Online Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) Develop Clinical Expertise for Compassionate Therapy

60
Credit Hours
Online,* 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Learn How to Help Guide People Toward Healthier Futures with a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy Online
Conferring Liberty University’s Master of Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) can help deepen your understanding of relationships as you explore ways to address emotional, mental, and interpersonal challenges in a variety of contexts. In this program, you can study advanced therapy concepts that are informed by both research and practical application, with an emphasis on helping clients improve their mental health and work toward building healthier relationships. Additionally, this degree is designed to help you pursue licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT).**
Throughout your courses, you can examine topics such as crisis therapy and trauma healing as well as research methods and legal issues. You’ll also have the opportunity to gain experience through an internship component, where you can connect classroom learning to real-world practice under the guidance of experienced practitioners. This combination of study and application can help you connect what you study in the classroom to situations you may encounter in professional marriage and family therapy (MFT) settings.
By pursuing this marriage and family therapy master’s program online, you can train to serve in settings such as private practices, community agencies, nonprofit organizations, or faith-based ministries. Our goal is to help you grow in your ability to approach each client with compassion, professionalism, and a commitment to supporting both individuals and the family unit as a whole.
*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.
**Liberty maintains strict compliance with all licensure requirements for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Not a Virginia resident? We want to help find the best program for you! To view educational requirements and whether a specific program aligns with the licensure requirements for your state, please review our licensure/certification requirements webpage.






Backed by a brick-and-mortar campus ranked among Niche.com’s Top 5 College Campuses in America
What Sets Us Apart?
- Private Nonprofit University
- 600+ Online Degrees
- No Standardized Testing for Admission
- Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
- Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree
Why Choose Liberty’s Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy Program?
Whether you’re a parent, a working professional, or have other important responsibilities outside of school, we want to help you further your education without putting your life on hold. Liberty’s Master of Marriage and Family Therapy offers online courses that seek to help you balance your studies with work, family, and other commitments. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to complete your internship experience at an approved location near you.
In this online MMFT program, you’ll study under faculty who are both educators and experienced behavioral sciences professionals. They bring real-world perspectives into the classroom, drawing from their own work to illustrate how theory connects with practice. Their guidance can help you see how various therapeutic approaches can be adapted to meet different cultural, relational, and situational needs while allowing you to gain an insider’s look at the MFT field.
Not only that, but Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). In addition, our MMFT program aligns with standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). This means you can be confident that your online master’s in marriage and family therapy degree meets high standards of excellence.
What Will You Study in Our Online Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s?
In this program, you can deepen your understanding of marriage and family therapy by exploring the professional, ethical, and legal considerations that guide therapists in their work. You’ll also have the chance to study human development and relational transitions across the lifespan; the impact of culture, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status on relational dynamics; and the ethical and clinical integration of spirituality in MFT. Through your studies, you can grow to understand the many factors that shape how people relate to one another and how those dynamics can be addressed in therapy.
Our MMFT program will also introduce you to theories and practices that support effective, evidence-based therapy. You can learn about principles of systemic family therapy, approaches for working with complex family systems, and techniques for providing therapy to couples. Other topics of study include crisis therapy, addiction, human sexuality, and trauma-informed interventions – all within the context of working with families.
To round out your learning, you can bolster your skills by completing supervised internship experiences, where you’ll have the opportunity to work directly with individuals, couples, and families in real therapy settings. The program also includes elective courses, allowing you to choose from a list of approved MFT electives. That way, you can tailor your education to fit your unique interests and goals.
Potential Career Opportunities
- Community mental health counselor
- Employee assistance program (EAP) counselor
- Faith-based counselor
- Licensed marriage and family therapist
- Military and veterans affairs (VA) therapist
- Private practice therapist
- School-based family therapist
- Trauma and crisis intervention specialist
Featured Courses
- MMFT 601 – Marriage and Family Therapy I: Foundations of Systemic Family Therapy
- MMFT 602 – Marriage and Family Therapy II: Contemporary Approaches and Complex Family Systems
- MMFT 604 – Crisis Therapy
- MMFT 605 – Addiction and Family Systems
Course guides coming soon
Degree Information
- This program falls under the School of Behavioral Sciences.
- View the Graduate Behavioral Sciences Course Guides (login required).
- This program requires a 3-semester internship.
- Review information about the background check.
- The online Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program may lead to licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). See which states have unique board requirements.
Degree Completion Plan coming soon

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Tuition & Aid
At Liberty University, a private Christian education is less expensive than you think. Over the last 10 years, Liberty University’s Online Program has only raised its standard tuition costs by less than 5% – and most of our online tuition rates rank in the top 35% for affordability for 2025 when compared to our leading online competitors.
Graduate Full Time | $580/Credit |
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Graduate Part Time | $645/Credit |
Military Graduate | $290/Credit |
These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for the Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.7 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work. Please note: students without three credit hours in Statistics (this can be MATH 201) on their undergraduate transcript will be required to complete it upon admission to the program.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Submit contact information for 2 recommenders (login required). As a part of the application process, we require contact information from two professional sources (i.e., not family/friends but individuals who have supervisory or evaluative knowledge of your work, volunteer, church, or academic experience). These individuals should be qualified to address the applicant’s ability to complete graduate level coursework, their disposition and ability to become a counselor, and their maturity, motivation, and ethics.
- Submit a Statement of Purpose. Please address each of the following items:
- Please describe in 200-250 words why you desire to become a counselor and indicate the type of counselor certification you plan to seek after graduation.
- Describe in 200-250 words an occasion in which you have interacted with an individual or a group of individuals from another culture. Identify the cultural differences which were present and how you demonstrated respect for those differences.
- Describe in 200-250 words how you form effective interpersonal relationships with others in individual and group settings.
- Complete the form agreeing to the Department of Community Care and Counseling’s Mission and Diversity Statement.
- A signed International Disclosure Agreement is required for students seeking admission into this program who plan to finish it outside of the U.S.
- ACD – Department Admission Review approval required – upon all documents being received on the checklist, the application will be sent for admission review by the department. This review can take 1-2 full business days for review (24-48 hours).
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Alternate Pathway for Admission
Students who do not meet the required 2.7 GPA can potentially be placed into the Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Studies.* Upon successful completion of this certificate with at least a 3.0 GPA, these students can be reevaluated for the Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program.
*In order to be eligible for the alternate pathway, admission requirements for the graduate certificate must still be met.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515

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Submit your application online or over the phone.
Military
Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.
Who May Qualify?
- Active Duty
- Reserve/National Guard
- Veterans/Retirees
- Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
- Current Department of Defense Employees
Available Benefits:
- Tuition discounts – $290 per credit hour for graduate courses
- Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder*
- 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
*Not applicable to certificates.
These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
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- What Will You Study?
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