Counseling psychologists are concerned with a wide range of human problems. Most often, they use their training and experience to assist the normal person to achieve a higher level of educational, vocational, and personal adjustment. Students in the MSU Counseling Psychology program become proficient in applying counseling and research skills to the advancement of human welfare. The major emphasis of the Program is on training highly skilled professionals for work in university settings as teachers, scholars, and/or service providers. Our graduates also use their skills in other educational settings, community mental health centers, government agencies, hospitals, or business settings.

The Counseling Psychology Program at Michigan State University has been fully accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1977. The doctoral program is part of the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education in the College of Education. An emphasis on the professional development of scientist-practitioners has emerged during the program’s history. The cohesion of this training model occurs through coursework, practical experiences, activities associated with teaching, and research activities and requirements of our program. The focus of training is on acquiring a core of psychological knowledge and developing a broad range of professional skills that are applicable to diverse settings and client populations. We believe that our primary goal as a training program is to produce counseling psychologists who have considerable professional development experiences prior to their graduation from this program. This emphasis on professional development is the integrative thread that weaves together our scientist-practitioner training model (depicted here).

For more information on the Counseling Psychology Program, please see the Program Handbook. 

Coursework