Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Psychology, Specialization in Counselling Psychology

b) A twelve-month full-time residency. Completion of this requirement will be recorded on the student transcript as a milestone. Note Police Information Check below.

Course content addresses theory, research, and practice in the domains identified by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) for accreditation of doctoral programs in professional psychology.

Advanced Credit

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring grade point average to a required level for admission.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

Graduate Programs in Education in the Werklund School of Education will not permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course offered by the School.

Students may not choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Police Information Check

All successful applicants to the Werklund School of Education Counselling Psychology program are required to provide a current and clear Police Information Check which includes a Criminal Record Check and a Vulnerable Sector Search. Students must apply for a Police Information Check through their nearest police service or RCMP detachment in the area where they reside.

The original Police Information Check must be presented to and accepted by the administration in the Graduate Program Office in the Werklund School of Education, dated within timelines as directed by the Placement Coordinator.

Students will be required to request a Police Information Check upon admission and each subsequent year that they go on placement.

A current and clear Police Information Check is required for all placements. Failure to present a clear and current Police Information Check may result in the student being unable to begin their program and/or go on placement. Successful completion of all placements is required for graduation.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

Graduate Programs in Education does not normally accept undergraduate courses for credit toward graduate degrees.

Time Limit

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is designed to be completed in four years. Maximum completion time allowed is six years.

Supervisory Assignments

A supervisor is assigned to each first-year student in a thesis-based program.

Research Proposal Requirements

Information on research proposals is available through the supervisor.

Ethics approval is required for all research projects involving the use of human subjects, before data collection begins. In order to submit an ethics application, students are required to complete the TCPS2 tutorial and upload the certificate of completion into their Researcher Profile in IRISS. Register on the TCPS2 website.

To initiate the ethics approval process, the student, in consultation with the supervisor, must submit an application to either the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board or the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board. Applications to the CFREB or CHREB are created and submitted online using IRISS.

Required Examinations

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements for candidacy and thesis examinations, the program requires:

Candidacy

Admission into Candidacy in the Werklund School of Education Graduate Programs: 1) requires that students have abilities to conceptualize, interpret, critique and synthesize comprehensive, substantive knowledge that is relevant to the discipline and practice of educational psychology; and 2) ensures that students have a well-developed plan for their dissertation research, a sound proposal with a well-developed research question and potential for the ability to pursue and complete original independent research at the doctoral level.

In compliance with the Faculty of Graduate Studies Candidacy Regulations, the requirements for Admission to Candidacy at the Werklund School of Education is a four-stage process:

• Completion of all course requirements as identified in the calendar;

• Field of study (FoS) written paper;

• A research proposal approved by the Supervisory Committee (recognizing changes may be made after successful completion of exams prior to submission for ethics approval);

• An oral examination of the research proposal.

All Candidacy requirements must be completed within 28 months of the start of the program.

For further information, please consult the Graduate Programs in Education website.

Thesis

The doctoral thesis is the focus of the degree program. In consultation with the supervisor, the student should formulate an appropriate thesis topic as early as possible in the program because the thesis proposal affects the choice and number of courses needed in order to complete the program.

Thesis Examination

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s draft thesis document before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee

The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program.

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students.

Students are expected to apply for scholarships and awards. For information on funding and awards, see https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/graduate-programs/current-students/programs/doctoral/phd-counselling-psychology and the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.

Graduate Programs in Education also provides assistance for students through teaching assistantships, graduate research scholarships and other scholarships. Funding opportunities comes from a variety of sources including Tri-council scholarships (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC); private, provincial and university scholarships; teaching assistantships; and sessional teaching.