Rehabilitation Counseling (PhD)

CIP Code

51.2310.00

Mission and Scope

The Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling is a 66-hour degree program designed to meet the critical shortage of rehabilitation educators, administrators, and qualified rehabilitation counselors across the nation. The program is designed to provide students with a didactic learning experience combining theory and applied practice in advanced rehabilitation counseling. Students will acquire skills in conducting research and publication, teaching in-class and online, grant writing and grant management, and select from a variety of specialized advanced electives in rehabilitation counseling. The capstone experience in the Ph.D. will be to conduct original research by completing and successfully defending a dissertation.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the doctoral program in rehabilitation counseling, prospective candidates must first meet all requirements for graduate admission to UT Rio Grande Valley, as well as the other requirements listed below:

  1. Earned master’s degree from an accredited institution in a field related to rehabilitation counseling with a minimum graduate GPA of 3.25
  2. GRE general test
  3. Three letters of recommendation
  4. Personal statement
  5. Documentation of two years of professional experience with people with disabilities
  6. Personal interview

Application for admission must be submitted prior to the published deadline. The application is available at www.utrgv.edu/gradapply.

All applications are reviewed by the Department of Rehabilitation’s graduate faculty. Deadline for application each year is March 31, and incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Successful applicants will be notified by late April.

Foundation Coursework

All students entering the Ph.D. program are required to have a Rehabilitation Counseling foundation. This foundation may be achieved by holding a Masters’ degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from a CORE accredited institution. Students with related degrees will most likely have taken similar coursework that will be equivalent to the required foundation courses. Foundation courses include the following:

Required Courses

REHS 6300Foundations in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling

3

REHS 6310Case Management in Rehabilitation

3

REHS 6315Research and Program Evaluation

3

REHS 6320Psychosocial Aspects of Disability

3

REHS 6325Group Counseling in Rehabilitation

3

REHS 6330Assessment and Testing

3

REHS 6345Medical Aspects of Disability

3

REHS 6350Career Development and Job Placement

3

REHS 6355Developmental Lifespan and Disability

3

REHS 6360Counseling Theories in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling

3

REHS 6365Multicultural and Social Diversity

3

REHS 6370Techniques in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling

3

REHS 6375Psychiatric Rehabilitation

3

REHS 6390Practicum in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling

3

REHS 6395Clinical Practices

3

REHS 7600Internship in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling

6

Students with a related Master's degree will have their prior coursework evaluated to determine the foundation courses that will need to be completed.

Program Requirements

Required Courses - 51 Hours

REHS 8300Dissertation Development

3

REHS 8302Grant Writing

3

REHS 8305Mixed Methods & Qualitative Research

3

REHS 8306Advanced Career Development and Disability

3

REHS 8307Internship

3

REHS 8310Research Topics in Rehabilitation

3

REHS 8311Seminar in Rehabilitation Research and Publication

3

REHS 8312Advanced Counseling

3

REHS 8313Rehabilitation Administration, Leadership, and Advocacy

3

REHS 8314Supervised Teaching Experience

3

REHS 8315Internship Supervision Experience

3

REHS 8317Advanced Counseling Practicum

3

REHS 8318Distance in Education Rehabilitation Counseling

3

REHS 8350/EPSY 6350Introduction to Statistics

3

REHS 8351/EPSY 6351Rehabilitation Intermediate Statistics

3

REHS 8352/EPSY 6352Rehabilitation Multivariate Statistics

3

Notes:

REHS 8317: 100 Clinical Hours Practicum

REHS 8600: 600 Clinical Hours of Internship

Free Electives - 3 Hours

REHS 8303Advanced Grant Writing

3

Capstone Requirement - 12 Hours

Dissertation

Written Comprehensive Exam

REHS 9190Dissertation

1

REHS 9690Dissertation I

6

REHS 9691Dissertation II

6

Total Credit Hours: 66

Residency Requirements

Each student must complete a residency as a full-time student consisting of a minimum of two consecutive semesters with a minimum of nine hours in each semester.

Dissertation

The Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling requires students to complete a dissertation. The manual that details University requirements for the format and submission of the dissertation are available at the Graduate College web site. The student will also need to follow departmental guidelines for the development and completion of the dissertation.

Maximum Period for Completion

A student has a maximum of 10 years from the date of first entry into doctoral level courses to complete the degree. Under special circumstances, an extension for an additional year may be granted by the students Doctoral Dissertation Committee. If the student exceeds the 10-year limit, the Doctoral Dissertation Committee will determine if the student will be permitted to continue in the program and what additional coursework or activities will be required to complete the degree.

Financial Support and Assistantships

The University has limited funds available exclusively for Ph.D. students. Assistantships are made on a competitive basis. Incoming applicants requesting assistantships from the Department of Rehabilitation should submit their request with their application materials. Academic performance will be reviewed each year to ensure that the student is making satisfactory progress. The chair of the Department of Rehabilitation will make final determination regarding assistantships, and will notify continuing students of the timelines for renewing or applying for assistantships. At a minimum, the student must be in good academic standing, enrolled in nine hours or more as a graduate student during the fall and/or spring semester. The maximum amount of time allowed for assigned teaching and research duties is 20 hours per week. Students should contact UT Rio Grande Valley’s Student Financial Services to determine if other sources of financial aid are available. The Department of Rehabilitation may also have a limited number of competitive scholarships from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Students are encouraged to contact the Ph.D. Program Coordinator regarding the availability of these scholarships and the payback criteria.