degree program from an accredited US institution within the previous two years.
  • Students without the above can apply for admission to UNC’s Intensive English Language Program.

Degree Requirements

Degree requirements can be found in the UNC Catalog.

Note(s): Students will submit a proposal to present at least once at a juried state, regional, national or international conference. This presentation can be done alone, with faculty, or with peers. Students must submit a copy of the presentation proposal for their files. Accepted presentations: students must submit a copy of the letter of proposal acceptance and copies of presentation handouts. It is highly recommended that students have manuscripts published, in press, and/or in submission prior to graduation, and that students have been involved in grant writing as a part of their education.

Students who write a qualitative dissertation will be asked to complete one additional course in qualitative methodology.

*A student entering with previously completed graduate coursework equivalent to coursework required for the Ph.D. degree may have course(s) waived with advisor consent. A plan of study for the degree must contain a minimum of 67 hours of coursework in addition to proposal, dissertation and internship hours (minimum of 89 hours). All students are required to complete all of the courses listed below; most students have already completed some of these hours in their master’s program.