Ph.D. in Counseling and Student Personnel Services -

UGA Gwinnett Campus

Doctoral Program in Counseling and Student Personnel Services

This doctoral degree has a focus on counselor education and is a part-time Ph.D. program geared towards professional school counselors, community and mental health counselors, and student affairs professionals. The doctoral program in Counseling and Student Personnel Services is grounded in values of social justice and multiculturalism and a focus on systemic change. Doctoral students enhance skills and content knowledge as a method of improving services and programming within their current positions as well as providing opportunities for professional advancement. This doctoral program is distinguished by the training foci in the following areas:

• Scientist-practitioner-advocate training model
• Faculty who are national and international experts in counseling and student affairs
• P-16 perspective in counseling and student affairs services
• Part-time terminal degree program (3 to 4 years average matriculation)
• Preparation for future faculty, practitioners, and advocates working in diverse settings
• Social justice and multicultural training
• Systemic change skills to address mental health disparities
• In-person and online classes
• Cohort training model
• CACREP-accredited
• UGA Gwinnett Campus

Mission Statement

The doctoral Program in Counseling and Student Personnel Services at the Gwinnett Campus is a part-time program designed to meet CACREP standards to prepare graduates to be counselor educators and/or to assume positions of leadership in P–16 educational settings. The primary areas of specialization beyond the counseling core are school counseling and student affairs administration. The intent of the program is to provide a vehicle for advanced graduate study to individuals holding master’s degrees in counseling or college student development who have a preferred three years of post-master’s experience and are currently employed at least one half-time in a pK – 12 school or in a college or university setting. The areas of focus for the degree are P-16 educational counseling and social justice.

Social Justice is an overarching emphasis within the program; therefore, please read the statement below to learn more about what social justice means in our program.

When we talk about social justice we are referring to the incorporation of comparable principles and ideals within various facets of our program. More specifically, within this program, the concept of social justice signifies:

“Scholarship and professional action designed to change societal values, structures, policies and practices, such that disadvantaged or marginalized groups gain increased access to these tools of self-determination (Goodman, Liang, Helms, Latta, Sparks, & Weintraub, 2004).”

Students are challenged to focus on the inequalities that impede access and opportunities for all to engage equitably within society, and attempt to alter the status quo by becoming agents of change. Individuals are called upon to foster this idea through an increase in awareness and personal reflection, which leads to the acknowledgment of broad, systematic, societal inequities and oppression. As advocates for social justice, individuals are also encouraged to focus on topics such as power, privilege, and access to resources within society. It is assumed that students will take reasonable action to eliminate systematic oppression in the forms of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism, nationalism, and other biases. Ultimately, one leads by example and highlights social justice principles in their daily lives.

Click here to review the Social Justice Statement which provides more information on the implementation of social justice principles within the program.

Objectives/Goals

•  To prepare students who are culturally sensitive
• To train students to work with diverse and under-served populations
• To encourage students to address issues of social justice
• To encourage student involvement in professional organizations and other activities
• To ensure that students are trained to understand professional guidelines and practice within the highest of ethical and legal standards
•  To ensure that students will be trained as scholar-practitioners who are proficient in research related to the counseling profession
• To assist students in designing and completing an individualized internship experience that compliments their chosen career objectives
• To train students to become professionals who are responsible for providing leadership to their institutions by creating programs, policies, and experiences that will enhance the educational atmosphere.