Master of Arts in Couple and Family Therapy

Program Details

What you'll learn

Do you wish to join the fast-growing couple and family therapy profession? University of Colorado Denver’s MA in Couple and Family Therapy program prepares diverse, ethical, and innovative couple and family therapy professionals. This COAMFTE accredited program, focused on social justice and research-informed relational/systemic perspectives, is a beacon in Colorado and throughout the U.S.

Launch your therapy career with real-world experience unmatched by any therapy program in Colorado. Our students receive mentored experience in our campus Student and Community Counseling Center with live supervision and continual feedback from AAMFT Approved Supervisors and licensed clinicians.

Our graduates are recognized for being strongly prepared and committed to providing culturally informed, equity focused services. Upon completion of the program, graduates are prepared to pass the National Marital and Family Therapy Exam.

Our faculty members are committed to fostering social, relational and cross-cultural learning contexts that will prepare you to provide culturally responsive services across a variety of mental health settings. We are committed to developing ethical practitioners who excel at serving a diverse clientele.

CFT Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes

The Couple and Family Therapy Program is committed to the following Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes (SLO).

Program Goal #1 (Diversity): To train professionals who are committed to diversity and cultural responsiveness in relational/systemic therapy.

• SLO #1: Students will demonstrate clinical competency in working in diverse settings and with diverse client populations.
• SLO#2: Students will demonstrate knowledge of multicultural conceptualization.

Program Goal # 2 (Systemic knowledge & Practice): To prepare professionals who are competent in knowledge and clinical practice using relational/systemic therapy.

• SLO# 3: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of a systemic framework in a case application paper.
• SLO# 4: Students will apply a systemic framework in their clinical practice.

Program Goal # 3 (Research): To prepare professionals who are informed in family systems research.

• SLO# 5: Students will develop a research proposal on topics related to family systems practice.
• SLO# 6: Students will learn to critically analyze common family systems assessments.

Program Goal # 4 (Ethics): To prepare professionals with knowledge and skills in legal and ethical practice of family systems therapy.

• SLO# 7: Students will demonstrate an applied knowledge of MFT legal and ethical guidelines and professional standards.

Accreditation

The University of Colorado, Denver, Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, (703) 838-9808, coa@aamft.org. Below is our Graduate Achievement Data of cohorts that began since the CFT program’s initial accreditation in May, 2020.

<sub>FT = Full‐time
PT = Part-time
NS = No Students
IP = In Process: Students from the cohort listed have yet to graduate from the cohort year listed.
Programs are only required to provide data on the past 7 years/cohort or since the program was initially accredited, whichever is shorter.
* Graduation Rate is the program’s Advertised Length of Completion which is how long the program is designed to complete as written.
** Job Placement Rate is the percentage of graduates from the cohort year that are employed utilizing skills learned in the COAMFTE accredited program.
*** Licensure rate is the percentage of graduates from the cohort year that have achieved ANY level of MFT licensure.
For Master’s programs only, COAMFTE has established a benchmark of 70% licensure rate for each cohort.</sub>

Choose CU Denver's School of Education & Human Development

You can trust CU Denver to provide an education that will prepare you for excellence in your career as a counselor. The university and school are recognized for preparing leaders of distinction who value educational excellence and social justice. Additionally, CU Denver’s School of Education and Human Development is counted among U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools,” making us one of the top schools in the country.

License Portability

• Marriage and Family Therapy State Resources
• Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Boards

Courses

Most of the courses for this 54-credit program take place Monday - Thursday in three-hour blocks beginning at either 3:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. However, some classes meet on weekends (Friday evening or Saturday during the day).

Course syllabi are available for review by prospective students on request. Email academicservices@ucdenver.edu with the course number and prefix.

Diversity Statement

We encourage applications from persons from a variety of sociopolitical contexts, such as racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, veterans, sexual and gender minorities, and individuals from a variety of religious and spiritual backgrounds. The couple/family faculty provides open and supportive learning environments where students are invited to engage in personal and reflective processes about their own and others’ experiences, beliefs and values. We seek to train counselors/therapists who can approach clients with integrity, respect and sensitivity for differences in beliefs, values, and lifestyles.