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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Counselling Psychology - on campus

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, entry requirements for the CP PhD program include:

a) A completed thesis-based Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology or equivalent from an approved university, with a minimum grade point average of 3.50 in the Master’s program. If coursework from an applicant’s Master’s program is not equivalent to courses from the Master of Science in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary, the student will be required to take additional courses within the doctoral program to ensure equivalent training.

b) Two senior undergraduate or one graduate half-course in (i) biological bases of behaviour, (ii) cognitive-affective bases of behaviour, (iii) social bases of behaviour, and (iv) individual behaviour.

c) One senior undergraduate or one graduate half-course in the historical and scientific foundations of general psychology.

d) If all of the prerequisite courses for admission to the PhD program in Counselling Psychology have not been completed at the time of application, students who have up to two full-course equivalents in deficiencies may still be admitted, but the prerequisite courses will need to be completed before the doctoral candidacy examination.

e) A typed résumé and a concise rationale (500 words or less) for the application.

f) Two academic references.

g) One supplementary practice supervisor reference.

The deadline for the submission of complete applications to all programs is December 1 for September admission.

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring grade point average to a required level for admission.

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the degree program requires the following:

Students who have completed the pre-requisites in the areas of (a) biological bases of behaviour, (b) cognitive-affective bases of behaviour, (c) social bases of behaviour, (d) individual behaviour, (e) historical and scientific foundations of general psychology, and (f) the courses and thesis, are required to complete:

a) Two (2) doctoral-level full-course equivalents normally including: Educational Psychology 731, 742, and one half-course in research methods.

b) A non-credit research seminar.

c) Candidacy examination.

d) Dissertation.

e) A twelve-month full-time internship: Educational Psychology 788.

Students who are deficient in prerequisites will be required to take additional courses in their programs once admitted. A student may be deficient in up to two full-course equivalents, which must be completed before the PhD candidacy examination.

Course content addresses theory, research, and practice in the domains identified by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) for accreditation of doctoral programs in professional psychology.

Detailed information on program and core course requirements can be obtained from the Faculty of Education's Graduate Programs.

Applied experience is an asset.

Graduate Programs in Education does not normally accept undergraduate courses for credit toward graduate degrees.

The Doctor of Philosophy degree should be completed in four years. Maximum completion time allowed for the Doctor of Philosophy degree is six years.

An interim advisor is assigned to each first-year student in a thesis-based program. Students are responsible for initiating discussions with potential permanent supervisors and are expected to have finalized supervisory arrangements by their second annual registration.

Candidacy

Candidacy must be completed within 28 months from the program start date.
Admission to candidacy is an acknowledgement that a student is fully prepared to devote his/her full attention to the dissertation research. For admission to candidacy, the Faculty of Graduate Studies requires that (1) all mandatory course work has been completed, (2) an oral candidacy examination has been successfully passed, and (3) a dissertation research proposal has been approved by the student’s Supervisory Committee. For further information, please consult the Graduate Programs in Education website: http://ucalgary.ca/gpe/programs/doctor-philosophy-phd-counselling-psychology under program requirements.

Dissertation

The Doctoral thesis is the focus of the degree program. In consultation with the supervisor, the student should formulate an appropriate thesis topic as early as possible in the program because the thesis proposal affects the choice and number of courses needed in order to complete the program.

Information on research proposals is available through the interim advisor/supervisor.

Ethics approval is required for all research projects involving the use of human subjects, before data collection begins. Prior to submitting an ethics application, students must complete Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans: A Concise, Online Tutorial, http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics/CORE_Tutorial, and attach the certificate issued upon completion to the ethics application form.

To initiate the ethics approval process, the student must submit a copy of the application (available on the Research Services website) to the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board or the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board.

None.

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.

Students applying for scholarships for September admission must submit their scholarship applications to the Graduate Programs in Education office by the preceding February 1.

Graduate Programs in Education also provides assistance for students through teaching assistantships, graduate research scholarships and other scholarships. Application forms and deadline information for these awards can be obtained from Graduate Programs in Education.

For further information contact Graduate Programs in Education, http://ucalgary.ca/gpe/.

Research interests of faculty members and adjunct faculty can be found at: http://ucalgary.ca/gpe/faculty-members.