Ellen Hawley McWhirter
Biography
Dr. McWhirter will not be accepting new PhD students in either Counseling Psychology or Prevention Science for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Ellen Hawley McWhirter is the Ann Swindells Professor in Counseling Psychology and Director of the Spanish Language Psychological Services and Research Specialization. Her scholarly interests broadly include the educational and vocational development and well-being of young people and particularly those who face disproportionate systemic and structural barriers. Current projects are focused on Latinx adolescents and factors that influence their postsecondary plans and school engagement, including critical consciousness, experiences of discrimination, and documentation status. Her research and scholarship in vocational psychology have been recognized by national awards including the Fritz and Lynn Kuder Early Career Scientist-Practitioner award (2001), the Outstanding Major Contribution Award (2005; The Counseling Psychologist), the John Holland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career or Personality Research (2008), and the Distinguished Achievement Award (2015). In 2021, she received the Jeanett Castellanos Mentorship Award from the National Latinx Psychological Association. She is a Fellow of the Society for Counseling Psychology and a Fulbright Scholar (Chile, 2004).
Education
PhD, 1992, Arizona State University
Majors: Counseling Psychology
MC ,1988, Arizona State University
Majors: Counseling
BA, 1983, University of Notre Dame
Majors: Psychology
Honors and Awards
2021 Jeanett Castellanos Mentorship Award, National Latinx Psychological Association
2019 Excellence Award for Outstanding Mentorship in Graduate Studies, Graduate School, University of Oregon
2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Institutional Transformation Award, UO Dreamers Working Group, University of Oregon
2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Award, University of Oregon
2015 Distinguished Achievement Award, Society for Vocational Psychology
2013 Ann Swindells Professorship in Counseling Psychology
2012 Faculty Excellence Award, University of Oregon
2010 Fellow, Society for Counseling Psychology, American Psychological Association
2009 Oregon Community Credit Union Research Fellow, Eugene, OR.
2008 John Holland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career or Personality Research, Society for Counseling Psychology, APA.
2008 Psychologist of the Year Award, Lane County Psychologists’ Association, Co-recipient with B.T. McWhirter, Lane County, Oregon.
2007 Co-recipient with program: American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Department of the Year Award.
2005 Outstanding Major Contribution Award, Society for Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist, with co-authors David Blustein and Justin Perry.
2004 Fulbright Scholar Award to Chile, United States Fulbright Commission and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
2001 Fritz and Linn Kuder Early Career Scientist/Practitioner Award, Division 17, American Psychological Association.
1995 American Counseling Association ‘Ohana’ Honors Award for significant contributions to the profession in the areas of diversity and multicultural counseling.
1991 American Association of University Women American Fellow: Dissertation Research Award, Washington, D.C.
Publications
Mather, N., & McWhirter, E.H. (2023). Working-class gay dads: Queer stories about family and work. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103876
Budd, E.L., McWhirter, E.H., De Anda, S.A., Mauricio, A.M., Mueller, M., Cioffi, C.C., Nash, A., Van Brocklin, K., Yarris, K., Jackson, A., Terral, H., Oregon Saludable: Juntos Podemos Advisory Board, Cresko, W.A., DeGarmo, D.S., & Leve, L.D. (2022). Development and design of a culturally tailored intervention to address COVID-19 disparities among Latinx communities across Oregon. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.962862
De Anda, S., Budd, E.L., Halvorson, S., Mauricio, A.M., McWhirter, E.H., Cioffi, C.C., Ramirez Garcia, J., Cresko, W.A., Leve, L.D., & DeGarmo, D.A. (2022). Effects of a health education intervention for Latinx COVID-19 prevention: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 112(S9), e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307129
DeGarmo, D.S., De Anda, S., Cioffi, C.C., Tavalire, H.F., Searcy, J.A., Budd, E.L., McWhirter, E.H., Mauricio, A.M., Halvorson, S., Beck, E.A., Fernandes, L., Currey, M.C., García, J.R., Cresko, W.A., & Leve, L.D. (2022). Effectiveness of a COVID-19 testing outreach intervention for Latinx communities: A clustered randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 5(6):e2216796. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.16796
Cadenas, G.A., & McWhirter, E.H. (2022). Critical consciousness in Vocational Psychology: A vision for the next decade and beyond. Journal of Career Assessment, 30(3) 411–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727221086553
Turner, S.L., McWhirter, E.H., Lee, H., Mason-Chagil, G., Smith, S., Jacobs, S.C., & Jackson, A.P. (2022). Barriers to STEM efficacy and outcome expectations among Native American college students. The Counseling Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000221108454. Ψ
McWhirter, E.H., & McWha-Hermann, I. (2021). Social justice and career development: Progress, problems, and possibilities. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50th anniversary issue, 126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103492
McWhirter, E.H., Yarris, K.E., & Rojas-Araúz, B.O. (2021). Description and pilot evaluation of a Dreamer ally training for higher education staff and faculty. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 13(1), 1-22. Ψ Ş https://doi.org/10.33043/JSACP.13.1.2-22
McWhirter, E.H., Cendejas, C., Fleming, M., Martinez, S., Mather, N., Garcia, Y., Romero, L., Ortega, R.I., & Rojas-Araúz, B.O. (2021). College and career ready and critically conscious: Asset-building with Latinx immigrant youth. Journal of Career Assessment, 29(3), 525-542. Ş https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720987986
Samlan, H., McWhirter, E.H., & Clark, B. (2021). Counseling center assessment of Psychological Symptoms-62 (CCAPS-62) and college academic outcomes. The Counseling Psychologist. Ψ Ş https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000211010301
McWhirter, E.H., & Cinamon, R.G. (2021). Old problem, new perspective: Applying Anzaldúan concepts to underrepresentation in STEM. Journal of Career Development, 48(6), 877-892. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320901797.
Garcia, E.A., McWhirter, E.H., & Cendejas, C. (2021). Outcomes of Career Information Systems utilization among first year high school students. Journal of Career Development, 48(5), 767-780. Ψ Ş https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319890930.