Admissions Requirements

The Department seeks students who are imaginative, intelligent, and highly motivated men and women with a desire for challenge, a commitment to excellence, and a well-developed sense of social responsibility. Prior coursework in family studies, human development, abnormal psychology, introduction to therapy or counseling, and statistics courses are useful in preparation for graduate MFT work. In addition, computer literacy is essential. We are fortunate to attract gifted students who are concerned about social and ethical issues and who view their future profession in a broad context.

Regular admission into the Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program requires:

• a minimum 3.0 (out of 4.0) grade point average for the Baccalaureate degree
• a minimum total cumulative score of 1000 on the Verbal and Quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
• Bachelor’s degree in family studies or a related discipline

Students are selected on the basis of:

• the quality of previous undergraduate and/or graduate coursework
• the strength of their GRE scores
• letters of recommendation
• relevant work experience
• professional goals congruent with those of the program

Students also have the option of applying jointly to the MFT program and the Department's Family Science Ph.D. program (see application procedures for the doctoral porgam).

Application Requests

Students who wish to apply for the MFT Program must complete the University of Maryland Graduate Application online, which includes 3 letters of recommendation, the statement of goals and research interests, and official transcripts from all institutions attended.  Applicants must also download and complete the additional Marriage and Family Therapy application (the Marriage and Family Therapy application should be sent directly to the Department of Family Science, Attn: Sherry Starr).

The Department of Family Science admits students in the fall semester only. The deadline for submitting the Graduate School Application and the Marriage and Family Therapy Application Form is January 15 (January 1 for international students and citizens living abroad). Students are strongly encouraged to apply before the deadline date.
The top candidates for the program are invited to an interview (typically in February) with MFT faculty and current graduate students. Graduate fellowships, assistantships, and tuition waivers are available for the most qualified students.

Application Procedures

for the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program at the University of Maryland, College Park

Step #1: Apply to the University’s graduate school

1) Go to http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm
2) Complete the online application
    a. A $60 non-refundable application fee will be processed with your application
3) Mail all transcripts reflecting all undergraduate and graduate work completed or in progress to:

University of Maryland at College Park
Enrollment Services Operations
Application for Graduate Admission
0130 Mitchell Building
College Park, MD 20742

4) Standardized test scores (GREs) are to be sent directly from Educational Testing Service (if no category exists on ETS form, please fill in “other” and write FMSC, code 5814).
5) GREs must be taken in time to reach our department before the January 15th deadline. - Allow 2 weeks to receive your scores.

6) Letters of recommendation are to be submitted online with your graduate application or mailed directly to Graduate Admissions.
7) All information provided in this application will be directly sent by Graduate Admissions to the Department of Family Science for review (you do not need to mail additional hard copies of the graduate school application to the department).

Step #2: Apply to the MFT program in the Department of Family Science

1) Download and Print the Marriage and Family Therapy Application
2) Complete application and mail to:
    Department of Family Science
     Attention: Sherry Starr
     University of Maryland, College Park
     1204 Marie Mount Hall
     College Park, MD 20742

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All application materials are due by January 15. Meeting this deadline guarantees full consideration. Applicants are encouraged to confirm that all application materials have been received and that the application is complete (contact Sherry Starr at (301) 405-2273).

Incomplete applications will not be considered.