Program Statistics
Visit Master's Program Statistics for statistics such as program admissions, enrollment, student demographics and more.
Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Type: MS
The Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy (MSMFT) is a COAMFTE accredited terminal degree program. With this degree, following a period of post-graduate supervised practice, graduates can become licensed as a marriage and family therapist. The program is designed for students drawn to the field of mental health who have a passion for treating relationships.
The program prepares students by using a 21st century approach to therapy developed over 25 years at The Family Institute. Known as Integrative Systemic Therapy, this approach produces therapists who skillfully deliver family, couple and individual therapy. The curriculum and clinical training are informed by multi-cultural and social justice perspectives.
The program also emphasizes research. Courses are research informed and students learn to do progress research with their own cases. For students interested in pursuing a doctorate following graduation, research opportunities exist as does a thesis option.
The program includes a comprehensive 18-course curriculum and 6 quarters of an intensive clinical internship. During the internship students conduct therapy with clients in the Institute’s own clinic.
Students conduct 500 hours of therapy, including at least 400 face-to-face hours with clients, of which, at least 200 are conducted with couples and families. Students accrue up to 100 team hours planning and guiding team cases in the context of their supervision group. Students will also receive more than 250 hours of group and individual supervision.
This full-time program is completed in two years, including the summer following the first year.
The program is a partnership between The Graduate School and The Family Institute at Northwestern University, a world-renowned center with 50 years of experience conducting, teaching, and researching marriage and family therapy.
Additional resources:
Program Contact
Contact Yadira Wardlow
Coordinator of Education Programs
847-733-4300
Degree Requirements
The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.
Total Units Required: 24
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Core Courses | |
| MS_FT 400-0 | Professional Identity Seminar |
| MS_FT 401-0 | Basic Concepts of Systems Therapy |
| MS_FT 402-0 | Methods of System Therapy |
| MS_FT 403-0 | Self and Other Systems: Theory and Interventions |
| MS_FT 410-0 | Human Development and the Life Cycle |
| MS_FT 411-0 | Intimate Relations |
| MS_FT 413-0 | Intimate Relations II |
| MS_FT 412-0 | Family Therapy II: Special Problems & Populations |
| MS_FT 421-0 | Systemic Assessment |
| MS_FT 422-0 | Family Research |
| MS_FT 424-0 | Group Therapy Internship |
| MS_FT 427-0 | Family of Origin and Intrapsychic Work From a Systemic Perspective |
| MS_FT 428-0 | Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues in Marital and Family Therapy |
| MS_FT 429-0 | Sex Therapy |
| MS_FT 430-0 | Power, Privilege and Difference: Practicing Cultural Curiosity and Humility in a |
| MS_FT 436-0 | Family Therapy Treatment Models |
| MS_FT 437-0 | Family Therapy with Children and Adolescents |
| MS_FT 440-0 | Systemic Perspectives in the Treatment of Substance Use/Misuse and Addiction |
| MS_FT 480-0 | Pre-Practicum in Marital & Family Therapy |
| MS_FT 481-0 | Internship in Marital & Family Therapy (winter, spring, and summer quarters, first year) |
| MS_FT 482-0 | Internship in Marital & Family Therapy |
| MS_FT 495-0 | Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy Capstone Project |
Other MSMFT Degree Requirements
Clinical practicum involving over 500 hours of face-to-face contact with clients and more than 250 hours of group and individual supervision.