vcu phd counselor education

Department of Psychology

College of humanities and sciences, ph.d. in clinical psychology.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology offered by VCU is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

The program follows the scientist-practitioner model and operates within a biopsychosocial perspective. Our goal is to train clinical psychologists in scientific principles and evidence-based theoretical models to guide the study and treatment of psychopathology for diverse groups of individuals.

Students are admitted only for full-time study toward the doctoral degree. Requirements include coursework in clinical and basic psychology, statistics and research methods, an empirical master's thesis and dissertation, at least three years of clinical practicum, and an APA-approved pre-doctoral internship. Most students spend at least five years on campus and complete their internship in their sixth year.

Concentrations

Upon admission to the program, each student is assigned a faculty member who serves as academic mentor. This student-professor pairing is based on a student’s stated interests and a faculty member’s specialty areas. Each student also is aligned with one of the two concentrations:

Behavioral Medicine

This concentration emphasizes training in clinical health psychology, prevention, program development, consultation and health promotion.

Clinical Child

This concentration focuses on developmental psychopathology and treatment of underserved youth in schools and community settings.

Practicum and Internship

Students are required to participate in at least three years of clinical practicum, including supervision by clinical faculty in an in-house psychology clinic. Beginning in the fourth year of the program, students spend 12-20 hours per week at a practicum site in the greater Richmond community. One year of off-campus practicum is required, but students may choose to add an additional year. See recent practicum placements .

In the final year of the program, students participate in a year-long internship experience. Internship is designed to enhance students' clinical skills and prepare them for work as a psychologist. See recent internship placements .

History and Accreditation

In 1971, the State Council of Higher Education approved VCU's doctoral program and the Clinical Program subsequently graduated its first doctoral student in 1975. In the same year, the  APA Committee on Accreditation  granted full approval to the clinical doctoral program, and the program has maintained fully accredited status since that time. The program was admitted to the  Academy of Psychological Clinical Science  in 1995 and is a member of the  Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs .

The clinical program presently has 50-55 students at various levels of training, which accounts for more than one third of the total departmental graduate student enrollment. Since 1975, we have graduated over 285 Ph.D.s in clinical psychology who have taken faculty, staff, administrative or practitioner positions in psychology programs housed in university departments and medical schools, community mental health centers, clinics, hospitals, prisons, private practice and state departments of mental health.

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This is the preliminary (or launch) version of the 2024-2025 VCU Bulletin. Courses that expose students to cutting-edge content and transformative learning may be added and notification of additional program approvals may be received prior to finalization. General education program content is also subject to change. The final edition and full PDF version will include these updates and will be available in August prior to the beginning of the fall semester.

Program goal

The M.Ed. in Counselor Education with a concentration in school counseling is a 60-credit-hour program designed to prepare counselors for elementary, middle and high schools. The school counseling concentration leads to school counseling licensure and preparation for advanced graduate work at the post-master’s level. The program requires a minimum of two years of study to complete.

The faculty makes every effort to assist students in individualizing a graduate program to match their professional needs and interests. However, individualization takes place in an environment of legitimate constraints revolving around institutional, accreditation and licensure requirements. Faculty members view each program as more than simply an aggregate of courses, and students should plan all program work with their faculty advisers.

Student learning outcomes

Counselor education core outcomes.

• Students will obtain theoretical knowledge grounded in research and reflective of current national and state standards in the areas of individual and group counseling, human development, multicultural counseling, wellness, and career counseling.
• Students will develop the skills and knowledge to support and enhance students’ and clients’ resiliency from a multicultural framework.
• Students will demonstrate the knowledge and skills to be critical consumers of research in their roles as counselors.
• Students will develop and demonstrate advocacy, social justice and leadership skills through their professional development and extracurricular learning activities.
• Students will continue their personal and professional development by adhering to the professional ethical codes of professional counseling organizations and the counselor education program dispositions.

School counseling concentration specific outcome

• Students will demonstrate competency in counseling, assessment, program evaluation and consultation skills in K-12 school settings.

VCU Graduate Bulletin, VCU Graduate School and general academic policies and regulations for all graduate students in all graduate programs

The VCU Graduate Bulletin website documents the official admission and academic rules and regulations that govern graduate education for all graduate programs at the university. These policies are established by the graduate faculty of the university through their elected representatives to the University Graduate Council.

It is the responsibility of all graduate students, both on- and off-campus, to be familiar with the VCU Graduate Bulletin as well as the Graduate School website and academic regulations in individual school and department publications and on program websites. However, in all cases, the official policies and procedures of the University Graduate Council, as published on the VCU Graduate Bulletin and Graduate School websites, take precedence over individual program policies and guidelines.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on academic regulations for graduate students.

Degree candidacy requirements

A graduate student admitted to a program or concentration requiring a final research project, work of art, thesis or dissertation, must qualify for continuing master’s or doctoral status according to the degree candidacy requirements of the student’s graduate program. Admission to degree candidacy, if applicable, is a formal statement by the graduate student’s faculty regarding the student’s academic achievements and the student’s readiness to proceed to the final research phase of the degree program.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following degree candidacy policy as published in the VCU Graduate Bulletin for complete information and instructions.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on degree candidacy requirements.

Graduation requirements

As graduate students approach the end of their academic programs and the final semester of matriculation, they must make formal application to graduate. No degrees will be conferred until the application to graduate has been finalized.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following graduation requirements as published in the Graduate Bulletin for a complete list of instructions and a graduation checklist.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on graduation requirements.

Other information

Students accepted into the counselor education program must make satisfactory progress toward their degrees. Students who earn unsatisfactory grades and/or exhibit unprofessional conduct may be terminated from the program. More specific information about satisfactory academic progress can be found on this website.

Apply online today.

Admission requirements

In addition to the  general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School , the following requirements represent the minimum acceptable standards for admission:

• Bachelor’s degree 
• Three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s potential for graduate study in education
• Statement of intent
• Transcripts of all previous college work
• Personal interview 

Please visit the School of Education website for further information.

Degree requirements

In addition to general VCU Graduate School graduation requirements , students are required to complete course work in core and elective courses.

• Credit hour requirements: Students are required to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours.
• Grade requirements: Receipt of a grade of C or below in two courses constitutes automatic dismissal from the program. Courses with a grade below C cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements.
• Internship requirements: Students must complete approved internship.
• Testing requirements: Students must provide acceptable score on the National Counselor Examination.

Curriculum requirements

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required for this degree is 60.

Accelerated opportunities

The department offers opportunities for qualified undergraduate students to earn both an undergraduate and graduate degree in a minimum of five years by completing approved graduate courses during the senior year of their undergraduate program.  See the program page in the Undergraduate Bulletin  for details.

Contact Enrollment Management [email protected] (804) 828-3382

Additional contacts Abigail H. Conley, Ph.D. Associate professor and graduate program director [email protected] (804) 828-1332

Donna Dockery, Ph.D. Associate professor and graduate program director [email protected] (804) 828-1332

Program website:  soe.vcu.edu/academics/masters-programs/med-counselor-education

Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia 23284 Phone: (804) 828-0100 [email protected]

All Bulletins © 2024-2025 Virginia Commonwealth University Fri Dec 29 2023 09:17:01 GMT-0600 (CST)

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M.Ed. Couples and Family Counseling Concentration

M.Ed. in counselor education with a concentration in couples and family counseling is a 60-credit hour program designed to prepare students for careers as counselors in clinics, healthcare centers, schools and private practice. The program focuses on training to address a range of personal and professional problems faced by individuals, couples and families through a systemic framework. As our newest concentration, we are eager to pursue accreditation for the couples and family counseling concentration with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP) during our next review cycle. Upon successful approval from CACREP, it will be added to our existing accredited specialty areas (i.e., school counseling, college counseling and student affairs concentrations). Per CACREP policy, students who graduate from this concentration up to 18 months prior to accreditation would be recognized as graduates of a CACREP-accredited program.

The course sequence meets the educational requirements for both the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) as set by the state of Virginia Department of Health Professions. The Couple and Family Counseling concentration meets the licensure requirements for others states; however, certain states have different requirements. It is the responsibility of the student to check with the state licensure board to verify the necessary requirements to be eligible for licensure and to plan on meeting those requirements. The program requires a minimum of two years of study to complete.

Program Core (33 credit hours)

• CLED 600 – Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice in Counseling
• CLED 601 – Theories of Counseling
• CLED 602 – Techniques of Counseling
• CLED 603 – Group Procedures in Counseling
• CLED 605 – Career Information and Exploration
• CLED 606 – Assessment Techniques for Counselors
• CLED 607 – Multicultural Counseling in Educational Settings
• CLED 612 – Seminar in Counseling
• CLED 640 – Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling
• CLED 650 – Addiction Counseling
• CLED 660 – Mental Disorders, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

Concentration Courses (21 credit hours)

• CLED 609 – Practicum: Couple and Family Counseling
• CLED 641 – Advanced Family Counseling
• CLED 644 – Sexuality Counseling
• CLED 645 – Couples Counseling
• CLED 672 – Internship: Couple and Family Counseling (six credits)

Foundation of Education Courses (6 credit hours)

• CLED/EDUS 615 – Lifespan Development: A Gender Perspective
• EDUS 660 – Research Methods in Education

Students start their program in the summer semester. There are full-time and part-time options, and students are encouraged to consult with their advisor to pick one of those scheduling options. The course scheduling options can be found in the Counselor Education M.Ed. Student Handbook [PDF] .

A final, comprehensive examination is required of all degree candidates. In order to be eligible to take the comprehensive exam, students must have completed CLED/EDUS 615 and EDUS 660 and all counseling core courses (excluding Practicum and Internship). Students are exempt from these requirements if they are graduating in the semester in which the exam is given. Students must be enrolled during the semester in which they take the exam.

The comprehensive exam information can be found in the Counselor Education M.Ed. Student Handbook [PDF] .

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VCU Education @VCUSOE - May 14

Congratulations to June Jones, recipient of the Patricia Pleasant Award of Excellence at #VCUSOE’s 2018 Faculty & Staff Appreciation Luncheon.

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