Program: Marriage and Family Therapy Post-Master’s Certificate - National University

Description of Program

The Post-Master’s Certificate program in Marriage and Family Therapy is comprised 6 courses (18 credit hours). Students must complete the program as listed below. Students must complete all six NCU courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in order to receive a certificate.

In order to be eligible for clinical work (if needed), students in this certificate 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. Certificate students will need to provide a copy of their transcripts to confirm successful completion (passing grades) of these pre-requisite courses.

Note: Students who have made application for licensure are encouraged to verify with state licensure divisions or boards that the courses they select will meet the specific state requirements before enrolling in this certificate program.

Click here for potential career opportunities using the Post-Master’s Certificate in MFT.

Basis for Admissions

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.

Students who choose to complete the post-master’s certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy can select any six (6) doctoral level MFT courses listed below (the first course in the PhDMFT and DMFT programs and dissertation courses are excluded) to meet the requirements of the certificate program. Based on approval from the Dean or designee, courses from the Department of Psychology can be included in the certificate. As can be seen, these courses are focused in particular specialization areas and can be grouped accordingly or taken as six distinct courses.

Areas of Emphasis and Specific Courses - 18 credit hours

Students can select any six courses from all the courses listed below or they can select a group of six courses based on an area of specialization.

Child and Adolescent Family Therapy

Couple Therapy

General Family Therapy

This area of emphasis allows students to select courses from a broad range of electives to fit their personal and professional goals

Note: 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 Family Therapy emphasis. Courses from the Department of Psychology can be included in the General Family Therapy emphasis with approval from the Dean or designee.

Medical Family Therapy

Therapy with Military Families