Doctoral Degree

Doctor of Education in Counselor Education and Counseling

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) is the highest university award given in recognition of completion of academic preparation for professional practice in counseling (whereas the Doctor of Philosophy is awarded for preparation for research in a given discipline). While research is an important part of the Doctor of Education program, candidates are provided primarily with courses and practicum experiences which will be instrumental in assisting them to function more effectively as professional counselor education and counseling practitioners.

Recipients of the Doctor of Education in Counselor Education and Counseling must have demonstrated the ability to provide individual and group counseling, supervision and training of counselors, and testing and research/evaluation consistent with the requirements of their work setting. The graduates are prepared to be counselor educators and counselors, but also function as supervisors in university, mental health, and family counseling centers.

Selection Criteria for Doctoral Study

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, persons applying for admission to the doctoral program in counselor education and counseling will be reviewed using the following criteria for selection. Applicants must have:

Completed the masters degree or equivalent in a field of counselor education.
A minimum of 15 semester hours in the behavioral sciences (at least 6 being in psychology).
Taken the Graduate Record Exam (preference will be given to Verbal, Quantitative, or Analytical scores of 50 percentile or more).
Taken the Miller Analogies Test (preference will be given to scores of 40 percentile or more).
A successful year of full-time paid, professional counseling experience following the masters degree in a counseling field, or a successful year of full-time supervised internship experience in counseling. This internship must be completed after the masters degree requirements are met and before admission to the doctoral program. No doctoral-level course work may be accumulated during this time, although prerequisite course work deficiencies may be removed or
Complete a masters degree from a CACREP accredited program and meet the counseling license requirements for Idaho.
Upon request, a letter will be sent which includes:
1. A complete description of the selection process,
2. Guidelines for securing faculty support, and
3. Procedures for application. Preliminary Examination
  Following mid-term of the first semester of doctoral study, a six-part (each part will be approximately one hour long) examination will be administered:
  1. Counseling theories and principles
  2. Development of the profession and counseling ethics
  3. Testing, vocational theory, and group procedures
  4. Personality and learning theory
  5. Statistics and research
  6. Higher education, educational psychology, adult education, and/or educational development. Doctoral Tool Examination
    Candidates for the Ed.D. must demonstrate proficiency in two of the doctoral tools from the following:
    1. A foreign language in addition to the students native language (the selection of a language must be justified in writing in terms of appropriateness of the language for the candidates research or post-graduation employment)
    2. Statistics and research
    3. Computer technology and programming
    4. The candidate in consultation with his/her faculty sponsor may design other tools demonstrated to be more appropriate to his/her own professional goals. All tool proposals must be approved by the counselor education graduate faculty.
      Admission to Degree Candidacy
      Each student demonstrating an adequate foundation for doctoral study, based upon the selection criteria and the preliminary examination, may apply for degree candidacy. The application for candidacy will include:
      1. A course of study designed to remove deficiencies indicated by the preliminary examination and to complete areas of specialization
      2. Two completed tool examinations
      3. A dissertation proposal After receiving the written approval of the major professor and a second graduate faculty committee member from the department, the application may then be submitted to the department for approval and the appointment of a third departmental committee member. The balance of the committee will consist of a fourth member appointed by the Dean of the College of Education and a fifth member appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School.
        Comprehensive Examination
        After the student has been admitted to degree candidacy and at least one semester before graduation, each candidate must pass a comprehensive examination. The first six parts of the eight-part, two-day-long written examination will cover the same six areas as covered in the preliminary examination. The last two parts of the written examination will be designed by the candidates departmental committee and will cover the candidates major area of concentration. To pass the written examination the candidate must pass all eight parts. The candidate may, with the approval of the departmental committee, retake the entire examination after an appropriate period for further study (usually not less than one year).
        Following the completion of the written examination, the candidate may need to take a departmental oral examination covering any areas of weakness noted in the written examination.
        Dissertation
        After the student is admitted to degree candidacy, the dissertation proposal and preliminary research that the candidate and first two committee members have agreed upon will be presented to the complete five-member committee for recommendations and approval. Following this approval of the proposal and the completion of the comprehensive examination, the candidate is authorized to proceed with the dissertation in preparation for a final oral examination defense. The final defense is open to any member of the graduate faculty directing a request through the Dean of the Graduate School and the committee chairman.
        Residence
        Following the bachelors degree, each candidate must complete the equivalent of eight semesters of graduate study including the masters degree and a year of doctoral -internship. At least four of the semesters must be at the doctoral level and two of these must be consecutive semesters of full-time graduate study on campus. (It is strongly recommended that the student attend all four of these semesters on a full-time basis.) All post-masters degree course work applied toward the doctoral degree must be completed within a period of ten years.
        Continuous Enrollment
        Following admission to doctoral study, the student must register for course work, practicum, internship, independent study, or dissertation credit each semester until the completion of the degree.
        Required Courses
        CESE 701 Advanced Statistics 3 cr CESE 702 Advanced Research and Experimental Design 3 cr CESE 705 Instructional Theory for Counselor Educators 1 cr CESE 710 Practicum in College Teaching 2 cr CESE 727 Advanced Theories of Counseling 3 cr CESE 790 Theories of Counseling Supervision 2 cr CESE 791 Supervision of Counseling Practicum 2 cr CESE 800 Doctoral Seminar (enrollment required during each semester of full-time on-campus residence) 1-3 cr CESE 848 Doctoral Practicum in Counseling 3-6 cr CESE 849 Doctoral Internship 1-18 cr CESE 850 Dissertation 1-12 cr Suggested Electives CESE 723 Advanced Vocational Theory 3 cr CESE 758 Independent Problems 1-3 cr CESE 775 Advanced Practicum in Group Counseling 2 cr