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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-July2025: The Alumni Scholarship for Doctoral Programs is only valid for those applicants who submit a complete application and begin a Doctoral program in July 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.
Take the next step toward reaching your career goals in counseling leadership. Earn your PhD in counselor education from GCU.
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
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.
To learn more about time to completion and the dissertation process at GCU, visit our doctoral page.
Online: $750 per credit [More Info]
Up to 9 doctoral credits
Credits: Fill out the Lopes Eval to find out what will transfer
Admission Requirements (Doctoral)
OR 2.5+ Unweighted GPA and
Admission requirements may differ based on degree level, program and modality, or transfer status. Some programs of study may require a higher GPA and/or other qualifying criteria for admission. Please review full admission and program requirements in the University Policy Handbook.
* Degree must be from an institutionally accredited school. Applicants with a GPA less than 3.4 may be accepted with specifications.
** Degree must be from an institutionally accredited school. Applicants with a GPA between 3.0 - 3.39 may be accepted with specifications. Applicants with a GPA below 3.0 will not be accepted.
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.
When you pursue a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, you are taught by knowledgeable faculty in the field of counseling education. This 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:
