PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision (Low-Residency)

Counselor Education Degrees

The low residency PhD program in Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) is a 72-credit doctoral degree program designed for counselors who wish to enhance their professional competencies in research and evaluation, supervision, teaching, leadership/advocacy, and counseling. As a low residency program, this PhD is primarily composed of online coursework with two four-day residencies. Now accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling Related Education Programs (CACREP), this degree is designed to prepare doctoral students for advanced competency in, a) graduate-level teaching and counselor training, b) research and contributing new knowledge to the field, c) counseling supervision, d) leadership and advocacy, and e) multicultural sensitive counseling practice.

This program is NOT designed to lead to state licensure. This degree is offered by Antioch University’s Seattle campus.

Degree Program Overview

The goal of the program is to expand student abilities in adult learning pedagogy specific to counselor training and supervision while developing critical thinking skills toward a focused research agenda. With a greater emphasis on multicultural counseling competence, the program will also equip students with the leadership and consultation skills needed to address community and institutional inequities and racism consistent with a social justice counseling orientation. These goals are accomplished through a combination of required coursework, practical experience, and a supervised internship. Developed with the working professional in mind, the PhD in CES is a unique low-residence, three-year, and year-round cohort model. In addition to the online coursework, students will attend two four-day residencies (winter and summer quarters) per academic year, in Seattle (Summer) and Santa Barbara (Winter). The residential experiences will provide opportunities for intensified face-to-face training and supervision, community enrichment, and a seminar format for rich discourse and meaning-making. This collective experience is consistent with an infused emphasis on multicultural discourse, resilience, civil enrichment, and social justice. As such, active learning through service delivery and research is emphasized as well as an integration of the following curricular themes:

• A counselor education curriculum that exceeds national and state standards by requiring core coursework in advanced clinical practices, supervision, trauma, and crisis response, ethical and legal issues, advocacy and social justice, and counselor education specific to counselor training, program development, assessment, and outcome evaluation.
• A multicultural emphasis on leadership and supervision encouraging a multicultural counselor identity that seeks an appreciation of diversity and human growth in context to social dynamics while also advocating for community justice, equity, and civil discourse. This is concurrent with an emphasis on systemic leadership, and supervisory skills needed to assist with organizational change and transformation.
• A research model that emphasizes not only the rigor of quantitative and qualitative methodologies consistent with doctoral-level inquiry but also program evaluation procedures and outcome-driven decision-making related to “best practices”.
• A competency-based program where adult learners are invited into collaborative learning experiences and placed into their roles as professional counselors, counselor educators, supervisors, and systemic leaders early and frequently focused on reflective practice, experiential learning, and shared inquiry.
• A cognate area of Multicultural Discourse, Resilience, and Civil Enrichment focused on the skills and knowledge competencies needed for bringing diverse individuals and groups together in ways of knowing, understanding, and enriching the communities in which they live.
• A low residence and cohort model tailored to the working professional seeking to expand their scope of practice while maintaining residence in their home state. In addition to the online coursework, students will attend two four-day residencies, either in Seattle or in additional locations that may be named later. The CES faculty will also assist students in completing their required fieldwork in their home state.
• Professional Mentoring to assist students toward the role induction of counselor educators and supervisors by partnering with experienced faculty throughout their tenure in the program.

This program is NOT designed to lead to state licensure.

Career Outlook

The PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Antioch University Seattle the most comprehensive degree of its kind in the state of Washington. This program provides professional counselors with the degree, knowledge, and credentials to become counseling educators and leaders in the field of mental health. It is designed to prepare counselors for advanced competency in:

• Graduate-level teaching and counselor training
• Research and contributing new knowledge to the field of counseling and mental health
• Counseling supervision
• Counseling Leadership
• Professional Counseling
• Learning Outcomes
• Diversity and change
• Counselor Education
• Counseling Supervision
• Advanced Counseling Practice
• Counseling and Mental Health Research
• Leadership and Advocacy of Counseling and Mental Health
• Creative Arts Therapy

Accreditation

Antioch University Seattle’s Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) program is now accredited by the Council of Accreditation for Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). As the “gold standard” in counselor education, this accreditation is a recognition of the quality and standards of Antioch University Seattle’s CES program and as such provides particular distinction to students and alumni when seeking licensure and employment. View our 2023 Counseling Department Annual Report