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Submit your application online by the due date of January 5th. Students are admitted to the marriage and family therapy (MFT) doctoral program area once per year, with cohorts beginning the program each August.
Admission Requirements
Applicants should hold a master’s degree or its equivalent in a mental health field.
All incoming MFT program area students must document their completion of the COAMFTE foundational curriculum. This means that the academic prerequisites for the doctoral program include coursework in the following COAMFTE Foundational Curriculum Areas (FCA):
- Foundations of Relational/Systemic Practice, Theories, and Models (FCA1; 6 Credit Hours)
- Clinical Treatment with Individuals, Couples, and Families (FCA2; 6 Credit Hours)
- Diverse, Multicultural, and/or Underserved Communities (FCA3; 3 Credit Hours)
- Research and Evaluation (FCA4: 3 Credit Hours)
- Professional Identity, Law, Ethics & Social Responsibility (FCA5; 3 Credit Hours)
- Biopsychosocial Health & Development Across the Lifespan (FCA6; 3 Credit Hours)
- Systemic/Relational Assessment & Mental Health Diagnosis and Treatment (FCA7; 3 Credits)
- Contemporary Issues (FCA8; No Credit Requirement, but Document Training)
- Community Intersections & Collaboration (FCA9; No Credit Requirement, but Document Training)
- Preparation for Teletherapy Practice (FCA10; Not Credit Requirement, but Document Training)
Please see the COAMFTE Accreditation Standards V12.5 for additional information about the FCAs. Students who are accepted into the program but cannot document completion of the COAMFTE foundational curriculum may need to complete leveling coursework as part of their doctoral program. Please note that leveling coursework may delay progress through the doctoral program.
Clinical Requirements
At the time of enrollment, applicants should have a minimum of 300 direct client contact hours with individuals, couples, and families, with approximately 100 of those hours being relational. The client hours should have been conducted under the supervision of a licensed marriage and family therapist, an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor, or an equivalently qualified mental health professional.
International Applicants
International applicants are encouraged to apply. International applicants should hold a master’s degree or its equivalent in a mental health field, and have had coursework in the curricular areas listed above. They should also have several hundred hours of experience delivering therapy to individuals, couples and families under the supervision of professionals trained in marriage and family therapy.
Application Process
To apply to the MFT doctoral program area, click here to complete the online application. In the application, select “Human Development” as your major. You will be able to select “Marriage and Family Therapy PhD Program” later in the online application.
The following materials will be required as part of your application:
- Undergraduate and Graduate Transcripts
- GRE Scores (Requirement has been waived by the Department of Human Development and Family Science)
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- Writing Sample:
- Please submit one representative sample of your writing which may include a publication, a class paper, or a professional report. Any work submitted should have been completed by you only; please don’t include any group presentation or papers.
- Personal Statement:
- Submit a 3 to 5 page (double-spaced) statement describing your background, professional goals, and interest in the MFT doctoral program area. Additional instructions for the personal statement are available within the online application.
- Letters of Recommendation:
- Three letters of recommendation are required. Letters can be submitted by your references via the online application system.
- Clinical Documentation:
- Complete and upload the Clinical Background Form and Statement of Professional Ethics and Conduct Form.
- Application Fee of $75:
- Some applicants may be eligible for a waiver of the application fee. For more information click here.
International applicants are required to submit TOEFL scores. For admission, the Department of Human Development and Family Science, which houses the MFT program area, requires a minimum TOEFL (IBT) score of 90 or an IELTS score of 6.5. Additionally, TOEFL scores of 20 or greater are required for the Listening, Writing, Speaking, and Reading subsections.
For detailed instructions on how to complete the application, click here. If you have questions about completing the application or run into any difficulties with the application system, please contact us.
Following a review of the applications in January, those applicants we believe are best suited to the program will be invited to interview over Zoom. Interview Day is typically scheduled on a Monday in February. Interview Day itself consists of a series of individual and group meetings with MFT core faculty, departmental faculty, and current students. Invitations of admission are typically made within 48 hours of Interview Day.
Degree Portability Disclosure
MFT licensure is regulated at the state level, such that licensing regulations and requirements vary across states. A doctoral degree from Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Development and Family Science, with a specialization in marriage and family therapy, may facilitate licensure in terms of a state’s educational requirements and supervised clinical experience. However, as the master’s degree is typically the qualifying degree for MFT licensure, Virginia Tech’s curriculum is not designed to meet the educational requirements for MFT licensure. Clinical hours and supervisory experience obtained during the doctoral program may count toward a state’s supervised clinical experience requirements, but this may also vary by state.
Given state variations in licensure requirements, all program applicants and students are urged to contact the licensing body in the state in which they plan to practice for information about licensure requirements in that state.
- Click here for information about licensure as a marriage and family therapist in Virginia
- For more information about state licensure requirements click here
At the time of accepting admission to the MFT doctoral program area, all students must complete the Virginia Tech Degree Portability Acknowledgement form and submit it to the FTC Office Manager and/or MFT Program Director.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are interested in diverse students who value research and who are interested in developing into scholar-clinicians who demonstrate respect for diversity and inclusion and will advance the field of MFT through research, clinical supervision, teaching, clinical practice, and community and professional engagement. We encourage applications from a diverse pool of students, including international applicants.
Typically, we accept between four and six students into the MFT program area per year. Our cohorts start the program once a year, in the fall semester.
Yes, financial support is available.
Historically, all accepted students have been offered full-time assistantship support for three years, pending satisfactory progress in the program. For more detailed information about assistantships and the financial requirements of the program, click here.
Virginia Tech is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools, which also includes nearly all accredited MFT doctoral programs. This means that a student offered admission to the MFT program area within the Department of Human Development and Family Science – or to any other MFT program from an institution which is also a member – with financial (i.e., assistantship) support has until April 15 to decide whether to accept it.
Please see our Graduate Achievement Data for more detailed information about our graduation rates.
Since 2005, 73% of students have graduated from the MFT doctoral program area. Most students who have left the program have done so voluntarily for any number of reasons including interest in a different area of study or university, deciding they do not need a doctorate, and changes in personal or life circumstances that interfere with their desire or ability to complete the program.