The Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy (Ph.D.) provides master’s level students with advanced studies leading to a doctoral degree. The program consists of 30 credit hours of core courses, 12 credit hours of research courses, 16 hours of practica, 1 hour of comprehensive exam studies, and at least 9 hours of dissertation studies. The program is designed for candidates to successfully complete the 68 credit hour program on a part-time basis in a cohort model, in four years, with a time limit of ten years.

Mission for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

The mission of the Texas Wesleyan Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program is to prepare students who will function at the highest level of competence and as a result of their training, make a contribution to the field of marriage and family therapy in regard to intervention based research based on family systems theory, as exhibited in their dissertation.

Admissions Committee for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

The Admissions Committee reviews applications, interviews students, and makes recommendations for both full and conditional admissions. This committee is comprised of the Doctoral Faculty.

Admission to the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Admissions Criteria

The Admissions Committee, consisting of three members of the School of Health Professions Graduate Counseling Faculty, will use an interview to assess the candidate’s verbal communication skills and overall competency as a potential doctoral student. The Committee will also request the candidate to complete a writing sample to assess candidate’s writing skills. Conditional admission status will be for 12 credit hours in the program. Conditionally admitted students earning a grade less than a B in any of the courses within the first 12 hours will be dismissed from the program. Students admitted conditionally and who complete the first 12 hours with grades of B or higher in each course will have their status changed from conditional to unconditional.

Students must participate in all four practicum courses, comprehensive finals and dissertation classes, in addition to completion of all courses required to complete the Ph.D. MFT program specified in this prospectus.

Students who are currently enrolled in a Ph.D. Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at another university may transfer, dependent on approval from the admissions committee, up to 12 credit hours. Transfer students must participate in all four practicum courses, comprehensive finals, and dissertation classes. Current students who hold professional certification or licensure certified by AASECT (sex therapist) or are licensed as a LCDC (licensed chemical dependency counselor) may request a waiver to a doctoral course that contains a curriculum that is equal to the requirements for that licensure. Approval of such a course waiver will be granted once official documentation regarding licensure requirements and education is received and reviewed by the Director. The waiving of a course per approval of licensure is limited to one course.

Selection Criteria

Requirements for application are:

• Must hold a master’s degree from regionally accredited institutions in marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, social work, psychology or other related mental health related field;
• Must complete at least two of four foundations courses required for licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Texas making a B or higher prior to beginning doctoral courses in the fall of the first year of study in the doctoral program. The remaining foundation courses must be taken prior to beginning the third year of study in the doctoral program. The addition of foundation courses may increase the total hours of the doctoral degree from 68-80 hours. Grades from the foundation courses will not be included in the PhD final GPA;
• Must have successfully obtained either a full or associate/intern license in a mental health related field such as LMFT-Associate, LPC-Associate, MSW or other mental health field;
• Must have a GPA of 3.2 or greater on a 4.0 scale on the master’s degree;
• Must have three letters of reference from a licensed therapist or counselor (LMFT, LPC, MSW) who has known the applicant for at least three years and can attest to characteristics that would make them a good applicant for the program.

Interview: The interview assesses an overview of marriage and family therapy, its models, applications and ranks clinical skills for future improvement as a marriage and family therapist. The interview also assesses the candidate’s future career vision and research interests as a marriage and family therapist.

Selection Process

Applicants will be selected on a best qualified basis as determined by the Program Director and/or the Admissions Committee. The Doctoral Program in Marriage & Family Therapy reserves the right to deny admission to any applicant as determined by the Admissions Committee. All decisions by this committee are final and not subject to appeal.

Required Documentation

• Application for admission;
• Non-refundable Application Fee;
• Official transcripts from all universities/colleges attended;
• Letters of Recommendation;
• Resume.

Admissions Process Timeline

• Fall Admittance Application Deadline: May 1
• Interviews held: June-July
• Fall term cohort selection: notified by July 31, for fall term matriculation.

Admissions Deadlines are subject to change. Students will be notified of the admission decision by mail.

Registration for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Graduate students are advised by the director of the program or her/his designee to facilitate course enrollment and academic program planning. To enroll in this program, prospective students consult with the director of the program prior to the registration period by phone, first class mail, or by email to be eligible for registration. Online registration is not available to graduate students. Instead, registration will be done by the administrative office.

Academic Policies for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Time Limitation

Graduate courses expire within ten years from the date of course completion shown on the transcript; thus, at the time the student graduates with the Ph.D. degree, no course may be more than ten years old. Courses taken more than ten years prior to graduation must be retaken to meet graduation requirements. In the event that the required course is no longer offered, a substitute course of similar content must be taken in its place. Approval to take this course must be obtained from the Director of the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Comprehensive Examinations

The Comprehensive Examinations are given each summer during the final semester of practicum. Students will not progress to dissertation work or candidacy until they have successfully achieved a satisfactory score on all sections. Refer to handbook for additional details.

Official Communications

A student’s University Email address is the official e-mail address for Texas Wesleyan University. All official University e-mail communication will be sent to this e-mail address. Students may elect to forward Ram Mail to an alternate e-mail address. However, the University will not be responsible for the handling of e-mail to an alternate e-mail address. Students will be responsible for any information sent to their official e-mail address.

Dissertation Process

Admissions to Candidacy Criteria

To be admitted to candidacy the student must meet the following criteria:

• Complete all core, research, and concentration coursework with a 3.2 overall GPA;
• Passing grades in all courses and have no more than two (2) grades of “C” in the required coursework;
• Passing score on the Written Comprehensive Examination.

Dissertation I (MFT 8328 ): Candidates who successfully complete the Qualifying Examinations must enroll in MFT 8328 Dissertation Design and Proposal to proceed with the design and development of the dissertation proposal. Candidates complete the dissertation proposal with the assistance of their major professor and the other members of the dissertation committee as appropriate. The dissertation committee is comprised of the major professor, another doctoral professor, and a professor from another department. The proposal includes a review of related research, identifies the research problem and research questions or hypotheses and describes the research design. The proposal must be approved by the University IRB in order for the student to proceed with research.

Dissertation II (MFT 8329 ): After successfully defending the proposal, the candidate, under the supervision of the major professor and dissertation committee, conducts the research and completes the writing of the dissertation. The dissertation research stage is the most important part of the doctoral program, for it provides the opportunity for the student to apply information and skills learned in the program to the study of a topic of interest to the candidate and importance to the profession. Students must enroll in this section of dissertation at least once and may enroll a second time if additional time is needed to complete data collection and analysis.

Dissertation III (MFT 8330 ): Upon completion of the dissertation, the candidate will defend his/her dissertation research before a group of graduate faculty, his/her dissertation committee, and invited peers. Successful defense grants the candidate the Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy degree. Publication of dissertation work is expected. Please contact the Director of the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy for more information.

Residency Requirement

To be awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy, a student must complete a minimum of 56 credit hours at Texas Wesleyan University.

Graduation Requirements for the Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy

To qualify for graduation, a student must have completed successfully all program courses, required related courses, passed the comprehensive exam and required dissertation research and defense. The student must have earned a 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) overall grade point average, passing grades in all courses and have no more than two “C” grades. An application for graduation must be filed with the Office of Student Records no later than the deadline specified in the Academic Calendar.

All course work applicable to the doctoral degree must be no older than ten years.

Leave of Absence for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Should a student need to take a leave of absence due to illness, family emergency or another personal situation, the student will notify the Director of the Ph.D. program and the Director will call a meeting of the PhD faculty. The faculty will decide upon a re-entry process for the student which may include re-joining the student’s current cohort while taking missed classes with the younger cohort. Should the student need to leave the program during the semester, the student will be given an Incomplete. The length of the Incomplete will be determined in the meeting with the Director and the faculty. Students who withdraw from the program have up to three semesters of absence before they must apply for readmission, including the summer term.