Marriage and family therapy is a branch of psychotherapy that focuses primarily on
solving problems within human relationships. The master’s degree prepares and qualifies
students to sit for the national licensing exam and apply for licensure in the state of Oklahoma and most other states or to pursue a
doctoral degree following graduation. OSU offers the only program in Oklahoma with
accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).
The 60-63 hour program emphasizes development of clinical skills, self-awareness and
establishing a personalized model of family therapy. Students may choose between a
thesis or non-thesis option (non-thesis includes three additional hours). Due to the
intense nature of the training, students are only admitted for full-time study. It
typically takes 2.5 years to complete all degree requirements, including:
Coursework in human development, marital and family studies, marriage and family therapy,
professionalism and ethics, research and statistics, and supervised practicum
Completion of all clinical requirements with a minimum of 400 hours of client contact
with 200 of those hours being relational (meaning with couples or families), over
the course of at least 12 months.
At least 100 hours of supervision from faculty during clinical training with 50 of
those hours including observable data.
Advanced students are assigned an off-campus clinical placement in a community agency
The program runs the state-of-art Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic, an on-campus clinic where graduate students work toward completing their required
clinical hours under the direct supervision of faculty members.
All marriage and family faculty hold doctoral degrees from COAMFTE-accredited programs
and are American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy approved supervisors.
Students in the MFT program have the opportunity to collaborate on applied research
projects with MFT faculty as well as faculty across the Department of Human Development
and Family Science. Ongoing scholarship efforts of MFT faculty focus on a broad range
of relational topics including, couple relationships, co-parenting, substance abuse,
trauma and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Applications open on September 1 and are due on December 1 each year. Top applicants
are invited to campus for an all-day interview in February. Eight to twelve students
are admitted to begin study in the fall semester.
To apply to the Master of Science in Human Development and Family Science, option
in Marriage and Family Therapy specialization, submit the following:
Professional Statement : 2-3 double-spaced pages; Address the following questions
and use clear headers for each question:
Why MFT: What specific aspects of MFT are appealing and why?
Future Goals: What are your long-term career goals as an MFT?
Three letters of recommendation
The HDFS Department is waiving the official GRE requirement for future admissions.
Any scores uploaded by an applicant will not be included in the application review
process.
Students may be eligible for graduate assistantships. Currently enrolled students
are also eligible for scholarships offered through the College of Education and Human
Sciences.