General Marriage and Family Therapy Post-Master’s Certificate

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Post-Master’s Certificate

Description of Program

Each Post-Master’s Certificate program in MFT comprises 6 courses (18 credit hours). Students must complete the program as listed below and may not substitute alternative courses (with the exception of the General Marriage and Family Therapy Certificate as described below). Students must complete all six NCU courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in order to receive a certificate.

Click here for potential career opportunities within the Post-Master’s Certificate.

Basis of Admission

Admission to the Post-Master’s Certificate program requires a conferred master’s level or higher degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution. An interview with a faculty member is available for any applicant to the certificate program but is required for those using the certificate to be qualified for licensure (for those who will be doing clinical courses as a part of the certificate, a background check is also required).

Scope

Six NCU Courses (18 Credit hours) must be completed to earn a certificate. Courses taken as part of a NCU master’s program cannot be applied towards a Post-Master’s Certificate program.

Post-Master’s Certificate Transfer into a Doctoral Program

Post-Master’s Certificate program courses may be used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements if the certificate course is required by the doctoral program in which the student is enrolled.

Coursework completed as part of an earned doctoral degree cannot be applied towards a Post-Master’s Certificate program. However, a Post-Master’s Certificate can be completed as part of doctoral coursework if the student officially applies for a Post-Master’s Certificate prior to completing the fourth course in a Post-Master’s Certificate series.

Time to Completion

NCU allows 2 years to complete all certificate programs.

The median time to completion for this program is 22 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults, balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

Students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 12 months.

General Marriage and Family Therapy

Many who have earned a master’s degree in a clinical field find that they need additional expertise in specific areas and/or they need courses to meet state-specific educational requirements for MFT licensure. This certificate allows students to select courses from a broad range of electives to fit their personal and professional goals. Completion of this certificate will assist individuals in pursuing a variety of career opportunities in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy in various settings such as schools, hospitals, clinics, research centers, private practice, and academia. Additionally, it can assist in meeting the requirements for licensure (students are encouraged to verify with state licensure divisions or boards that the courses they select will meet the state requirements before enrolling in this certificate program).

Students can select any six (6) doctoral level MFT courses (excluding the first course in the program and dissertation courses) to meet the requirements of the General Marriage and Family Therapy certificate program. Based on approval from the Dean or designee, courses from the Department of Psychology can be included in the General Marriage and Family Therapy specialization.

In order to be eligible for clinical work (if needed), General Family Therapy (GFT) Certificate students need to demonstrate passing grades in all pre-requisite (or equivalent) courses from an accredited university. The six content areas for pre-requisite coursework include: one course in theoretical foundations, one course in professional ethics, one course in clinical assessment, one course in diagnosis/psychopathology, and two courses in treatment methods/models of therapy/counseling. GFT Certificate students will need to provide a copy of their transcripts to confirm successful completion (passing grades) of these pre-requisite courses.