Supervisors
Learn about faculty available to supervise this degree.
Please note: additional supervisors may be available. Contact the program for more information.
Program overview
This specialized thesis-based degree is designed to help students develop the philosophical, theoretical, research, and practical expertise required to offer effective psychological education and counselling.
The program offers you the opportunity to study diverse topics of particular relevance to counsellors, including interpersonal communication, lifespan human development, family functioning, career assessment and evaluation, and statistics and research design.
The program follows a scientist-practitioner model of training and is delivered on campus only, with a two-year residency required. Training is based on the definition of counselling psychology approved by the Canadian Psychological Association’s board of directors.
Completing this program
- Core Courses: Advanced Clinical Supervision in Applied Psychology and Advanced Practicum in Counselling.
- Candidacy: Students will complete a research proposal and both oral and written candidacy exams.
- Internship: Students will complete a one year full-time or two year half-time supervised internship in a clinical setting.
- Additional Courses: Topics may include research methods, school and applied child psychology, professional skills and issues and more.
- Dissertation: Students will be required to submit and defend an original research dissertation.
Outcomes
University professors, research organizations, not-for-profit, non-governmental and community agencies, post-secondary institutions, hospitals, counsellors, private practice, intercultural communication, culture studies, curricular consultant, public/private education systems, policy and governance.
A PhD in counselling psychology is usually considered a final degree.
Virtual Tour
Explore the University of Calgary (UCalgary) from anywhere. Experience all that UCalgary has to offer for your graduate student journey without physically being on campus. Discover the buildings, student services and available programs all from your preferred device.
Admission Requirements
GPA
A minimum of 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 point system, over the last two years of full-time study (a minimum of 10 full-course equivalents or 60 units) of the undergraduate degree.
Minimum education
A thesis-based Master's degree in Counselling Psychology or equivalent, including 500 yours of practicum with a minimum of 400 hours (200 direct client contact hours) completed under the supervision of a registered psychologist; one senior undergraduate or one graduate course in the historical and scientific foundations of general psychology. Two senior undergraduate or one graduate course (3 units or 0.5 full-course equivalent each) in (i) biological bases of behaviour, (ii) cognitive-affective bases of behaviour, (iii) social bases of behaviour, and (iv) individual behaviour.
Work samples
None
Documents
- A typed curriculum vitae
- A concise rationale (500 words or less) for the application
- A completed Pre-Admissions Checklist
Reference letters
Three
Test scores
None
Police Information Check
Students who accept an offer of admission to a Graduate Program in Education that includes a practicum or internship will be required to provide a current Police Information Check (PIC) which includes a Criminal Record Check and a Vulnerable Sector Search. Students who are not residents of Calgary must arrange for a PIC through the nearest local police service or RCMP detachment in the area where they reside.
English language proficiency
An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt) score of 97.
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7.0.
- Canadian Academic English Language test (CAEL) score of 70 (no less than 70 in each section).
- Academic Communication Certificate (ACC) score of A- in each course.
Deadlines
For admission on September 1:
- Canadians and permanent residents: Dec. 1 application deadline
- International students: Dec. 1 application deadline
If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements
Learn more about this program
Learn more about UCalgary by taking a virtual tour
Related programs
If you're interested in this program, you might want to explore other UCalgary programs.