California State University, San Diego
M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy
On-Campus
San Diego State
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1154
Program details below are quoted from program websites, supplied here for informational purposes only, and subject to change at any time. Refer to the program website for current information, deadlines, complete admission requirements, etc. It is the responsibility of the prospective student to verify with program administrators program details and that the program still meets BBS requirements for licensure in the state of California.
Program Snapshot
Accreditation
COAMFTE
Concentrations/Specializations Offered
Spanglish Family Therapy Training Certificado
Students who have an intermediate-advanced oral linguistic proficiency in the Spanish language can participate in a Spanish/Spanglish speaking training certificate in the MFT program. This certificate seeks to prepare MFT’s with the theoretical, cultural, and linguistic skills and knowledge to conduct therapy in Spanish/Spanglish. Students who complete all requirements will be awarded a Certificate of Completion by the Department of Counseling & School Psychology.
LMFT Track or Dual LMFT/LPCC Track
LMFT
Length of Program
60 units. Students must complete 2 1/2 years of study including 3 summers starting in early June of the first year and finishing at in the end of August in the second year.
Schedule/Format
The MFT program is a full-time master's program. It may be possible to work part-time. However, to do so places serious stress on the MFT trainee in being able to produce quality work and develop advanced clinical skills. Some semesters and summers are more intense than others. Much of the skills and knowledge obtained in the program is contingent upon how dedicated one is to learning the professional literature and the nature of the clinical environment.
This is a full-time program and the cohort start their classes together at the beginning of June. The cohort work closely together over 2 years and 3 summers. No part-time option is available at this time.
Classes will be held at the SDSU main campus and at the CCCE clinic, taking a 7-minute drive from SDSU. Check class schedule prior to purchasing the SDSU parking permit. There will be semesters where all classes are held at the Dede Alpert Center for Community Engagement. Currently, all courses are being held virtually until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Class times fluctuate by semester. As a full time program, classes may be held at any time Monday through Friday. Many of the classes are in the evening in the first year. Occasionally, there are one-day courses held sometime on a weekend.
Program Start
Fall
Estimated Total Program Tuition
$19,678
Religious Orientation
None
Entering Class Size and Classroom Sizes
Classes are grouped as a “cohort” and students complete all classes together. Each cohort consists of approximately 30 students per class. The first classes in the summer begin in a block format (6- to 8-hour blocks) and students participate in face-to-face learning using an experiential approach. Some classes are conducted in a circle format. Other classes include small practicums (6 people) where trainees deliver therapy services to clients under live supervision. There are also traditional lectures, small group collaborative learning, and field-work training experience.
Fieldwork Hours Accrued During Program
Students will need 500 hours total for graduation. 250 hours out of the 500 are for individual therapy, and 200 out of the 500 are relational (this can be family, couples, and siblings). The majority of your hours will be completed at your traineeship site.
In addition to client hours, students will need to complete 50 live supervision hours. A supervisor will need to accompany students during session or through a two-way mirror. Live supervision can also be in the form of audio or video
Personal Psychotherapy Requirement During Program
Students are expected to complete a minimum of 12 hours of personal psychotherapy during the program.
Comprehensive Exam/Culminating Project/Thesis/Etc:
Application Process
Application Deadline
Cal State Apply - 12/15/21
Program Application - 1/4/22
Undergraduate GPA Required
A bachelor’s degree with substantial preparation in psychology is required. A minimum GPA of 3.0, some experience in human services and /or research, and goals that match the program’s objectives are expected.
GRE Requirement
None
Prerequisite Courses
There are no specific coursework or degrees required to apply to the MFT program.
Application Highlights
Personal Statement
Write a personal statement based on the following prompt.
The MFT Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you as a developing person and professional. Please supply the Committee with a double-spaced 2- to 3-page reflective essay on the following areas:
What attracts you to the SDSU program compared to other training programs?
What personal life experiences have been very important to you in helping you prepare to be a mental health professional, counselor or marriage and family therapist?
What unique multicultural experiences have you experienced in your life that have been meaningful to you in preparing to work as a mental health practitioner, counselor or marriage and family therapist?
What specific events that stand out in your schooling or working life that are important stepping stones for you in training to be a mental health practitioner, counselor or marriage and family therapist?
Complete your experience profile using the Experience Profile Template (instead of a resume/CV).
Letters of Recommendation
Contact 3 individuals who you have interacted with both personally and professionally and would be able to write a letter of recommendation for you. Please request that they write their letter and have it ready for when the system is available since they will be needed quickly. Recommenders will submit their letters directly into the Online Program Application (not through Cal State Apply).
Please collect recommenders names and email addresses so you can request these letters through the Program application.
Past applicants have submitted letters from former employers, professors, community leaders, and other people who know them well. A recommender’s background in psychology or counseling area is not required. The best recommendations come from those who can speak to a student’s professional qualifications and interpersonal qualities.
Video
Make a 5- to 6-minute video on your phone or some other video recording device and upload it with the other online program application materials in the Program application.
Questions for the Video:Tell us what you are most passionate about in becoming a mental health professional, counselor or marriage and family therapist.
What do you most want to learn in your choice of program?
What do you imagine at this time will be your contribution to working with others to provide them with helpful mental health services?
In the application, you will be asked to upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo
Interview Requirement
Program Summary
Our Mission
The mission of the program is to prepare students to practice as competent entry level MFT professionals, capable of ethically applying relational/ systemic and social constructionist ideas and practices to meet the needs of today’s intercultural society.
Our Philosophy
The program training is guided by a philosophy that incorporates the following values and commitments:
A social constructionist and systemic paradigm that regards all descriptions of human interactions as subjective, contextual, and emerging from social interaction and meaning-making.
Multicultural/intercultural development that invites an examination of understandings of difference, language, history, and power and their effects in people’s lives and their relationships. It also invites critical examination of the paradigms of family therapy within their geo-cultural contexts so as to introduce alternative proposals to add to the current eurocentric ones. The program advances the ability to address these factors in therapy and other relationships.
A community focus to prepare for serving underserved and poorly served populations.
Social responsibility to consider the therapist’s role in relation to social contribution, impact, and leadership for change in mental health systems.
Personal growth to support the exploration of one’s own storied life, consider the effects of experiences in social relationships, therapeutic relationships, and open oneself to new personal and social interactions, physiology, emotional experiences, and perspectives.
Promotion of linguistic rights of Spanish-English therapists so they receive training in both languages and advance their knowledges and skills bilingually (through class instruction, supervision and practice).
Our Student Body
A program is as much shaped by its student body as by its faculty and formal structures. Our students bring a rich array of life experiences and knowledge to the program. In keeping with our commitment to insure our students' readiness to work with the culturally diverse populations of our region and work from a socially responsible vantage point, we enroll a student body that reflects the local community. Currently, about 75% of our students identify as students of color, including U.S.-born, Immigrants, and International status students. Currently, 82% of our students identify as female, 15% as male, and 3% as gender-nonconforming. Our students are highly motivated and energetic. While faculty take responsibility for the basic content and structures of learning, reciprocal learning between faculty and students as well as student-to-student is considered vital to everyone's development.
Innovative Curriculum
The program's commitment to social change and diversity has produced a dynamic and multiculturally infused curriculum. In addition to specialized courses with multicultural content in MFT, faculty works to incorporate cultural considerations into all coursework. Specialty areas within the curriculum include family counseling in the schools and attention to relationships between families and other larger systems.
Quality Clinical Training
The program provides a rich and varied clinical training experience with excellent supervision. Students first gain clinical experience within the department's clinical training facility under live supervision. All supervisors are either AAMFT Approved Supervisor designates or equivalent. Students participate in a second clinical experience in a program-approved community, mental health agency, or school. All sites must provide opportunities to work with a culturally diverse population of families, couples, and individuals, provide supervision by AAMFT Approved Supervisors or equivalents, and be able to provide supervision via audiotape, videotape, or live supervision. Students must complete 500 direct client contact hours, 250 of which are with families and couples. Students must additionally have a minimum of 100 hours of supervision, 50 hours of which must be via access to the live data of therapy (i.e., live, videotape, or audiotape supervision).
Commitment to Community
The program has a long tradition of serving the community through its Traineeship placements and offering workshops and trainings. The Center for Community Counseling, the clinical training facility for the department, is located in the City Heights community of San Diego. This location provides targeted client populations with access to our services, outreach opportunities, and bridges to the schools in the community.
High Employment Rate
Graduates of the MFT program at SDSU have been highly successful in securing employment in community agencies, private practices, hospitals, and school-affiliated programs. Graduates are regarded very highly by local employers and are recognized for the strength of their clinical training and cultural competency.