Program Mission

The mission of the Ph.D. Program in Counseling at UNC Charlotte is to prepare multiculturally competent, ethical, clinically skilled, and knowledgeable professionals for positions as counselor educators in university settings or as clinicians and/or counselor supervisors in schools and community settings. Students in the doctoral program strive to acquire knowledge, values, and skills that are relevant to providing quality direct service to diverse populations.

Program Objectives:

  1. To acquire, integrate, and apply empirical and theoretical knowledge of the field of counseling.
  2. To develop leadership skills in counselor education, supervision, advanced counseling practice, and research.
  3. To apply advanced skills and competencies in field-based settings.
  4. To conduct research and generate new knowledge in counseling.
  5. To design, adapt, and evaluate curricula in the field of counseling.
  6. To develop depth and breadth in professional growth and continued life-long learning.
  7. To examine the influence of social context and policy variables on human behavior.
  8. To show increased sensitivity and clinical skills that demonstrate awareness of the diversity of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, mental/physical ability, nationality, and sexual orientation as relevant to counseling professionals.