Top Counseling Psychology Programs For An Academic Career?

[KateCons]

Hello! I've been accepted to some counseling psych phd programs and am trying to make some decisions. However, I haven't been able to find a recent ranking of counseling psychology phd programs. Does anyone in the field right now have an idea of what the top programs are for someone who might want to go into research/academia?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

MOD NOTE: I renamed your title so it better fit your inquiry. -t4c

If you do a search there are a number of threads on "Rankings" and why they don't mean anything in isolation. However, I think your question is an important one for those people looking to be academics. I'm much less famliar with counseling programs that focus on producing academics, so I'll let other members address that area.

I know there was a study done on looking at Clinical Ph.D. program scholarly productivity, though I'm not sure there is one for counseling. You may need to go off of recommendations for that.

 

[ILGirl]

Hello! I've been accepted to some counseling psych phd programs and am trying to make some decisions. However, I haven't been able to find a recent ranking of counseling psychology phd programs. Does anyone in the field right now have an idea of what the top programs are for someone who might want to go into research/academia?

Thanks!

I think that likely depends upon what you want to study. A program may be particularly strong in turning out academics in career psychology but less so in rehabilitation psychology, for example.

I would search academic journals to see if they have any articles on # of academics coming out of X school. But, I would also recommend looking at the faculty of counseling psychology programs. Where did they obtain their PhDs? You could also look specifically at faculty doing research in your area of interest. Where did they obtain their PhDs? Finally, I'm pretty sure that US News till ranks counseling psychology programs. But, those rankings, of course, don't let you now if those programs churn out predominantly academics or practitioners.

 

[RejectClinical]

I think I remember reading somewhere (sorry can't tell you where) that SIU-Carbondale has a great program. They are located in a psych dept (as compared to the education dept, which seems to be more typical). There also seems to be some collaboration between the dept and the clinical dept as well. Mizzou also has an excellent program I believe as well.

I applied to SIU, TN, and Ball State in the past and was offered interviews at all 3 (SIU-limited to phone, but I have visited due to a sister in the undergrad program). Ball State was nice because their counseling dept is a top priority at the school. Furthermore, I remember them telling me that you can get a lot of experience teaching classes yourself (rather than TA) after your 2nd year.

If you have any questions about these programs, I can do my best to answer them.

I think the most important thing is your mentor. The program doesn't have to be super spectacular if you have a mentor that publishes like crazy (in an area of interest to you of course).

Here is a list I found online:
http://www.socialpsychology.org/gcounsel.htm
Hopefully ths helps!

 

[Wapote84]

For an academic career you firstly need somewhere that is prolific in their research AND puts out high quality research. Not all institutions are ideal for putting out high quality academic-ready graduates.

1. Ask them what the graduates of their program are doing now. I'm sure your POIs will be happy to answer that question.

2. Ensure the research is prolific and published in major journals such as the Journal of counseling psychology.

3. The most prolific counseling psych program in research is Iowa State; however, I do know that the University of Tennessee Knoxville has an amazing counseling psych program that is in the psych dept. The people there produce great quality research in the most prestigious journals. Also, there is a lot of collaboration with the clinical and experimental tracks.

4. Programs can be what you make of them. Not that I'm saying any program can put out a top ranked academic quality psychologist, BUT remember that many programs can be tailored to fit your needs.

For example, I know some people in counseling psych are interested in mostly practice and not much else; however some people there are very interested in research. Programs are great for tailoring to specific career interests.


Off the soap box

 

[RejectClinical]

I forgot to mention that U of TN is home to the Journal of Counseling Psychology, which I thought was a huge plus when I applied. On the site it says you can work for the journal, which is good

 

[Enlightened1]

I think one of the top counseling PhD programs is University of Maryland. It's ultra competitive, but has some outstanding researchers, particularly within psychotherapy research.

 

[researchgirl]

From what I know, which is based on not much at all, University of Maryland and University of Minnesota are considered two of the "best" counseling programs, particularly for those interested in careers in academia.

 

[desertpsych]

See the article

Current Institutional Trends in Research Productivity in Counseling Psychology Journals
in
The Counseling Psychologist 2005; 33; 327

for institutional rankings based on publication activity in selected journals from 1993 - 2002.

One article, five years old, for what its worth...