PhD vs. EdD in Counselor Education and Supervision

If you already hold a counseling master's and want to teach, supervise or lead in the profession, you will meet two doctoral titles: the PhD and the EdD in counselor education and supervision. Both are doctoral degrees, both can be CACREP-accredited, and both are expected to cover the same professional roles. The differences lie mostly in how each institution designs its program: emphasis, schedule, format and funding. This guide explains what the two share, how the titles are classified, and what to compare.

What both degrees share under CACREP

The 2024 CACREP Standards describe doctoral programs in counselor education and supervision as intended to prepare graduates to work as counselor educators, supervisors, researchers and practitioners in academic and clinical settings. The Standards set the same expectations for any accredited doctoral program in this field, and their text does not distinguish a PhD from an EdD. Key requirements:

• Length: at least 48 semester hours of doctoral-level credit beyond the entry-level degree, rising to at least 60 semester hours for students entering on or after July 1, 2026.
• Curriculum: five professional role areas: counseling, supervision, teaching, research and scholarship, and leadership and advocacy.
• Internship: at least 600 hours, including supervised counseling and at least two of the other four areas.
• Research: a qualifying assessment and a dissertation or capstone research project on counseling practice, counselor education or supervision.
• Admission review: programs check whether your master's covered CACREP entry-level content, so gaps can be made up before or during doctoral study.

The Standards also require core faculty in accredited programs to hold, with limited exceptions, an earned doctorate in counselor education, preferably from a CACREP-accredited program. That is one practical reason the accreditation status of a doctoral program matters if you plan to teach. See CACREP accreditation for how to check a program.

How the titles are classified

Federal data do not treat the EdD as automatically "applied." The IPEDS glossary defines a research/scholarship doctorate as a PhD or other doctor's degree requiring advanced work beyond the master's, including a dissertation based on original research or an original scholarly project, and lists the EdD among possible examples "as designated by the awarding institution." In other words, the label alone does not tell you how much research a program requires. Read the curriculum.

What EdD programs in counselor education look like

EdD programs in counselor education and supervision can be CACREP-accredited. Two examples from university pages:

• Viterbo University states that its Educational Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision is CACREP-accredited and aims to prepare advanced practitioners, educators, supervisors and advocates. The program is hybrid: weekly online classes, weekend intensives on campus, and practicum and internship delivered in person and online. Viterbo says students can finish in 12 semesters at six credits per semester, or in three years on an accelerated track.
• Southern Connecticut State University lists a 60-credit hybrid EdD whose core includes counseling supervision, counselor education teaching and practice, research design and statistics, leadership and advocacy, and two internships, followed by nine credits of dissertation work.

Both examples keep a dissertation and internships; Viterbo's framing in particular leans toward advanced practice and students who keep working while they study.

What PhD programs look like

In our directory (October 2026), all 26 doctoral counselor education programs are PhDs; we have not yet listed an EdD (methodology). Of those 26, 16 are campus-based, 7 deliver coursework online, 1 is hybrid, and 2 have a format we could not verify. Browse them in the PhD list or under counselor education and supervision.

The PhDs vary as much as any PhD/EdD split:

• Full-time, in person. UNC Greensboro runs its PhD in person on its main campus and requires 72 credit hours beyond the master's.
• Part-time and hybrid. Oregon State offers a part-time PhD whose students meet in person in Portland twice each quarter.
• Online with residencies. Adams State teaches online through live synchronous instruction and requires three one-week residencies; Palo Alto University's online PhD includes three in-person residencies.
• Different stated aims. Old Dominion says its counseling PhD prepares people for employment as counselor educators in higher education, while other programs list advanced practice and supervision alongside teaching and research.

Licensure is a separate question

Counselor licensure is set by state boards, and how a doctorate relates to it depends on the program. Walden states that its PhD is not a licensure program and does not prepare an individual to become a licensed counseling professional. Some programs expect a license on entry: the University of the Cumberlands asks applicants to hold a current professional counseling license in their state of practice. Check whether a program requires, encourages or ignores licensure, and how that affects your internship and supervision roles.

Funding differs widely and is rarely guaranteed

Funding often depends on full-time study. Of the 26 doctoral programs in our directory, only one publishes a statement that admitted students are offered funding, and even that is conditional: UCF says accepted students are offered a graduate assistantship contingent upon funding availability. For the other 25 we found no published funding commitment, though several describe what is typical: Penn State says its full-time doctoral students generally receive fellowships or assistantships, while Oregon State says that because its PhD is part-time, teaching and research assistantships are not available through the program. Ask each program what share of students are funded, for how many years, and what the work obligation is. See tuition and scholarships for cost basics.

How to choose

• Start with your goal: a faculty career, clinical supervision, leadership, or advanced practice.
• Confirm the specific doctoral program is CACREP-accredited, not just the university's master's programs.
• Compare research requirements (dissertation type, methods coursework) rather than the PhD or EdD label.
• Check format: full-time residence, weekend intensives, or online with residencies, and whether you can keep working.
• Ask about funding in writing, including whether part-time students are eligible.
• Read the internship plan: which of the five role areas you will cover and where.