The Marriage and Family Therapy program combines state-of-the-art theory and research with practical application to prepare students for both work in the field and future graduate studies.
Community and Diversity
Both the University of La Verne and Psychology Department share a strong commitment to diversity and demonstrate a tradition of attracting students and faculty from a variety of cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds; ages; sexual orientations; and physical disabilities. Principles of diversity and multiculturalism and infused throughout the curriculum to insure students are prepared to work with the families, couples, and individuals found within the various communities across the state of California. We believe an excellent learning environment allows individuals with varying backgrounds and experiences to come together to learn with – and about – each other.
Student-Faculty Interactions and Small Classes
The program shares and implements the University’s tradition of, and commitment to, personalized academic attention. Our small graduate classes (usually between 12 to 24 students) enhance faculty-student interaction, a collegial and cooperative learning atmosphere among students, and the encouragement of critical thinking skills. The average student-faculty ratio is about 8:1.
Scheduling Options
Students accepted into the Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy program begin coursework in the fall semester and have five (5) years to complete the degree. Students can attend the program with a full-time course load of nine (9) semester hours, or a part-time course load of three (3) to six (6) semester hours. Prospective students may enroll in no more than six (6) semester hours with Program Chair approval prior to admission into the program.
Many students completing the master’s degree also have work and family commitments outside of the program. To accommodate this, classes meet once a week from 4:00-6:25pm or 6:50-9:15pm, Monday through Thursday.
Supervised Fieldwork Placement
Consistent with the requirements of the Board of Behavioral Sciences, all students completing the MFT program will complete a one-year (225 hour) traineeship. The program has an extensive network of supervised fieldwork placements for students in settings such as community mental health agencies and work with students to facilitate placements. All MFT placements meet current state experience requirements for the California MFT license.
Graduate Assistantships
The department offers graduate assistantships to eligible students who receive tuition reimbursements for their assignments to faculty on a variety of research projects. The assistantships are competitive and awarded on either a semester or annual basis.
Personal Psychotherapy
The program believes students entering the counseling profession benefit professionally, personally, and academically from experiencing personal psychotherapy. Therefore, during fieldwork placement, all MFT students must complete at least 10 hours of personal psychotherapy. Depending on individual issues and preferences, students may select individual, couple, family, or group psychotherapy. Students will design a psychotherapy treatment plan in consultation with the Program Chair before they enroll in PSY 580: Supervised Fieldwork I. Psychotherapy hours may be applied toward the optional hours of experience category for California MFT licensure for MFT students.