Doctoral Program Mission Statement

Our CACREP-accredited doctoral program in Counselor Education and Counseling is dedicated to advancing the field of counselor education and supervision through rigorous scholarship, innovative andragogy and supervision, and active engagement with leadership and advocacy. 

Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of leaders in counselor education and supervision who will shape the future of the counseling profession via transformative learning experiences, mentorship, and scholarly inquiry.

We believe it is also our mission to:

• Instill a strong sense of professional identity as counselor educators, supervisors, social justice advocates, and researchers.
• Help students gain an understanding of the rich history and knowledge base in counselor education.
• Facilitate expertise in the skills of teaching, supervision, advocacy, and research.
• Aid students/graduates in their initial job placement as a counselor educator.
• Teach and perform research applicable to the practice of counselor education, supervision, and counseling.
• Aid students in developing lifelong cultural humility and its integration into their roles as counselor educators and supervisors.

The Department of Counseling also has a mission within the Kasiska Division of Health Sciences, College of Nursing, Rehabilitation, and Human Health to represent the mental health perspective within the Division and consult with Division faculty and departments, encouraging a holistic perspective on health care services.

Doctoral Program Objectives

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Counseling prepares graduates for work in counselor education programs. The major emphasis of this program is to prepare graduates for a career in university teaching, supervision, and research in counseling programs.

Counselor education and counseling students at Idaho State University will be:

1. Graduates can teach counseling skills and counseling theories courses effectively.
2. Graduates can provide individual, triadic, and group supervision to counselors and counseling students across Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling, and School Counseling.
3. Graduates can teach selected courses in at least one CACREP counseling specialty area effectively.
4. Graduates can teach selected courses in at least three CACREP core areas effectively.
5. Graduates can evaluate counselor education programs and counseling sites.
6. Graduates can analyze professional issues affecting counselor education and the counseling profession.
7. Graduates can apply ethical standards and practices in counselor education and counseling.
8. Graduates can design and conduct qualitative and quantitative research.
9. Graduates can produce scholarly manuscripts suitable for professional publication.
10. Graduates can advise and mentor master’s-level counseling students.
11. Graduates can demonstrate advanced clinical counseling skills.
12. Graduates can integrate knowledge of cultural diversity, intersectionality, positionality, and their sociological manifestations into their roles and responsibilities as counselor educators.