Counselor Education and Supervision - Ph.D. | Counselor Education and Supervision

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Counselor Education and Supervision - Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision provides advanced level preparation for counselors in various public and private human service and mental health settings, as well as preparing individuals for counselor education faculty positions in colleges and universities.

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Cassie Storlie | cstorlie@kent.edu |
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For students interested in Fall 2026 Admission: Doctoral Group Interview Day is February 13, 2026, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST in White Hall, Room 200 (Required)

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Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision

Kent State University's Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision provides targeted education in counselor education and supervision. This program offers career benefits for students looking to specialize in counselor education or advanced counseling practitioners.

Getting Started - What to Know Before You Apply

To complete the Counselor Education and Supervision Ph.D. program, full-time students often take two years of coursework (including one online synchronous course each summer), two semesters of doctoral internship, and successfully complete their comprehensive exams prior to moving on to a Dissertation.
Advanced Counseling Practicum and our two Supervision courses are completed on the Kent campus at the Counseling Center in White Hall.
A doctoral residency plan is established with co-advisors which includes one year of full-time study, that is, enrollment for a 12 month period including 21 semester hours (e.g., two semesters of 9hrs plus a summer of 3hrs) and additional professional development activities related to the five core areas of CES
Applicants should have a master’s degree in counseling, preferably from a CACREP accredited program. Applicants without a master’s degree in counseling should consider our Ed.S. program. Our application deadline for all materials is February 1st of each year for applicants to start the following Fall semester.

Review Application Procedures Before Applying to Kent State University

Read and review the Doctoral Program handbook
Contact the Doctoral Program Coordinator for an initial individual interview
After the initial interview, obtain Writing Sample prompt from Doctoral Program Coordinator (available after September 1 each year)
Complete all application materials (letters of recommendation, goal statement, etc.) through application portal
Attend Doctoral Group Interview Day – Held in White Hall on the second Friday in February from 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Mission and Key Performance Indicators

The mission of the Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral program at Kent State University is to prepare research-informed, ethically sound, and culturally intentional counselor educators and supervisors who can effectively: conduct research and engage in scholarship; provide counseling supervision; facilitate learning; engage in leadership and advocacy; and deliver counseling services. Fulfilling this mission will ensure delivery of a high-quality doctoral education which meets the standards of the .

Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the student learning outcomes that the Counselor Education and Supervision program has developed to represent student knowledge and skills related to the program’s mission and objectives.

Key Performance Indicators for the Doctoral Program in Counselor Education and Supervision:

KPI CES 1: Graduates will be able to understand and apply legal and ethical standards and multicultural competencies.
KPI CES 2: Graduates will be able to conceptualize clients from multiple theoretical perspectives.
KPI CES 3: Graduates will be able to understand and apply methods for evaluating counseling effectiveness.
KPI CES 4: Graduates will be able to use theories of supervision in their clinical application.
KPI CES 5: Graduates will be able to understand and apply evaluative, gatekeeping, and remediation practices in clinical supervision.
KPI CES 6: Graduates will be able to understand and apply pedagogical and teaching methods in CES.
KPI CES 7: Graduates will be able to understand and apply instructional and curriculum design, delivery, and evaluation methods of teaching.
KPI CES 8: Graduates will be able to understand and apply research designs appropriate for quantitative and qualitative research questions.
KPI CES 9: Graduates will be able to understand and apply best practices for professional writing.
KPI CES 10: Graduates will be able to understand and apply leadership theory and skills in CES.
KPI CES 11: Graduates will be able to understand and critically evaluate current issues in CES.

Program Information for Counselor Education and Supervision - Ph.D.

Admissions for Counselor Education and Supervision - Ph.D.

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

Master's degree from an accredited college or university
Minimum 3.500 graduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
Official transcript(s)
Résumé or curriculum vitae
Goal statement
Supplemental form
Completion of the Questions Regarding Legal and Ethical Issues form
Preliminary written exam
Two letters of recommendation
Interview (individual and group)
English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:¹
- Minimum 79 TOEFL IBT score
- Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
- Minimum 58 PTE score
- Minimum 110 Det score

Students are expected to have completed curricular experiences equivalent to CACREP entry-level standards and curricular requirements of a specific CACREP program area before beginning doctoral-level counselor education coursework. Any missing content can be completed before or in some cases (e.g., if minimal content is needed) concurrently with initial doctoral-level counselor education coursework.

¹: International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

Fall Semester
- Priority deadline: February 1
  Applications submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of ethical and legal considerations, and multicultural responsiveness, in counselor education and supervision.
Demonstrate a specific focus on knowledge and skill/practice in the following areas: counselor supervision; teaching/pedagogy of counselor education; research and scholarship; advanced counseling theory and techniques; leadership and advocacy; and professional identity as a counselor.
Assume the role of instructor with the ability to understand and apply: teaching methods; instructional and curriculum design; and evaluation methods of teaching.
Provide high quality counseling supervision which enhances supervisees' ability to conceptualize clients from multiple theoretical perspectives; nurtures supervisees' counseling skills; evaluates the effectiveness of supervisees' counseling; uses multiple theories of supervision; and demonstrates knowledge and skills related to evaluative, gatekeeping and remediation practices of supervision.
Conduct quantitative and qualitative research, along with understanding and applying the recommended practices for professional writing.
Demonstrate knowledge of the principles and practices of counseling in a diverse and ever-changing society.
Demonstrate a firm grasp of leadership theory, and provide leadership and advocacy to the counseling profession.
Demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate current issues in the profession.

Coursework

On This Page

Program Requirements
Progression Requirements
Graduation Requirements

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Credit Hours
Major Requirements (min B-/S grade in all courses)
CES 78538	ADVANCED MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING	3
CES 78592	PRACTICUM IN COUPLES AND FAMILY THERAPY ¹	3
or CES 87392	ADVANCED INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING PRACTICUM
CES 80090	DOCTORAL RESIDENCY SEMINAR IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION	3
CES 80200	FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING AND RESEARCH IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION	3
CES 80300	LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION	3
CES 88168	ADVANCED COUNSELING THEORIES	3
CES 88281	RESEARCH SEMINAR IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION	3
CES 88284	SUPERVISION IN COUNSELING I	3
CES 88292	INTERNSHIP IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION ^{1, 2}	6
CES 88294	COLLEGE TEACHING IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION I	3
CES 88392	COLLEGE TEACHING IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION II ¹	3
CES 88492	SUPERVISION IN COUNSELING II ¹	3
RMS 75510	STATISTICS I FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES	3
RMS 85515	QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN AND ANALYSIS	3
RMS 85516	QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN	3
RMS 85517	ADVANCED QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES	3
or RMS 85518	ADVANCED QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Elective courses relative to major area of study ³		6
Culminating Requirement
CES 80199	DISSERTATION I ⁴	30
Minimum Total Credit Hours:		87

¹: Before taking any field-based experiences, students must complete state and Federal background checks. See the program coordinator for more information.
²: Students will complete 3 credit hours of CES 88292 per semester for two consecutive semesters, for a total of 6 credit hours of internship.
³: Elective courses must be relevant to counselor education and supervision. Students must consult with and obtain approval from their advisors about registering for electives.
⁴: Upon admission to candidacy, each doctoral candidate must register for CES 80199. It is expected that a doctoral candidate will continuously register for Dissertation I for a total of 30 credit hours, and thereafter CES 80299, each semester until all requirements for the degree have been met. Students will be expected to be familiar with data entry and interpreting computer generated analysis.

Progression Requirements

Students who earn a C+ grade or lower in any course for the degree must repeat the course for a better grade.
All prerequisites for courses must be completed with a minimum minimum B- grade.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum B- (or Satisfactory) grade in all courses
After admission to the Ph.D. degree program, students plan a program of study with their respective faculty advisory committee. Please refer to the program doctoral handbook and graduate student handbook for more information about requirements for graduation.
Successful completion of written and oral comprehensive exams is required before students can be registered for dissertation credit hours.

Program Delivery

Delivery:
- In person
Location:
- Kent Campus

Accreditation for Counselor Education and Supervision - Ph.D.

Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

Additional Information & Resources

Comprehensive Exams

The intent of the comprehensive written and oral examination is to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the student’s knowledge of Counselor Education and Supervision than can be completed in an individual course. The comprehensive written and oral examination is centered on the 5 core areas of CES. The comprehensive written and oral examination is to be taken at the completion of the student’s course work (CES 88292 Internship in CES may be incomplete at the time of the comprehensive examination); that is, all course work listed as part of the Prospectus & Residency Plan must be completed before the student is eligible to take the comprehensive written and oral examination EXCEPT ELECTIVES.

There are five core areas of the CES Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations which include:

Counseling
Teaching
Supervision
Leadership and Advocacy
Research and Scholarship

The written comprehensive examination will be offered SIX times during the academic year (Fall semester: September 1, October 1, November 1 and Spring semester: February 1, March 1 and April 1).

In the CES Ph.D. program, students complete the written portion of the comprehensive examination in five weeks. At the student’s request, the two CES faculty co-advisors help prepare the student for the five areas to be covered on the written portion of the examination; note that it is the student’s responsibility to schedule a meeting(s) with co-advisors to assist with preparation.

Once the written portion of the examination has been completed, the Advisory Committee (CES co-advisors) may determine that the student 1) has successfully passed the written examination and is ready for the oral examination, or 2) determine that there is a deficiency, and that re-writing is necessary. The Advisory Committee (CES co-advisors) must indicate a satisfactory performance on the “written portion” of the examination before the student can schedule the “oral portion” of the examination.

Once a doctoral student receives the five questions for the CES written comprehensive exam, this is considered the first administration. Students have TWO opportunities to pass the written comprehensive exam per the EHHS Graduate Student Handbook. For further information on guidance to the comprehensive exams, refer to the CES Doctoral Handbook (PDF).

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