PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy

Antioch University New England has housed a COAMFTE-Accredited Master of Arts program in MFT since 1993. We are excited to offer a Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program dedicated to training the next generation of marriage and family therapists in social justice approaches to MFT teaching, research, supervision, and practice.

We train advanced clinical supervisors, teachers skilled in teaching MFT, and researchers proficient in using both qualitative and quantitative research methods with a particular focus on qualitative clinical research. Our students are provided with clinical and supervision experiences in our training clinic.

Acquire advanced training in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT)

You receive advanced training in MFT supervision, teaching, research, and clinical work, from a social justice perspective. Courses prepare you for academic work in MFT or for advanced supervision or research.

Get experience during your program.

You will receive up to 1000 clinical hours in the program (500 of which can be applied from a COAMFTE-accredited master's degree) in our training clinic and on internship. Individualized internships will be developed in clinical, teaching, and research areas.

Program Delivery

Program starts in Fall semester
Classes meet throughout the week
The first two years (3 semesters per year, including Summer) are devoted to coursework.
Years three and four are devoted to internship and dissertation work

Coursework at the doctoral level generally takes two years for students who have graduated from a master's program in MFT. In addition to the coursework, doctoral level students in MFT must also complete a nine to twelve month clinical or research internship off campus. All doctoral level students are expected to graduate with 1000 face-to-face therapy hours. Some students take an additional year to complete their dissertation, while others complete the dissertation simultaneously with their internships.

Total credits: Number of credits needed depends upon the background of the student. A total of fourteen courses must be taken at the doctoral level. A total of 1000 direct client contact hours are required for graduation. Students from accredited programs may bring forward their 500 client contact hours.