Plan of Study

Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program

All students are required to file and receive approval of the Plan of Study by the end of their first year in the program. The Plan of Study (POS) is a list of all courses that students are required to complete in their degree programs.  These courses and can be taken directly from the counseling psychology curriculum plan. The POS needs to account for every course listed on the curriculum plan, even any courses that you may be transferring into the program.

 Typically in the College of Education, when students submit the POS, they designate the faculty members who will constitute their advisory committee for the oral preliminary exam and dissertation. However, most counseling psychology students are not prepared in the first year of their program to designate the dissertation committee members.  In order to have your POS approved in a timely manner, you will select three committee members, your advisor and two others.  Most students select three counseling psychology core faculty.  This committee may serve through the oral preliminary examination that admits you to doctoral candidacy.  However, you may at any time, in consultation with your advisor, select your final, dissertation advisory committee.

 The dissertation advisory committee is constituted of four faculty members. Students are encouraged to assemble a committee that shares their research and clinical interests and will be valuable consultants as students develop the dissertation proposal and execute the dissertation study.  Your advisor is the chair of this committee, and you should consult your advisor in selecting this committee.  The second and third committee members must be (a) another core counseling psychology faculty, (b) a Counseling and Development faculty, (c) a counseling psychology courtesy appointment, or (d) an Educational Studies department faculty member.  The fourth faculty member must be from outside of the counseling psychology and Counseling and Development areas.  Students traditionally choose an Educational Studies of Psychological Science faculty member as the fourth member of their committee.

 Students should be aware that the advisory committee is distinct from the counseling psychology preliminary examination committee that is responsible for administering and evaluating preliminary exam components:  research hours, work samples, research papers, conference presentation/publication, and written exams on (a) Ethics and Legal/Professional Standards and (b) History of Counseling Psychology/Professional Issues.

 The POS is filed electronically. Information and guidance on filing the POS is also available from the COE Graduate Studies Office (Phone: 494-2345; http://www.education.purdue.edu/gradoffice/). The electronic POS is forwarded first to the COE Graduate Studies Office and then to the Purdue University Graduate School Office where it is checked to be sure that it fulfills Graduate School requirements. (The counseling psychology doctoral program meets all Graduate School Requirements.)

 When you are preparing for your dissertation oral examination, you will complete Graduate School Form 8 Request for Appointment of Examining Committee and submit it to the Graduate Studies Office at least three weeks prior to the dissertation oral examination. Form 8 is available at  http://www.education.purdue.edu/gradoffice/ then click on "Graduate Forms".  Declaring for candidacy will trigger a Graduate School audit of your transcript against your POS. If you have completed all the courses on your POS, you will be eligible for graduation following successful completion of your dissertation oral examination and deposit of the dissertation. If your actual course work has deviated from the POS, you will have to file a Graduate School Form 13 Request for Change to the Plan of Study. The Purdue University Graduate School must approve this request before you will be eligible for graduation.