Should I apply to the UO Counseling Psychology Program?

To know the answer to this, first, understand our program philosophy and then determine how you fit with our philosophy. Most student selections are based on student fit with our program philosophy AND fit with the current and emerging research interests of the counseling psychology faculty. Our program philosophy is articulated in greater detail below. Our training values are consistent with those endorsed by the Society for Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Second, student selection is based on past performance, grades, GREs and other examples of academic and clinical ability. We receive a large number of highly qualified applicants and are continuously impressed with the strength of the applicant pool. In our in-house interview (usually around the last Friday in February) faculty, students, and applicant finalists explore the potential fit of the applicants with the program. Even if applicants are a good fit for the program, there is not always space available for the number of highly qualified people who apply. Although we may not ask the questions below directly, they provide insight into the characteristics, goals, and attitudes that seem critical to achieving a good fit with our Program. If you answer affirmatively to ALL of these questions we encourage you to apply.

• Do I enjoy research and want to be a behavioral scientist?
• Do I want to contribute to my community of affiliation and broader community?
• Do I want to learn about social advocacy as central to psychology and to how I view myself as a professional?
• Do I value prevention research and practice?
• Do I collaborate and work well with others?
• Do I want to learn more about human diversity and multiculturalism and integrate this knowledge into how I view the world, conduct research, and practice?
• Do I value feedback and being personally and professionally challenged in multiple ways?
• Do I want to provide empirically supported (science-based) interventions with children, families, adolescents, and adults in community settings?
• Do I want to be a member of a community of scholars that accepts responsibility for its limitations and that encourages all community members to take responsibility for making the environment function effectively?
• Do my research interests match the research interests of the CPSY program core faculty members?
• Am I perceived by others as having the maturity and self-awareness to help improve the lives of clients through practice and research?
• Do I see myself fitting with the University of Oregon Counseling Psychology Program philosophy?

The philosophy, objectives, and curriculum of the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Oregon follow an ecological model of training as described under "Program Description". We believe it is critical to train counseling psychologists who are prepared to engage in research and practice within environmental contexts that change, and who are prepared to have a positive impact on those environmental contexts. We believe that counseling psychologists must take an active role in shaping environments; that they must themselves become a conscious part of the system of social forces that define and determine our professional practice (McWhirter, 2001; Prilleltensky, 1997). This is central to understanding and implementing an ecological model of training. As a result of this focus, you will be prepared to assess, intervene, evaluate, and produce new knowledge relevant to the psychological well being of children, adults, families, and community institutions. You are taught multicultural counseling competencies and, wherever possible, issues related to human diversity are integrated throughout coursework, practice, and research opportunities. You are trained to see human behavior and each potential intervention as occurring within a social, historical, cultural, and political context. Further, your research will consider interactions between psychological phenomena and their social, physical, and institutional surroundings. The Ph.D. is a research degree and those interested only in practice should seek out other options such as becoming a professional counselor, or entering a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) program at a professional school of psychology.

Counseling psychologists are in a unique position to take a proactive, preventive role in dealing with a wide range of human problems. To support this, our ecological model emphasizes practical training in interventions that help individuals, groups, and institutions to prevent or ameliorate negative outcomes and to foster health-promoting behaviors. As a research and scientific degree, working toward a Ph.D. involves a great deal of scientific training and practice. Thus, in the program, we emphasize prevention research that aids in the identification and reduction of known risk factors, as well as the development of predictive indices and the creation of healthy social systems. We believe that for you to have maximum impact in your future professional work as scientists and practitioners, it is our responsibility to train you as scientist-practitioners who strive to accomplish great goals. These goals include, but are not limited to, reducing and eliminating risk factors in the populations with whom you work, developing preventive interventions that contribute to resilience and pro-social adjustment, and supporting and strengthening aspects of communities that contribute to the psychological well-being of its members. Our continuing goal is to train you to be key facilitators in these change processes.

A Question of Research Match…

Faculty members in the Counseling Psychology Program regularly receive e-mail questions from prospective students, such as:

  “ Are you taking new advisees this coming year ,” - or -

  “ Are you taking new students into your research lab this coming year .”

These questions actually do not complement our selection process very well, and here is why:

We select doctoral students into our program after thoroughly reviewing applicant qualifications, which are based on multiple criteria. As with more traditional programs, we do select students based on research interest match between the applicant and current faculty members' research agendas. Where we may differ from more traditional programs, however, is that we select candidates first who will be a strong overall fit within our community of scholars – students who share our program goals, philosophy, and vision – and second, based on the applicant's common research interest with the scholarship of one or more of the faculty. Each faculty member does not select doctoral advisees directly to work in her or his “research lab.” Student selection is always made by consensus of the entire Counseling Psychology faculty based on the applicant's overall program match and readiness for doctoral study.

Nevertheless, we suggest that you have as clear an idea as possible of faculty research and scholarship areas and investigate our work really well before you apply to the program. Students begin the first year of studies without a primary research advisor. Within the first year though, students and faculty get to know each other and then doctoral advising is formally arranged, based on the preferences of both students and faculty members. Shared research interests is a primary reason students and faculty are matched to work together, but there are other reasons as well, such as similarity of working style, personality factors, and other reasons.

While this varies from year-to-year, each core program faculty member (Krista Chronister, Benedict McWhirter, Ellen Hawley McWhirter, Beth Stormshak) typically advises between 1 and 2 new students each year.