Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology

The program is built on the scientist-practitioner model. It is currently accredited by the Quebec Order of Psychologists (OPQ), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA will cease to accredit all Canadian programs in 2015.

The Ph.D. program's aims are:

1. Contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of counselling psychology.
2. Practice from a strong evidence base.
3. Take a leadership role in community, professional and university organizations in counselling psychology.

Previous graduates of the program have developed careers in education and community settings, including faculty positions, counselling and psychological positions on the staff of university and college mental health centres, and professional positions in psychological agencies offering a range of mental health services.

• For additional Counselling Psychology Doctoral Program Information (Our Mission - Our Expectations - Our Clinical Training Resources - Our Support Systems - Our Students - Our Graduates at a Glance - Our Faculty - Our Accreditations).

To be eligible applicants must hold a master's degree equivalent to the M.A. (Non-thesis) Counsel­ling Psychology – Project consisting of 42-credits of core courses in specific domains.
View list of courses: counsellingphdchecklist.doc

Please make sure to consult the provided Counselling Psychology Pre-Admission Academic Domains Guide [.pdf] for information and assistance in determining how to categorize courses when completing the Pre-Admission Academic Checklist.

If you are an international student and wish to find out whether you qualify under McGill University's CGPA Guidelines for Graduate Admissions please visit: International CGPA Equivalency

Information on how to apply - Ph.D. Application Package, Counselling Psychology - is provided below.

Applications are considered for students who have completed equivalent (i.e. counselling psychology) or directly relevant (e.g. clinical psychology) master's programs. In order to receive consideration, an applicant must be able to make up any missing master's-level content in one year or less.

Applicants are required to identify a prospective supervisor(s) with research interests in common with their own prior to submitting their application to the Counselling Psychology program. After doing so, applicants will need to indicate the staff member on their online application form.

View information on Counselling Psychology Faculty Members.

Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology applicants are advised that in accordance with the Quebec Order of Psychology (OPQ), Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and American Psychological Association (APA) criteria for doctoral program accreditation, all doctoral candidates must have a solid grounding in the history of psychology, biological basis of behaviour, developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, the social-cultural aspects and determinants of behavior, cognitive-affective psychology, psychological measurement and assessment, statistics and personality.

If applicants to this program do not have such courses in their undergraduate or Master's level education, they will be required to take supplemental courses in these domains after entering the doctoral program.

Most applicants to the Ph.D. program enter with previous super­vised fieldwork and with considerable educational and clinical counselling experience. Candidates must coordinate with their academic supervisors an appropriate setting for their fieldwork (pre-doctoral practicum and internship). All students attend weekly case conferences.

Information on how to apply - Ph.D. Application Package, Counselling Psychology - is provided below.

• Applicants should make email contact with individual Counselling Psychology professors prior to applying in order to explore the fit between their own research interests and those of the professor. We suggest that in an exploratory email, you make an initial statement about the area of your research interests and enclose a current CV. View information on Counselling Psychology Faculty Members.
• In addition to demonstrating that you have a master's degree in a relevant field and an acceptable CGPA in both graduate and undergraduate programs, all applicants are required to submit a completed application package consisting of:
  1. McGill online application. Applicants must include the name(s) of their prospective supervisor on their web application.
  2. Two (2) official copies of all university transcripts (sent directly to the Department).
  3. Scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (if you are an international student, sent directly to the Depart­ment).
  4. A current CV based on the Ph.D. Curriculum Vitae Form [.doc]
     Please type directly into this template and adjust the format accordingly. Please do not write by hand.
  5. Three (3) completed Ph.D. Letter of Reference Form [.pdf]
     In addition to completing this form, referees are invited, but not required, to write a separate letter of recommendation.
  6. A completed  Ph.D. Pre-Admission Academic Checklist: counsellingphdchecklist.doc
     This form is used by applicants to indicate the names of the courses they have completed that fulfill the requirement for this program. Prospective applicants should ensure that they have taken the appropriate courses before beginning their application.
     
     Please make sure to consult the provided Counselling Psychology Pre-Admission Academic Domains Guide [.pdf] for information and assistance in determining how to categorize courses when completing the Pre-Admission Academic Checklist.
  7. A letter of intent that should be NO LONGER than 500 words and includes:
     • your reasons for applying to the pro­gram,
     • your career aspirations, and
     • any information rel­evant to your application to which you would like to direct the attention of the admissions committee;
  8. Statement of your research interests that should provide an indication of how your interests correspond to the areas of expertise of the McGill Counselling Psychology program and its faculty;
  9. A writing sample (e.g., paper for a course, M.A. thesis, publi­cation).
• Application Deadline: for the Ph.D. program in Counselling Psychology: December 15th, of each year, for Fall (September) admittance.
• Please note: All application materials must be received before our admissions committee begins to review a file.
• Applicants will be informed of the admission committee's decision by April 1st, of each year.
• Remember, all applicants to the Counselling Psychology program are required to submit an application package directly to the department and submit an online application to McGill University.
• Completed Applications should be sent to:
  
  Alexander Nowak, Graduate Program Advisor
  Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
  Faculty of Education
  McGill University
  3700 McTavish Street, Room 614
  Montreal, QC, Canada
  H3A 1Y2

In addition to the information provided on this website, all applicants should also visit the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office website for information on admissions and funding, as well as the requisite standardized tests (for example: TOEFL).

If you have questions about the program after reading the information provided on this website, or if you are having problems with your application, please send an email to: counsellingpsych [dot] education [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Counselling Psychology, General Information) .