Overview
Counseling Psychology is a licensed, health-service specialty within the field of applied-professional psychology. As an area of applied-professional psychology, counseling psychology has been shaped by values that give priority to interventions, which foster psychological health and adaptive development. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for the American Psychological Association. The goal of the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program is to produce psychologists who are competent scientist-practitioners with a professional identity as counseling psychologists and who are insightful, emotionally mature, and display a high degree of professionalism. Students should expect to be trained to engage in research and to provide psychotherapy, assessment, and supervision. Students completing the doctoral degree program with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology will be eligible for licensure as a psychologist in the state of Mississippi.
Professional Licensure Disclosure: Programs at The University of Southern Mississippi are designed to meet the professional competency standards for licensure in Mississippi. The University of Southern Mississippi cannot determine whether any program leads to licensure in any state other than Mississippi. It is recommended that students who intend to seek licensure in another state verify that their program of study meets the desired state’s licensure requirements. For assistance with out-of-state licensure questions, please refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosures webpage.
Accreditation: For information about program accreditation status, contact the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association at:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123
Fax: 202-336-5978
apaaccred@apa.org
Admission Requirements
In addition to the requirements detailed in Admission Requirements and Procedures , applicants must submit the following documents:
- Statement of Purpose - Applicants should pay particular attention to the instructions for writing the personal statement found in the online application.
- CV/Résumé
- Writing Sample - This sample should be an example of your best, original writing; it may be a published paper or one submitted for a class assignment.
- Three Letters of Recommendation
New students are admitted only for the fall semester. Applications received by December 1 each year will receive a full review for the following fall cohort. A student may be invited to come to campus for a personal interview as part of the application process.
The School of Psychology values diversity; members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
