Mission Statement
The mission of the CFT Master's program is to prepare competent, effective therapists for clinical practice and advancement of the marriage and family therapy discipline. The program seeks to train professionals who demonstrate superior knowledge of the profession and therapeutic skills, ethical integrity, strong professional identity, intellectual curiosity, and a sincere commitment to working with families, couples, and individuals from diverse populations.
Overview
The MS in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) provides students with the coursework and supervised clinical training required to become a licensed marriage and family therapist in Maryland and also typically required in many other states with Marriage and Family Therapy licensure. The program has been accredited for over 40 years by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). The comprehensiveness of our curriculum and the extensive clinical training with diverse clients prepare our graduates for employment in a wide variety of CFT positions. In addition, the program prepares students to perform well on the National Licensing Examination. Thus, the degree is highly portable and students go on to practice throughout the country. Please refer to the AAMFT licensure requirements page for the requirements for other states.
Graduation from the Couple and Family Therapy program requires completion of a minimum of 45 required credits for the non-thesis option and 51 credits for the thesis option (45 required credits + 6 thesis credits). Students can graduate with the 60 credits required for Licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Maryland and in many other states by taking five additional elective courses (15 credits) or three additional elective courses (9 credits) for the thesis option (6 credits). All five elective courses can be taken in the Department of Family Science and four are actually offered in the Couple and Family Therapy program.
Graduation from the CFT program requires completion of the program's clinical training component. Students are required to complete a two-year internship at the Center for Healthy Families. The internship requires a minimum of 500 supervised clinical hours, of which at least 400 must be direct client contact hours. Within those direct client contact hours, students must complete:
- At least 150 relational hours (couple or family therapy sessions)
- At least 75 hours of in-person therapy
- At least 75 hours of telehealth therapy
- At least 100 hours of therapy with diverse, marginalized, or underserved populations
Up to 100 of the 500 total hours may involve alternative client interactions, such as observing clinical cases or facilitating psychoeducational groups on specific mental health and/or relationship and family topics. Students receive at least 100 hours of supervision (usually more than 200 hours) from AAMFT Approved Supervisors or Supervisor Candidates, of which at least 50 hours are based on observable data (video-recorded sessions or live supervision)
Graduation from the CFT program also requires students to complete a capstone project in their final practicum course. The capstone project is a comprehensive portfolio of assignments completed during the last semester. This portfolio integrates the knowledge and skills students have acquired as clinicians. Assignments focus on the self of the therapist, sociocultural attunement, philosophy of therapy, advanced application of clinical models, professional and ethical standards, integration of research into treatment, and a career and self-care plan.
The current core faculty of the CFT program are Dr. Mariana Falconier (Program Director), Dr. Tiara Fennell (Center for Healthy Families Director), Dr. Mona Mittal, and Dr. Amy Morgan.
The mission of the CFT Master's program is to prepare competent, effective therapists for clinical practice and advancement of the marriage and family therapy discipline. The program seeks to train professionals who demonstrate superior knowledge of the profession and therapeutic skills, ethical integrity, strong professional identity, intellectual curiosity, and a sincere commitment to working with families, couples, and individuals from diverse populations.
The CFT program is committed to diversity and inclusion among its students, faculty, and clients. The program’s definition of diversity includes, but is not limited to, age, gender, gender identity/expression, ethnicity, race, nationality, physical/cognitive/health ability or condition, international status, immigrant status, English language proficiency, accent, sexual orientation, military status, religious/spiritual views, political views, socioeconomic status, education level, relationship status, or family composition. The CFT faculty seek to include a diverse pool of applicants to be interviewed for the incoming class each year. View a complete breakdown of the program demographics.
Application to the program is made through the University of Maryland Graduate School's Application Portal. The Department of Family Science admits students in the fall semester only. Applications typically open in July for the next school year. The deadline for submitting the Graduate School Application and the Couple and Family Therapy Application Form is typically around December 1 each year. The deadline is December 4, 2026 for the Fall 2027 cohort. This is the same deadline for international students and citizens living abroad. Students are strongly encouraged to apply before the deadline date as all items must be received to be reviewed.