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Portability of Degree

The Virginia Tech M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy is accredited by COAMFTE and is based on the following licensure requirements set by the Virginia Board of Counseling.

Programs approved by the Virginia Board of Counseling Governing the Practice of Marriage and Family Therapy Degree Programs (18VAC115-50-50, 18VAC115-50-55) and programs approved by COAMFTE are recognized as meeting the following coursework requirements*:

The applicant shall have successfully completed 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of graduate coursework with a minimum of six semester hours or nine quarter hours completed in each of the core areas identified in subdivisions 1 and 2 of this subsection, and three semester hours or 4.0 quarter hours in each of the core areas identified in subdivisions 3 through 9 of this subsection:

  1. Marriage and family studies (marital and family development; family systems theory) [HD5404: Systems Theory & Family Therapy; HD5434: Clinical MFT I - Structural and Strategic Approaches]
  2. Marriage and family therapy (systemic therapeutic interventions and application of major theoretical approaches) [HD5444: Clinical MFT II - Postmodern Approaches; HD5344: Perspectives in Human Sexuality]
  3. Human growth and development across the lifespan [HD5424: Life Span Development]
  4. Abnormal behaviors [HD5454: Clinical MFT III - Diagnosis and Treatment in a Family Context]
  5. Diagnosis and treatment of addictive behaviors [HD5484: Clinical MFT IV - Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence]
  6. Multicultural counseling [HD5744: Multicultural Issues in MFT]
  7. Professional identity and ethics [HD5474: Professional Seminar in MFT Ethics]
  8. Research (research methods; quantitative methods; statistics) [HD5514: Research Methods]
  9. Assessment and treatment (appraisal, assessment and diagnostic procedures) [HD5734: MFT Techniques]
  10. Supervised internship of at least 600 hours to include 240 hours of direct client contact, of which 200 hours shall be with couples and families. Only internship hours earned after completion of 30 graduate semester hours may be counted towards residency hours. [HD5964: Practicum]

*Although students who graduate from the VT MFT Program do not have to demonstrate how they met the educational requirements for licensure because of COAMFTE accreditation, we have provided the educational requirements (with the course(s) that fulfill the educational requirement in parentheses), as well the associated student learning outcomes. All VT MFT Program courses are 3 semester hours.