Responsibility for the routine administration of the policies and procedures of the program resides with the Program Director or Dean for School of Social and Behavioral Sciences under the oversight of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
To be considered for admission into the PhD program, prospective candidates must:
- Hold a CACREP accredited master’s degree in counseling or a counseling degree determined equivalent by the Counseling Department. If you do not meet this requirement, you may be required to complete additional coursework if admitted into the PhD program.
- Hold a current professional clinical license or certification in the state of practice.
- Submit official transcripts from all applicable colleges/universities attended; must be received directly from the issuing college or university.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale on all graduate work as verified by official transcripts.
- A copy of one of the following test scores must be submitted: NCE or NCMHCE. Scores can be emailed directly from the applicant.
- Writing Sample describing the student’s research interests. In evaluating the applicant’s essay, scrutiny is placed on grammar, voice, and topic; please note that prospective research topics must fit within the range of expertise and interests that program faculty could reasonably supervise. Please follow this Writing Sample Prompt.
- Documentation of language fluency for non-native speakers of English, such as a score report from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the 8 International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or a report from Duolingo. This requirement is waived for students who have completed bachelor’s or master’s level coursework in the U.S. at an accredited institution. The minimum acceptable TOEFL or IELTS scores for admission are:
- Paper-based TOEFL (PBT) - 550
- Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) - 79
- IELTS - 6
- Duolingo - 100
- Any international course work completed must have official transcript evaluations completed and submitted to the University by the evaluation firm. Evaluations MUST include GPA for admission.
Approved Evaluation Firms are: - Submit two (2) Letters of Recommendation. Letters must be received directly from individuals making a recommendation.
- Provide current resume/CV
- If all of the above criteria are met, the prospective student must be interviewed by the Director of the doctoral program or authorized representatives
All admissions materials should be submitted to Graduate Admissions:
University of the Cumberlands
Graduate & Online Admissions
649 S. 10th Street Suite C
Williamsburg, KY 40769
Phone 606.539.4390
Toll Free 800.343.1609
Email gradadm@ucumberlands.edu
Based upon an assessment of all information provided by prospective candidates, admission will be granted to the limited number of places available in a given cohort.