460 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 4 Relationships The first major theme we identified from the data was the importance of relationships. This theme appears to be a critical component to having a high-quality program. Participants reported that supportive faculty–student and student–student relationships are important to high quality. Faculty–Student Relationships Participants emphasized the importance of close mentoring relationships between doctoral faculty and doctoral students. Several participants cited the quality of mentoring between faculty and students as the “most important factor” in a high-quality doctoral program. We identified several subthemes that appeared to influence the quality of faculty–student relationships. Smaller cohort sizes, close mentoring, faculty workload, and the match between the student and their dissertation chair all seemed to be important factors in faculty–student relationships. In order to support the faculty and student relationship, attention to cohort sizes and the overall size of the program is considered critical. One participant stated, “If you view your doctoral program as a cash cow, and you’re bringing in a lot of students, I think you’ve lost something.” They further clarified that advising and chairing dissertations for more than two doctoral students per year would lessen the quality of the mentoring experience. Some participants reported that consideration should be given for admitting students who value the close mentoring experience. Faculty time and resources seem foundational to the establishment of high-quality faculty–student relationships. Faculty reported that they need time to focus on mentoring students. One participant stated that “the amount of time spent between faculty member and doctoral student” strongly influence the quality of the mentoring relationship. Consideration for faculty teaching loads and service expectations is therefore important within the context of having adequate time to devote to mentoring. Participants also noted the importance of fit between the faculty mentor and their student mentee. High-quality mentoring relationships are predicated on the match between student goals, research interests, and experience levels with their assigned dissertation chair and/or advisor’s own goals, interests, and experiences. One participant reported that “there’s a lot to mentorship,” elaborating that faculty members must mentor students in “how to get involved in a profession; how to develop their voice as a counselor, as a teacher, as a clinical supervisor, as a researcher; and how to manage themselves professionally.” Student–Student Relationships In addition to cohort size, the cohort model was identified as important to facilitating supportive student-to-student relationships during the program. Participants reported that the cohort model facilitated deep, lasting, and “familial” relationships. Strong relationships with other doctoral students in the cohort were crucial during stressful periods. As one participant noted, “In addition to school, life is out there and stuff happens and people go through difficult times, with divorce and deaths and job losses and things like that. And having that support system built in is incredibly important.” Mission Alignment The next theme encompassed the importance of doctoral programs developing and following a mission statement with clearly defined doctoral student outcomes. As one participant stated, “A high-quality doctoral program in counselor ed and supervision has a clarity of purpose and focus. The program knows what its mission is, in terms of the product they want to produce with the doctoral students.” Another participant reported that “a high-quality doctoral program has a really clear mission, so the program knows who they’re trying to prepare and what they do well. And
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