LSU New Orleans' Counselor Education Doctoral Program has received the 2026 Outstanding Doctoral Counselor Education and Supervision Program Award from the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES).
The award recognizes the program's contributions to counselor education, including its commitment to research, leadership and preparing future counselor educators. The program was honored during the SACES 2026 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 6.
LSU New Orleans is home to the only CACREP-accredited Counselor Education doctoral program at a public institution in Louisiana. Over the past five years, 70% of its doctoral graduates completed the program with at least one peer-reviewed publication, research grant or award from a national or state counseling organization. Half of those graduates earned accomplishments in at least two of those categories.
The program's impact extends well beyond campus. Approximately 70% of its graduates from the past decade work in higher education. Alumni currently serve as faculty in 12 of Louisiana's 15 counselor education programs and in more than 30 graduate programs nationwide.
Faculty members Anabel Mifsud and Chris Belser participated in the recognition, which highlights the program's continued contributions to counselor education and the development of future leaders in the profession.
