Marriage and Family Therapy (MS Degree)
Why Marriage and Family Therapy?
Iona University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program is committed to social justice. The program will equip you with the culturally responsive and inclusive skills needed to work with a diverse group of individuals, couples, and families.
Our dedicated faculty and staff are all licensed marriage and family therapists. The small size of our MFT program enables faculty to provide individualized instruction that feels more like mentoring than teaching. We prepare you to develop an effective self-awareness in your training as a therapist by focusing on the Self-of-the-Therapist. This allows our MFT students to become fully equipped and confident marriage and family therapists. Regarding clinical work, we emphasize hands-on learning through the Iona Family Therapy Center and other clinical field placements in the New York City and surrounding areas.
Iona University’s Marriage and Family Therapy degree is one of only four programs in New York State accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).
Our alumni data collection reflects a 100 percent pass rate for the National Exam for students seeking state licensure. Graduates are eligible for therapist licensure upon completion of additional post-master's New York State requirements.
NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences
As part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, students in the Marriage and Family Therapy (MS) program will develop the skills and experience needed for tomorrow’s workforce.
Iona students may have the opportunity to do clinicals and rotations at NewYork-Presbyterian, ranked one of the top hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report 2022-23.
Align your education with your career goals at the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences and earn a degree of tremendous value for your future.
What You'll Learn
At Iona University, our Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy fosters your future success as a licensed therapist. Throughout the MFT degree, our COAMFTE-accredited curriculum introduces the different models of family therapy. This focus on family systems is the cornerstone of marriage and family therapy programs, compared to other psychology, counseling or social work degrees.
You will build the practical skills and knowledge to become a family-centered therapist through coursework in the fields of therapy, behavioral science, education and social services. Discussing individual, couple and family development, your counseling education examines different life phases along with the various challenges typically encountered in each life stage. As part of the coursework, you complete 500 hours of supervised face-to-face clinical experience hours with individuals, couples and families.
One of the most exciting and important areas that we study is you! Our graduate program in marriage and family therapy emphasizes “the self of the therapist”–your personality, your family background, culture(s), ethnicity and gender, all of which have shaped who you are and continue to influence how you interact in the therapy room.
In addition, our curriculum highlights all types of human diversity because it is important to understand the people with whom you will work as therapists and the appropriate intervention techniques.
Application Requirements
1-2 page autobiographical statement explaining what spurred your interest in becoming a Marriage and Family therapist, two letters of recommendation, and GRE scores if overall GPA is below 3.0.
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In this feature, Program Director Dr. Awosan discusses how the pandemic has affected relationships and what couples can do to improve communication.
Marriage and Family Therapy Career Outcomes
After earning their Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy degrees, our graduates pursue successful careers as licensed therapists in a wide variety of healthcare, government and nonprofit organizations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, positions for marriage and family therapists are projected to grow 22% between 2019 and 2029, offering an abundance of opportunities in this specialized field of family-centered therapy.
Job Titles
- Assistant Clinical Director
- Counselor
- Clinical Director
- Case Manager
- Private Practitioner
- Social Case Worker
- Adjunct Instructors and Supervisors
I can simply describe my experience in the Iona MFT program as remarkable. The instructors, quality of instruction and supervision exceeded my expectations.
Eon Parks '22
Read More About Eon
MFT Program Highlights
Iona Family Therapy Center
Our non-profit Iona Family Therapy Center (IFTC) offers affordable, responsive therapy services to individuals, children, couples and families in the community. Therapists-in-training are graduate students who are closely supervised by experienced faculty who are licensed marriage and family therapists.
COAMFTE Accreditation
Our program is accredited by the Commission On Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), the national accrediting body for marriage and family therapy education. It is one of 100 accredited Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy degrees in the United States and one of four in New York State.
As a COAMFTE-accredited program, the curriculum and supervised clinical experience hours accrued during the program are accepted by all 50 states. However, each state has its own post-degree supervised clinical experience requirements. Students from other states and/or those who plan on licensing in another state are advised to check on that state’s clinical experience requirements.
New York State Licensure
Graduates of our Marriage and Family Therapy program report a 100 percent pass rate for the National MFT Exam! After passing the exam and completing additional requirements, they are eligible for New York therapist licensure.
Learn more about Iona’s Marriage and Family Therapy program!
Iona’s Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy degree prepares students for rewarding careers as licensed therapists across New York State. With supportive faculty, a COAMFTE-accredited curriculum and an emphasis on hands-on preparation, Iona graduates are fully equipped for a career counseling couples and families through interpersonal challenges.
Want to learn more? Request information about earning your Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy at Iona.
Ready to apply? Begin your MFT application.
Information on licensing for prospective MFT professionals
Find Out what an Iona Education Can Do For You
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If you're considering applying to Iona, you're not alone! During the past two years, our new-student enrollment is up nearly 30%. Additionally, graduate students automatically qualify for consideration of merit scholarships during their graduate program.
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