Marriage and Family Therapy major
Marriage and Family Therapy: courses, careers, and where to study
Marriage and Family Therapy trains you to assess and treat mental and emotional disorders within couples and families and prepares you for the supervised path to clinical licensure.
Marriage and Family Therapy studies how mental, emotional, and behavioral problems develop and resolve inside relationship systems rather than in one isolated person. Coursework grounds you in family systems theory, human development across the lifespan, and psychopathology, so you learn to recognize conditions such as depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders while reading the couple or family patterns that surround them. You build skills in psychotherapy techniques, structured intake and assessment, treatment planning, crisis and small-group intervention, and the short- and long-term therapeutic strategies used with marital conflict, parenting struggles, and family transitions. Programs also cover professional ethics, mandatory-reporting and confidentiality rules, cultural responsiveness, and practice management, and they require supervised clinical hours with real clients. Where general Psychology centers on studying behavior and the mind across many settings and Social Work trains broadly for case management and connecting people to services, this field focuses specifically on relational therapy with couples and families.
Most therapists enter through a master's degree in marriage and family therapy or a closely related counseling field, then complete a defined period of post-degree supervised clinical experience before sitting for a licensing exam; the common credential is the LMFT, though the exact title, required hours, and exam vary by state. Graduates work in community mental health centers, private and group practices, hospitals and behavioral-health programs, schools, employee assistance programs, and family and children's service agencies, and some continue to doctoral study for teaching or research. A program is preparation, not a guaranteed job: you still have to earn licensure in your state, and pay, caseloads, and demand vary by employer, setting, region, and experience.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of marriage and family therapists, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $63,780 and projects employment to grow about 12.6% from 2024 to 2034; a master's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Marriage and Family Therapy maps to CIP 51.1505, Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling, within the HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals for the independent professional practice of marriage and family therapy, involving the diagnosis of cognitive, affective, and behavioral domain disorders, both mental and emotional, within the context of marriage and family systems and the application of short- and long-term therapeutic strategies in family group contexts. Includes instruction in psychotherapy, family systems and studies, small group intervention and therapy, marital problems, depression, identification of psychopathologies and behavioral disorders, holistic health care, practice management, applicable regulations, and professional standards and ethics.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Marriage and Family Therapy is awarded as
Of the 4,458 Marriage and Family Therapy credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Graduate100%4,458
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Family systems theory and relational diagnosis
- Couples and marital therapy techniques
- Individual and group psychotherapy methods
- Human development across the lifespan
- Psychopathology and recognition of mental and behavioral disorders
- Intake assessment, treatment planning, and case documentation
- Crisis intervention and short- and long-term therapeutic strategies
- Professional ethics, confidentiality, and mandatory-reporting rules
- Supervised clinical practicum with couples and families
Typical careers
- Marriage and Family Therapist
- Mental Health Counselor
- Family Counselor
- Behavioral Health Clinician
- Clinical Case Manager
- Substance Abuse Counselor
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 marriage and family therapists median $63,780).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Marriage and Family Therapy, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marriage and Family Therapists | $63,780 | 7,700 | +12.6% | Master's degree |
| Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,330 | 4,000 | +3.6% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 2 of these 2 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Marriage and Family Therapy does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Marriage and Family Therapy major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Marriage and Family Therapy program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Marriage and Family Therapy department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Marriage and Family Therapy program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Marriage and Family Therapy credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Capella UniversityMN · 441
- Touro University WorldwideCA · 368
- Northcentral UniversityCA · 367
- Alliant International University-San DiegoCA · 240
- University of Massachusetts GlobalCA · 183
- Antioch University-SeattleWA · 99
- Fuller Theological SeminaryCA · 90
- Adler UniversityIL · 84
- Abilene Christian UniversityTX · 74
- Syracuse UniversityNY · 73
- Pacific Oaks CollegeCA · 72
- University of Southern CaliforniaCA · 71
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Marriage and Family Therapy credentials were awarded
8 states have a distinct enough set of Marriage and Family Therapy colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Marriage and Family Therapy schools by state
- Marriage and Family Therapy in California
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Florida
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Georgia
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Illinois
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Maryland
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Massachusetts
- Marriage and Family Therapy in New York
- Marriage and Family Therapy in North Carolina
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Pennsylvania
- Marriage and Family Therapy in Texas
Related majors
Psychology
Psychology majors study human cognition, behavior, and emotion, preparing graduates for clinical, research, business, and human-services careers (and graduate school in clinical, counseling, and I/O psych).
Social Work
Social Work prepares graduates for licensed direct practice with individuals, families, and communities, combining behavioral sciences with field placements and an explicit ethical framework.
Substance Abuse Counseling
Substance Abuse Counseling prepares you to help people prevent and recover from drug and alcohol addiction through individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and treatment planning.
School Counseling
School Counseling prepares you to support students' academic, social, emotional, and career development inside K-12 schools, building skills in counseling, assessment, and case coordination.
Human Services
Human Services prepares you to help individuals, families, and communities reach social services, blending social-science coursework with case management, advocacy, and referral skills.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Marriage and Family Therapy degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Community & Social Service careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Marriage and Family Therapy degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Marriage and Family Therapy path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.