Counseling Psychology Ph.D. Program
The Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), is proud to be the first doctoral program to be accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) under a scientist-practitioner-advocate training model1. In this model, we continue to place a very high value on the integration of science and practice, but add the importance of moving beyond the therapy room to also address systemic injustices that are often a source of our clients’ presenting concerns (Mallinckrodt, Miles, & Levy, 2014). In 2012, the UT Counseling Psychology Program received the Innovation in Graduate Education Award from the American Psychological Association for our scientist-practitioner-advocate training model.
We believe sound science and competent practice are central to the roles of counseling psychologists and our training emphasizes developing students as strong researchers and clinicians. We also believe counseling psychologists need the skills to intervene (and empower their clients to intervene) directly to address social problems at organizational, systems, and policy levels. As such, we value an emphasis on training that engages with our social context and we believe it is imperative to train our students to be able to conduct science on, and intervene at, institutional levels to address oppressive systems that perpetuate inequality that often contributes to clients’ presenting concerns.
During their time at UT, students are immersed in coursework and practicum experiences designed to develop a broad base of knowledge, skills, and awareness to prepare them to be culturally competent and ethical researchers, clinicians, and social justice advocates. Students also learn that the roles of counseling psychologists are not mutually exclusive, but that our research can be used for and informed by our advocacy and clinical practice and vice versa.
We typically admit 5 students per year (based on our ability to fully fund our admitted students), therefore 25-30 students are usually enrolled at any time. We strive to admit a diverse student body, some of whom have an undergraduate degree and some who have a master’s degree, including some who have been out of school and working for some time. If you are interested in applying to our program, please review the links to the right to learn more about our program, our faculty, our students, and the application process. Additional program data can be found here.
For more information about applying and admissions, click here.