Because the program is a self-contained, accelerated program, students must attend full time and take courses according to the class schedule provided in the Program Description.

Enrollment is limited to students who have been formally admitted to the MAS-MFT program.

No. Because of the program’s accelerated format and the year-long local clinical internship, it is required that students reside in the Greater Phoenix area (includes Phoenix and surrounding cities) for the duration of the program. Commuting from outside this area (for example, from Tucson or Flagstaff) interferes with the student’s availability at the clinical internship. Students who maintain a permanent residence outside the Greater Phoenix area will need to establish local housing for the duration of the program.

It is important to remember that most master’s programs take 2-3 full years to complete. This program is an accelerated advanced degree program and is very demanding. Consequently, the program is unable to flex to meet the demands of a student’s work schedule. While students can usually manage a flexible, part-time job (approximately 15-20 hours per week), we discourage students from attempting to work full-time, even with a flexible schedule. Remember, you will be attending classes two full days per week and, after the first two 7.5-week semesters, be spending a minimum of a minimum of 15-20 hours each work week at your internship placement. This does not take study time into account. You will be very busy with this program!

Because this is an accelerated, applied program with no research activity, assistantships are not available. Assistantships in other Sanford School graduate programs and in other ASU programs are typically granted to students admitted to and enrolled in those programs. Students are encouraged to independently pursue scholarships or other forms of financial aid.

Contact the Graduate College directly for all questions about tuition, the tuition payment schedule, and determination of residency status at: http://graduate.asu.edu/. There is a program fee of $475 per each of the 39 semester hours in addition to tuition. The student is also responsible for books, transportation, parking, fees charged by the university, and any other miscellaneous expenses.

Classes are held two days each week on the Tempe campus (days may vary from semester to semester depending on classroom availability). Typically, students will attend two three-hour classes twice a week. Evening and weekend classes are not offered.

Because this is an accelerated, clinical graduate program, students are required to attend all classes. Program policy permits students a maximum of one excused absence (one day) per course each semester at the discretion of MAS-MFT Faculty, not to exceed a total of five excused absences (one day each) during the entire program. The only exception to this is a documented emergency. See page 15 of the Student Handbook for additional information.

At present, the State of Arizona has two levels of licensure: Associate and Independent, plus a Temporary License for new graduates who are planning to take the licensing exam on the next available date it is offered. Upon graduating, you can apply to take the licensing exam and, upon passing it, you will receive an Associate License. (Whether or not you apply for a Temporary License depends on the timing of your exam date.) This requires that you work for a minimum of 24 months in an approved setting while accumulating additional supervision and client contact hours. Once you have obtained these hours, you can apply for full licensure, which allows you to practice independently. For the most current information, go to .http://azbbhe.us/

The MAS-MFT program is designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure in Arizona. Each state determines its own credentialing requirements for mental health professionals. If you are considering a move to a particular state, we recommend visiting that state’s website to find out what credentialing requirements are. Click here for a list of links to other state licensing boards: https://www.aamft.org/Directories/MFT_Licensing_Boards.aspx

Determination (Meets) Arizona Michigan Minnesota Tennessee
Determination (Does Not Meet) Alabama Alaska Arkansas California Idaho Illinois Iowa Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Dakota U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Washington Wisconsin
Determination (Unable to Determine) American Samoa Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maine Nevada New Hampshire New York Northern Mariana Islands Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina Texas Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
For important disclosure about licensing, please visit: https://admission.asu.edu/academics/licensure

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No. All the courses in this self-contained program must be taken as prescribed in the course schedule. No transfer credits or course substitutions are permitted.

All MAS-MFT faculty are licensed as marriage and family therapists in Arizona. Co-Director Dr. Karissa Greving Mehall served as President of the Arizona Association for Marriage & Family Therapy from 2010-2012 and then served as Past President until December 2013. Co-Director Mary Doyle was a member of the Arizona State Board of Behavioral Health Examiner’s Marriage & Family Therapy Credentialing Committee beginning in 2009 and chaired that committee between January 2014 and October 2015, when the committee was disbanded. From November 2015 until December 2018 she served on the Board’s Marriage & Family Therapy Academic Review Committee.

In most instances no. All approved MAS-MFT internship sites are selected by MAS-MFT faculty. Sites are located throughout the greater Phoenix area. In some specific instances, such as a student failing the internship interview, it will be the student’s responsibility to secure an alternate internship placement that meets the approval of MAS-MFT faculty.

The internship is designed to provide students with a broad-based clinical training experience working with couples/families in outpatient settings. Consequently, we do not provide specialized internship experiences in terms of limited populations or specialized clinical issues. Specialization paths can be chosen post-graduation.

Although our first two 7.5-week semester’s classes will prepare you to begin your internship/practicum, students will be required to pass a comprehensive examination after successfully completing the first two 7.5-week classes in the fall semester with a grade of 3.0 or higher. Once a student passes this exam, they will be able to interview with internship site directors at potential placements. Each agency/clinic will also conduct a background check before approving a student. Important: A felony and/or certain misdemeanors in a candidate’s background will make the candidate ineligible for placement at internship sites and thus unable to complete the program. In some cases, the internship may require drug testing. A special note regarding marijuana usage: although recreational marijuana was legalized in Arizona in 2020, the law allows employers to maintain a drug-free workplace, to drug-test potential and current employees, including interns, and to refuse to hire, and to terminate anyone who does not follow the employer’s policy.

Hours of operation vary from site to site. Students must be at their internship site for a minimum of a minimum of 15-20 hours each work week and can expect to work a combination of daytime hours, evening hours, and, in some cases, on Saturdays. This reflects the typical work schedule of employed therapists. The more flexible you can be with your schedule, the sooner you will be able to complete your client contact and supervision hours.

Although Phoenix has public transportation, it is not adequate to get you to and from your internship. In addition, you will likely be providing services to clients in their home as part of your internship. Internship sites will also require a valid driver’s license and proof of current automobile insurance, which must be maintained for the duration of the internship in accordance with Arizona law. Having one’s own car is also required because student therapists must be able to transport themselves not only to their assigned internship site for in-office therapy sessions, supervision meetings, and case management activities, but also to client's homes when in-home therapy is part of the service plan.

Residency status is determined by ASU’s Graduate College. http://graduate.asu.edu/.

For international students, proficiency in English as demonstrated by satisfactory TOEFL scores is required. Contact ASU’s Graduate College directly through: http://graduate.asu.edu/.

No. Students are admitted for the fall semester only.

No, and there are no plans to apply for accreditation. While the role of accreditation is to ensure a high standard of quality across all MFT programs, we have demonstrated a high standard: our graduates are successfully passing the national licensing exam and becoming licensed in Arizona as MFT’s, which is what our program is designed to do. Our faculty members are all Arizona-licensed MFTs with experience in all aspects of working in Arizona as an MFT, including community mental health and community-based private clinics. In addition, the MAS-MFT program has been granted curriculum approval by Arizona’s licensing Board, the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (approval is granted for five-year increments) at: http://azbbhe.us/node/553. Prospective students who wish to investigate accredited programs will find a list of them at http://www.aamft.org.

Click here for application information: https://webapp4.asu.edu/dgsadmissions/Index.jsp. The application deadline each year is February 1 for admission for the following fall. All supplemental materials must be received by February 10 or the application will be disqualified as being late. We do not admit students in the spring semester.

The application deadline is February 1. After the Co-Directors review the pool of applications, some applicants will be selected for a personal interview, which is the next stage of the admission process. Interviews are typically scheduled in mid-February and are conducted in March. At the conclusion of the interviews, we will make admission recommendations to the Graduate College. Not all applicants who are interviewed will be recommended for admission into the program. The Graduate College makes the final admission determination and will notify applicants of the outcome of their application, typically by late April.

No. Deferred admissions are not available for this program. If a student who has been admitted determines that he or she cannot attend the program for the year of admission, the student will need to reapply to the program and resubmit the required application materials.

Because of the high volume of prospective applicants, it is no longer possible to schedule individual meetings with prospective students. We encourage prospective students to attend one of the group informational meetings on campus in the fall (dates will be posted on the program’s webpage by late summer) and spring to learn more about the program. Specific questions that are not covered on this webpage can be directed to either Karissa Greving or Amanda Olson.