Do you wish to join the fast-growing couple and family specialty in the counseling/therapy profession? University of Colorado Denver’s MA in Counseling with a concentration in couple and family counseling/therapy (CFTC) prepares students for careers as couple and family therapists who treat mental and emotional challenges, while promoting optimum relational health through a systemic, holistic approach.
Launch your counseling career with real-world experience unmatched by any other mental health graduate program in Colorado. Our students receive mentored counseling/therapy experience in our campus Student and Community Counseling Center with live supervision and continual feedback from licensed clinicians. Our graduates are recognized for being strongly prepared and committed to providing culturally informed, equity focused services.
Our faculty members are committed to fostering social, relational and cross-cultural learning contexts that will prepare you to prize human diversity and to offer a continuum of mental health services across a variety of settings for the benefit of the community and society.
The Master's specialization in Couple & Family Counseling/Therapy at the University of Colorado Denver prepares students for careers as ethical couple and family therapists who treat mental and emotional disorders, while promoting optimum relational health through a systemic, holistic approach. The focus of the CFT specialization is systemic and relational, with a commitment to fostering an open culture of social, relational and cross–cultural contexts of learning that are essential for effective therapist training. Educating students with a critical eye on research, the CFT specialization prepares relational therapists who value inclusion and prize diversity such that they are prepared to offer a continuum of mental health services across a variety of settings for the benefit of the community and society.
The Couple and Family Counseling/Therapy faculty are committed to the following program goals:
The following are the corresponding student learning outcomes for the Couple and Family Counseling/Therapy program:
Couples And Family Therapy Track Cohorts | Number of students in cohort by Initial Term Enrollment Status | Graduation Rates | Job Placement* | Licensure Exam Pass Rate** | ||||||
Full-time (FT) | Part-time (PT) | Minimum (3.5 Years) | Maximum (7 Years) | |||||||
FT | PT | FT | PT | FT | PT | FT | PT | |||
2008-2009 | 15 | 12 | 47% | 58% | 93% | 83% | 75% (n=4) | 100% (n=2) | ||
2009-2010 | 17 | 6 | 76% | 50% | 88% | 67% | 100% (n=3) | 100% (n=2) | ||
2010-2011 | 15 | 3 | 67% | 33% | 93% | 33% | 67% (n=3) | 100% (n=1) | ||
2011-2012 | 10 | 2 | 100% | 0% | In Process | 100% (n=1) | ||||
2012-2013 | 17 | 1 | 53% | 100% | In Process | 100% (n=2) | ||||
2013-2014 | 17 | 1 | 53% | 0% | In Process | 100% (n=3) | ||||
2014-2015 | 16 | 1 | In Process | In Process | 67% (n=3) | |||||
2015-2016 | 15 | 0 | In Process | In Process | ||||||
2016-2017 | 11 | 3 | In Process | In Process | ||||||
2017-2018 | 14 | 1 | In Process | In Process | ||||||
Fall 2018 | 7 | 1 | In Process | In Process |
* Job placement rate is collected from alumni surveys. Current data comes from a spring 2019 survey. The rate includes the student who said they were employed in a position related to couple and family therapy. The total number of cohort responses is included in the cell.
** Licensure exam pass rate is collected from alumni surveys. Current data comes from a spring 2019 survey. The rate includes the students who reported passing the National Marital and Family Therapy Examination or their state's equivalent licensing exam. The total number of students who reported taking an exam is included in the cell.
|
Students | Faculty** |
Total |
64 |
15 |
Gender | ||
Female |
53 |
11 |
Male |
11 |
4 |
Ethnicity | ||
Asian |
Less than 5* |
1 |
Black / African American |
5 |
1 |
Hispanic / Latinx |
12 |
2 |
International |
Less than 5* |
0 |
Not Hispanic; more than one race |
Less than 5* |
0 |
Unknown |
Less than 5* |
1 |
White / Caucasian |
39 |
10 |
* Categories with less than five students are suppressed for privacy purposes.
** Faculty includes any instructor of a Couple and Family Therapy track required course fall 2018 to fall 2019.
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.
Most of the courses for this 63-credit program take place Monday - Thursday in three-hour blocks beginning at either 3:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. However, core and prerequisite classes are offered starting at 3:30 p.m. on a consistent basis. Some classes meet on weekends (Friday evening or Saturday during the day) or in a hybrid format. Very few classes will be available fully online.
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. Due to the competitive nature of this program, faculty are only able to review complete applications; this includes letters of recommendation, transcripts and all other required elements of the application. In order to secure your application as “complete” in sufficient time for faculty review and consideration we highly recommend submitting your application at least one to two months prior to the deadline to ensure we have ample time to work with you on your application should items be missing. To avoid your application remaining incomplete at the time of the posted deadline please be sure to complete the steps below as early as possible. Fall Semester: January 15 Spring Semester: September 15 For more information, email education@ucdenver.edu or call 303.315.6300.Diversity Statement
Application Deadlines
Application Requirements