Doctor of Philosophy in Marital and Family Therapy (69-unit)

Program Description/Overview

The Post-Masters PhD in MFT program provides advanced training for pursuing a career as a professional marriage and family therapist, faculty, clinical director, researcher, or supervisor. Students receive advanced and intensive theoretical and practical skill-based training to prepare them for their professional careers. Students gain real-world experience with a diverse clientele in community-based practicum and internship sites under the oversight of supervisors who meet rigorous AAMFT professional standards. The program requires students to be continuously engaged in marriage and family therapy clinical practice. In addition, students complete a doctoral internship that prepares them for professional careers through advanced training in teaching, research, supervision, program evaluation, and clinical practice. 

The program requires completion of a minimum of 69 units. Doctoral students may go either full-time or part-time in completing the program. The standard graduation program completion time for full-time students is 3 years, and the maximum is 8 years. The standard completion time for part-time students is 6 years, the maximum completion time is 8 years.

Emphasis/Concentration/Tracks

The Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) Concentration

The Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) concentration will prepare students to work in and with the medical health care system to help individuals, couples, and families struggling with medical issues.  Students are taught to work systemically with the complex biological, psychological, relational, social, and spiritual dimensions of health care. They are trained to work with a variety of health care professionals and health care systems using collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multidimensional approaches to treatment. Graduates work in diverse settings including hospitals, clinics, and group and private practices. The curriculum includes three courses, which are to be taken as electives. The complete curriculum is offered online so students in all locations may take the courses. Students may take courses on-ground if offered.  

Program Learning Outcomes/Goals

Program Goals (PGs) 

• PG 1 Practice: The MFT Program graduates students who are able to deliver MFT professional services competently 
• PG 2 Diversity: The MFT Program graduates diverse students prepared to meet the needs of diverse communities. 
• PG 3 Community: The MFT Program engages various communities through the application of the knowledge and skills of couple and family therapy. 
• PG 4 Scholarship: The MFT Program contributes to both the understanding and creation of couple and family therapy scholarship 

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)  

• SLO 1 Practice Foundational Knowledge and Skills: Master’s and doctoral students comprehend and demonstrate MFT conceptual, perceptual, executive, evaluative, professional, and theoretical skills.  
• SLO 2 Diversity Knowledge and Skills: Master’s and doctoral students comprehend and demonstrate knowledge of human diversity with a multicultural and international emphasis.  
• SLO 3 Community Knowledge and Skills: Master’s and doctoral students comprehend and demonstrate knowledge of how to engage community behavioral health care resources.  
• SLO 4 Scholarship Foundation Knowledge and Skills: Master’s and doctoral students demonstrate a basic knowledge of MFT research methodologies and scholarship.  
• SLO 5 Practice Supervision Knowledge and Skills: Doctoral students comprehend models and methods of MFT supervision.  
• SLO 6 Practice Specific Knowledge and Skill: Doctoral students articulate and demonstrate the application of a personal MFT model of therapy.  
• SLO 7 Scholarship Application Knowledge and Skills: Doctoral students demonstrate the ability to understand and apply MFT research methods. 

Training Model

The program is offered in Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and online and leads to a Doctor of Philosophy in Marital and Family Therapy degree. The program is based on the scholar-practitioner model and provides an integrative approach to the major systemic theories and interventions. Students are trained to work with individuals, couples, and families from a systemic perspective and serve as faculty, clinical directors, supervisors, and researchers.

Professional Behavior Expectations/Ethical Guidelines

AAMFT Code of Ethics

Licensure

The 69-unit MFT doctoral program provides academic training that may assist with meeting the requirements for licensure in California for those who already have a master’s degree in MFT from other states and who would like to obtain their LMFT licensure in California while earning a doctoral degree.

All marriage and family therapists who offer direct services to the public for a fee must be licensed or certified by the state in which they practice. Applicants for licensure in the state of California must hold an MA or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or related field from an approved or accredited educational institution. They also must have completed 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience (of which at least 1,700 must be post masters). Candidates must have passed the California Law and Ethics Exam and the LMFT Clinical Exam. In addition, they must submit evidence of having completed coursework in human sexuality, child abuse, substance abuse, spousal abuse, assessment, psychopharmacology, California Law and professional ethics, and aging and long-term care. Continuing education is required to maintain the license.  

Students considering or planning to apply for licensure in states other than California are required to contact the University Admissions Office for information about program availability in their respective state. 

For further information on licensure in California contact: 

Board of Behavioral Sciences
1625 N Market Blvd., #S200
Sacramento, CA 95834 
BBS Main Phone Line: (916) 574-7830
BBS Email: BBS.info@dca.ca.gov  

General Questions and Information Only: https://www.bbs.ca.gov/ 

Internship, Practicum, and/or Dissertation Information

Practicum: The program includes the clinical requirements to bring students up to the COAMFTE foundational training standards. This includes passing the MA comprehensive exam (except if the student is currently licensed as an MFT or licensed in a related field). Practicum program requirements are described in the Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy  program description and in the master’s Level MFT Clinical Training Manual. The doctoral program requires that students are continuously involved in the practice of couple and family therapy. 

During the program, students must supplement their academic and clinical work with 50 hours of professional development activities. These include approved workshops, colloquia, and seminars. Twenty-five of these hours may involve personal counseling or psychotherapy with a licensed mental health professional who is not core faculty at Alliant. 

Students who completed an MA degree that was not COAMFTE-accredited must submit a Request for Waiver of Practicum Hours and may have to complete practicum hours/practicum courses in place of elective units. 

Waiver of Practicum Hours 

1. Should transfer students request to waive practicum hours, they must submit a completed Request for Waiver of Practicum Hours form (located on the MFT Student Hub) to their Clinical Training Coordinator. 
2. The decision to waive practicum hours will be based on the completion of this form with necessary documentation attached. 
3. Doctoral students who are either licensed MFTs or who have obtained master’s degrees from Alliant or other COAMFTE approved programs will not be required to complete supervised practicum hours if their experience is evaluated to be equivalent to the practicum experience. Students will need to confirm with CTC and Branch Director the number of remaining units to be completed if a waiver of hours is granted.  
4. Requests for Waiver of Practicum Hours must be submitted prior to matriculation in order for the Student Advisor to create an accurate program plan. Students may not complete more than 18 doctoral credit hours before completing the required practicum hours.

Internship: To prepare doctoral level couple and family therapists to perform different professional functions competently in their future workplace, and to comply with COAMFTE accreditation requirements, Alliant MFT doctoral students are required to choose two components to complete their pre-degree internship: clinical, teaching, scholarship, supervision, and policy and administration. Each of these options must account for 50% of the total internship. The combination of the options is to be a minimum of nine (9) months. Students need to discuss their internship options with their internship faculty supervisor. 

Dissertation: The dissertation is the capstone for the doctoral program. Students will take at least four dissertation classes (PSY99100 , PSY99110 , PSY99120 , PSY99130 ), and will meet with the core faculty dissertation chair regularly during these classes in order to complete the dissertation.

Credit Units

Total Credit Units: 69

Total Core Credit Units: 60

Total Elective Credit Units: 9

Total Concentration Credit Units: N/A

Degree Requirements

Doctoral students must successfully complete the MA Comprehensive examination to receive their degree. Doctoral students who completed a comprehensive exam as part of a COAMFTE accredited master’s program are not required to take the test. 

• Incoming PhD students with a MA degree from COAMFTE accredited programs, are not required to take our MA Comprehensive Exam.  
• Incoming PhD students with a MA degree from non-COAMFTE accredited programs who are not licensed in the field of MFT, must take and pass our MA Comprehensive Exam at the end of their first semester or the first semester after finishing required master’s level classes. 

Doctoral Exam: During the third year of the doctoral program, students take the MFT Doctoral Exam. Once the student successfully passes the doctoral exam and the dissertation proposal the student is “Advanced to Candidacy.” Students must successfully pass the MFT Doctoral exam to complete the final defense of their dissertation.

Emphasis/Concentration/Track Requirements

Elective Requirements

Nine elective units are required for completion of the program. Students may take their elective class online. The classes must be taken at Alliant International University. The courses (on-ground or online) must be pre-approved by the site director. Suggested electives: 

• PSY65513 - Neuroscience for MFTs (3 units) 
• PSY71020 - Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression (3 units)   
• PSY85XXX - Clinical Elective (3 units)
• PSY93100 - Advanced Seminar: MFT (3 units)  

Curriculum Plan

Notes

• * Students may be able to transfer in coursework for some of these courses.
• **Online Branch: Synchronous course with weekly meeting times.
• Prerequisite courses for the MFT Doctoral Exam: 
  • PSY83160 - Advanced Family Therapy I (3 units) 
  • PSY83170 - Advanced Family Therapy II (3 units)  
  • PSY83110 - Advanced Couples Therapy (3 units)     
• Students should take the doctoral exam as soon as possible. Students must pass doctoral exam and pass the dissertation proposal meeting to be advanced to candidacy and prior to final dissertation defense. 
• Students who do not propose their dissertation by the end of PSY99120  will be referred to SERC.
• Students who do not complete the dissertation by the end of PSY99130  must go into PSY9980X MFT Dissertation Extension.