Residency

Students in the Ph.D. program are expected to establish “residency” by attending school full time for the first thirty hours of the program to establish their research agenda, work with faculty on research, supervision, teaching, and extramural funding.  During this residency period students will be eligible for Graduate Teaching Assistantships or Graduate Research Assistantships to aid them financially while they study full time. Once program residency is established at the completion of the first thirty hours, students may attend part time or complete external field work or participate in other opportunities in counseling.  During residency the student is expected to spend considerable time on campus beyond attendance in enrolled classes.  Students should attend dissertation defenses scheduled within the department and should take advantage of workshops, colloquia or symposia offered on campus or in the metropolitan area. Students may collaborate on research projects with faculty members and/or assist with instructional programs for master's and specialist degree students in counseling.  Students may participate in and learn grant writing and extramural funding through searches and participation in the search, design and writing of grants and projects for external funding.

Admission to Candidacy

Upon successful completion of the program of study, internship experience, and comprehensive exam, the student may apply for Candidacy in the Counselor Education and Supervision program.  The student is responsible for completing the Application for Admission to Candidacy, and consulting with his/her curriculum committee to assure that all curricular, field experience, and exam requirements have been completed.  The committee signs the form if the above listed requirements have been met and the student requests an appointment with the program coordinator for an interview, review, and approval of admission to candidacy.  Once fully admitted to candidacy the student is permitted to begin the formal process of presentation of the dissertation.

Grades

Candidates in the Ph.D. program must earn a “B” or better for each course.  Candidates may repeat a specific course one time but may not repeat more than two courses in the program. Candidates who fail to meet these criteria will be dismissed from the program. To be eligible for graduation, a candidate must maintain a 3.50 average on all graduate courses included on the candidate’s doctoral program of study. All courses carrying graduate credit at Mercer University are numbered 600 or above. Courses numbered 800 and above are open to doctoral candidates only.

Incomplete Grades

All "Incompletes" (IC) must be removed before the candidate can register for the next courses on the program of study. IC grades must be removed by the middle of the next semester of enrollment to prevent the conversion from IC to F.

Discipline and Screening Procedures

Counselor Educators have an ethical responsibility to screen from the field any student or candidate who, for academic or interpersonal reasons, may pose a threat to do harm to a client, the program, or an agency with whom Mercer University has contracted for placement in field  experience/internship, teaching, training, supervision, or consultation.  As such, assessment of a student’s academic performance, practice skills, and interpersonal skills is continuous.  Students who have such issues may be required to attend personal counseling, take some time off from the program, or may be dismissed from the program altogether depending on the nature of the problem.  Students may appeal any decision of the program that results from action under the discipline and screening procedure.