PhD in Marital and Family Therapy
Work with people to improve relationships to help build better lives.
PhD in Marital and Family Therapy Overview
Apply today to start earning your PhD in MFT.
When you’re ready to advance beyond your master’s degree, our university’s PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy degree offered online or on-campus will help expand your clinical practice in systemic/relational therapy and ability to treat your clients holistically. This field of couple and family therapy focuses on each aspect of who we are as individuals and as members of our families and various communities through the lens of human sciences.
The PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy is a research-intensive doctoral program designed to prepare scholars, researchers, educators, and advanced clinical leaders in the systemic and relational field. Emphasizing theory development, advanced research methodology, and original scholarship, the program culminates in a dissertation that contributes new knowledge to the discipline. Students are trained to critically examine relational processes, cultural and sociopolitical contexts, and evidence-based practices, equipping them for academic careers, research leadership, policy advocacy, and high-level clinical and supervisory roles within the profession.
Program Mission
The mission of the Couple and Family Therapy graduate programs is to provide high-quality education, training, clinical experience, scholarship, and service grounded in systemic and relational perspectives. The programs prepare clinicians to understand and address psychological concerns within the context of relationships, families, and broader social systems, emphasizing interactional patterns and cultural and contextual influences.
We train ethical professionals to foster the well-being and mental health of individuals, children, couples, families, organizations, and communities primarily through improving relationships. Our CFT programs specifically focus on the understanding and respect for the diversity of human relationships across different populations from a variety of multicultural, socioeconomic, and international backgrounds. CFT students are encouraged to respect the many dimensions of human diversity, develop a mature personal and professional identity in couple and family therapy field, stay current with professional knowledge and practice in relational and systemic perspectives, and make a positive difference for clients and society.
PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy
A doctorate in marriage and family therapy strengthens your professional credibility. Through a model of scholarship and hands-on practice, the PhD marriage and family therapy education program will provide you with the skills you need to make a difference in the lives of individuals, couples, families, and the societal constructs which bind us all together. Whether your goal is pursuing a career in social work or choosing a family therapy and couple therapy profession, this challenging yet rewarding couples and family therapy program will equip you with the tools and knowledge to succeed in couple family therapy and mental health therapy practice.
As an MFT student, you’ll explore the complexities of family systems and their influence on relationships, behavior, and well-being. Some of the topics covered in the PhD in marriage and family therapy program are; behavioral science, advanced couples therapy, diversity and the family, sex therapy, psychopharmacology, and more.
In addition to our 114-credit post-baccalaureate program offered on-campus and online, we offer an on-campus and online 69-credit post-master’s program. Learn more about our course offerings below.
Offered at These Locations
Program Highlights
Hands-on Training
Get 300 hours of direct client contact, 100-plus supervision hours, and at least 100 professional development hours in the 114-unit PhD, giving you 600 to 1,300 hours to apply towards your license after earning your marriage and family therapy degree. Six Steps to a Successful Practicum
Service and Investment
If qualified, you can receive up to $50,000 of loan reimbursement from the National Health Services Corps in exchange for two years of work in an underserved area.
Cultural Competency
This doctorate in marriage and family therapy program has cultural competency at its core, and consistently adds culturally and linguistically qualified mental-health professionals into the health science workforce.
Compelling Coursework
In the marriage family therapy graduate program with therapy specialization, you will explore courses such as: advanced couple therapy, social basis of behavior, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and more.
Location Options
You can choose from four of California’s most desirable university locations, each with a different focus, as the home for your PhD studies: Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, or online.
Leadership in the Field of Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy
Many of the leading pioneers in the field have taught at Alliant, including Maurizio Andolfi, Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, James Framo, Edwin Friedman, Jay Haley, Norman Paul, Virginia Satir, and Carl Whitaker.
The tradition continues today with leading MFT faculty, including public policy expert Benjamin E. Caldwell, common factors researcher Sean D. Davis, EFT model developer and world-renowned couple therapist Susan M. Johnson, family chemical dependency expert Ann Lawson, and international EFT trainer Scott R. Woolley.
Learn more about our faculty and its legacy of impact
Program Manuals
Master’s Level Practicum Clinical Training Manual
Doctoral Dissertation Guidelines
Admissions
Learn About Admissions Requirements
Faculty
Get to Know Our Diverse Faculty
Degree Information
Concentrations
Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) Concentration, a MFTC program, prepares you to work in and with the medical health care system to help those struggling with medical issues. You will be trained to work with the complex biological, psychological, relational, social, and spiritual dimensions of health care.
Links and Downloads
School Performance Fact Sheets
Disclaimer Regarding Program Outcomes Data:
The employment and licensure data provided in the School Performance Fact Sheets (SPFS) is required by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). The PhD program is newly launched and had no graduates in the 2022–2023 calendar year, so outcome data is not yet available.
The PhD program is in the process of seeking COAMFTE accreditation to ensure the continuation of high-quality, accredited training in systemic and relational clinical practice.
Please review our Graduate Achievement Data, which includes graduation, job placement, and licensure rates, aligned with COAMFTE reporting standards.
Los Angeles Graduate Achievement Data
Sacramento Graduate Achievement Data
Irvine Graduate Achievement Data
Online Graduate Achievement Data
We provide the diversity composition of our student body, faculty, and supervisors. Please follow the links below for the related data. We hope this information will help you make an informed decision regarding your graduate study.
Career Prospects in the Field of Marriage and Family Therapy
Our doctorate, the PhD in MFT, is an accredited doctoral program designed to advance family therapists and researchers through clinical, theoretical, and research training.
- Integrated healthcare
- Higher education and other educational institutions
- Charitable organizations
- Clinical management
- Solo or Independent practice