PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision – Quantitative
What Is a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision?
Part of Grand Canyon University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Counselor Education and Supervision degree program is intended to prepare graduates to work as counselor educators, supervisors, researchers and practitioners in academic and clinical settings. The standards for this program are intended to accommodate the unique strengths of students seeking to enhance their leadership and counseling skills. As a doctoral student, you will have the opportunity to employ quantitative methodology to design, collect and analyze information in alignment with conducting a scholarly dissertation.
Choosing To Specialize in a Quantitative PhD
Doctoral students pursuing GCU’s quantitative PhD will focus on analyzing events by interpreting numeric data, whereas students pursuing GCU’s qualitative PhD will focus on analyzing how and why people think, believe and behave a certain way. To complete the research for a quantitative PhD, you can develop expertise in the creation of a sampling plan and in the collection of data. You will then use statistical tools to clean and analyze data, as well as assess reliability. Once your research has concluded, you will present your results in a written report.
Skills You Can Develop in the Counselor Education and Supervision PhD Program
When you pursue a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, you are taught by knowledgeable faculty in the field of counseling education. This minimum 65-credit program allows you to study ethics and morality, discuss educational philosophies and models of adult learning, explore the basic components of quantitative research design, interact with statistical tests and statistical analysis software in the context of designing a quantitative research study, address social justice concerns, engage in the supervised practical application of previously studied theory and more. To graduate from this program, you must pass courses including:
- Advanced integrated theories and practices
- Clinical supervision
- Counselor education and supervision practicum
- Designing a quantitative study
- Ethics, laws and multicultural issues
- Leadership and social justice
- Quantitative data analysis, results and findings
- Quantitative data collection and statistical mechanics
- Special topics in counseling education and supervision
- The literature landscape: counselor education and supervision
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What Can You Do With a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision?
Earning your PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision is a great way to gain additional knowledge in your field and position yourself for potential career advancement. As a graduate, you may go on to pursue positions in higher education or become clinical supervisors. Positions associated with this PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision may include:
- Mental health counselor
- Advanced clinician
- Clinical supervisor
- Counseling advocate
- Counseling leader
- Counseling practitioner
- Faculty member
- Researcher
GCU alumni enrolling in a doctoral program for the first time may be eligible for a $2,000 scholarship.§
If you are seeking licensure/certification, please refer to the Accreditation and Compliance/State disclosures link for the specific program of interest’s website for your location and/or employment state licensure requirements, per 34 CFR 668.14(b)32 and 668.43(c).
§ MOU-Alumni 2000 Doctoral-May2025: The Alumni Scholarship for Doctoral Programs is only valid for those applicants who submit a complete application and begin a Doctoral program in May 2025. This scholarship cannot be used in conjunction with any other GCU scholarship or awards and only applies to online and evening programs. Please speak to a university counselor for complete details.
Time to Completion and Dissertation Process
To learn more about time to completion and the dissertation process at GCU, visit our doctoral page.
Core Courses
Course Description
This course introduces doctoral learners to the principle elements of research, scholarly writing, and effective argumentation. Learners are made aware of the dispositions and expectations of doctoral researchers as well as the University’s overarching values and beliefs regarding research and the responsibility of scholars to contribute new knowledge to their respective fields of study. Learners begin the process of identifying a researchable dissertation topic and are acquainted with appropriate scholarly resources that support the development of the dissertation.
Course Description
In this course, learners are introduced to the critical reading of scholarly qualitative and quantitative literature at the doctoral level. Learners also explore the concept of synthesizing the scholarly literature to identify problems and problem spaces that emerge to form a researchable topic of study. The application of scholarly argumentation from the extant literature to defend the need for a research study is discussed.
Course Description
Learners in this course explore ethics and morality with targeted focus on the relationship of ethics to morality, values, folkways, norms, cultures, worldview, and theoretical orientation. Learners also explore the differentiation of classroom and advocacy ethics from treatment ethics.
Course Description
In this course, learners employ both traditional and culturally derived theories to explore how their personal worldviews affect and integrate with their theoretical orientations and the manners in which they interact with clientele and structure interventions.
Course Description
This doctoral counseling internship course provides opportunities for learners to engage in the supervised practical application of previously studied theory. It allows for the demonstration of their counseling/consulting skills under close supervision. The nature of the doctoral level advanced counseling internship experience is to be determined in consultation with program faculty and/or doctoral committee. Documentation of a minimum requirement of 150 hours of advanced counseling experience hours is submitted to Lopes Activity Tracker. Practicum/field experience hours: 150. Prerequisites: PCE-801 and PCE-803.
Course Description
In this course, learners are introduced to key components of qualitative and quantitative research designs and the means to critically appraise the application of research designs as observed in the scholarly literature. The University's core research designs are presented. Consideration is given to the initial selection and defense of a research design to address a problem that emerged from the extant literature.
Course Description
This residency allows learners to continue developing their skills as academic researchers. Learners will have hands-on experience applying quantitative and qualitative design principals to develop the foundational elements for their potential dissertation studies. Prerequisite: RES-850, RES-825, RES-831, or RCS-831.
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to the sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods employed in qualitative and quantitative research designs. Learners explore the alignment of sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods to the research topic, research questions, and research design. The course positions learners to select qualitative or quantitative designs for their dissertation studies. Prerequisite: RES-831.
Course Description
This course focuses on theoretical framework and models of clinical supervision. Learners extrapolate concepts from their personal theoretical orientations and expand their understanding of gatekeeping from a clinical supervision perspective.
Course Description
Supervision Internship is intended to allow students to approximate, to the greatest extent possible, the work of counselor supervisors. This post-practicum experience is a temporary position with an emphasis on independent application of skills and knowledge of supervision in the workplace setting. Prerequisites: PCE-806 and PCE-905.
Course Description
This course discusses educational philosophies and models of adult learning as well as authoritative gatekeeping in professional counseling and counselor education programs.
Course Description
Teaching Internship is intended to allow students to approximate, to the greatest extent possible, the work of counselor educators. This post-practicum experience is a temporary position with an emphasis on independent application of skills and knowledge of pedagogy in the workplace setting. Prerequisites: PCE-805 and PCE-905.
Course Description
In this course, learners explore the basic components of quantitative research design. Attention is given to variables, instrumentation, and sources of data. Reliability and validity of instrumentation is discussed in the context of GCU core quantitative research designs.
Course Description
In this course, learners interact with statistical tests and statistical analysis software in the context of designing a quantitative research study. Alignment of statistical tests to research questions, hypotheses and design is stressed as is determining the feasibility of a quantitative research study. Ethical aspects of research are discussed. Prerequisite: RES-842.
Course Description
This course provides counselor educators with the knowledge to be effective in their roles as leaders and advocates. This course addresses the social justice concerns with which counselor educators may become involved while fulfilling the advocacy role.
Course Description
In practice, those serving in the roles of counselor educators must address a wide variety of issues. This course, then, addresses topics of contemporary significance in professional counseling.
Course Description
This Advanced Internship course is intended to allow students to approximate, to the greatest extent possible, the work of Counselor Educators. This advanced internship experience is a temporary position with an emphasis on independent application of skills and knowledge in the workplace setting. Prerequisites: PCE-804, PCE-834, PCE-905, PCE-920, and PCE-921.
Course Description
In this residency, learners orally present and defend an expanded design of their preliminary dissertation research from RSD-851. Emphasis is placed on developing the quantitative dissertation. Practicum/field experience hours: None. RES-844.
Course Description
In this course, learners apply the skills of the practitioner-scholar. They are self-motivated and committed to reflective practice. They actively seek input from other scholars while continuing to design independent research under the guidance of the dissertation committee. Prerequisite: PCE-885.
Course Description
In this course, learners focus on data collection, data preparation and management, and the analysis of quantitative data to produce written research findings, results, and implications. Learners continue to work with their respective dissertation chairs and apply information from this course to move ahead in the dissertation process. Prerequisites: RES-844 and one of the following: DBA-955 or DIS-955 or DHA-955 or PSY-955 or PCE-955 or TLC-955.
Course Description
In this course, learners apply the skills of the practitioner-scholar. They are self-motivated and committed to reflective practice. They actively seek input from other scholars while continuing to design and/or conduct independent research under the guidance of the dissertation committee. Prerequisite: PCE-955.
Course Description
In this course, learners focus on the interpretation of quantitative data to produce written research findings, results, and implications. Learners continue to work with their respective dissertation chairs and apply information from this course to move ahead in the dissertation process. Prerequisites: RES-874 and one of the following: DBA-960 or DIS-960 or DHA-960 or PSY-960 or PCE-960 or TLC-960.
Course Description
In this course, learners apply the skills of the practitioner-scholar. They are self-motivated and committed to reflective practice. They actively seek input from other scholars while continuing to design and/or conduct independent research under the guidance of the dissertation committee. Prerequisite: PCE-960.
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