EdD in Community Care & Counseling: Marriage & Family Transform Families and Communities
57
Credit Hours
100% online, 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Help Build Stronger Families with a Doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy
Families are the backbone of society. They are the smallest social units, yet familial relationships are critical to mental health from the individual to the global level. As someone who has worked in or studied mental health, you probably understand how important these relationships are.
Are you eager to help couples and families work through their problems and find healing? Liberty University’s EdD in Community Care and Counseling Marriage and Family may be for you. This program is an advanced, terminal degree designed to help you counsel families. Whether you are a licensed counselor, marriage and family therapist (MFT), or ministry associate looking for further training, an EdD or PhD in marriage and family therapy online can help.
Please note: This EdD degree is not designed to meet state counseling licensure requirements. If you are interested in a state counseling license, please see our Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, or Master of Education in School Counseling.
Why Choose Liberty University’s Marriage and Family Therapy Doctorate?
With Liberty University’s marriage and family therapy program, you can gain ethical, evidence-based knowledge. As a Christian university, we prioritize biblical principles to help you become a leader of integrity. You can learn to effectively minister to people in a complex, diverse society.
Here are some of the benefits of earning Liberty University’s MFT online doctorate:
- Our online EdD in marriage and family counseling is a practice-focused degree that emphasizes solving real-world problems with advanced research.
- Current state licensure in clinical counseling is not required to pursue this degree. Our program is designed to advance your skills and knowledge, whether or not you are in a licensed clinical counseling role.
- The integrated dissertation process allows you to work on this part of your education while completing other coursework. You will receive a clear, step-by-step path to finishing your doctoral studies in as little as 2.5 years.
- This EdD program contains content that will apply towards numerous marriage and family counseling certifications including Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts (SYMBIS) and Prepare and Enrich (PE).
What Will You Study in Our Marriage and Family EdD in Counseling?
Throughout this program, our professors provide a robust foundation in research while preparing for the integrated dissertation project. You will study counseling topics such as applied counseling theories and teaching and learning techniques. You can learn how to apply your new skills to advanced counseling theories and real-world human services problems.
The EdD in marriage and family therapy will focus on specialized assessment tools and methods to help your clients develop better relationships and build stronger families. This degree will help you advance your counseling skills and apply theories to specific issues for married couples, families, and the counseling field in general.
Potential Career Opportunities
- Academic researcher
- Church counselor
- Marriage and family counselor
- Outpatient care therapist
- Professor
- Social worker
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This Ed.D. program falls under the School of Behavioral Sciences.
- View the Graduate Behavioral Sciences Course Guides (login required).
- View the Ed.D. in Community Care and Counseling Handbook for more information on the dissertation process and other aspects of this online marriage and family counseling doctoral degree.
Degree Completion Plan
Not sure what to choose?
Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.
Tuition & Aid
Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
Doctoral Full Time | $595/Credit |
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Doctoral Part Time | $650/Credit |
Eligible current and former military service members and their spouses may qualify for a special rate of $300/credit hour (learn more).
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Requirements for Our EdD in Community Care and Counseling
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 master’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing.
- Applicants lacking a graduate-level statistics course will be required to complete CEFS 515 Research and Program Evaluation (3 c.h.), or EDUC 518 Educational Research and Assessment (3 c.h.), or its equivalent prior to EDCO 735 in the Ed.D.
- 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.
The Office of Graduate Admissions may request additional documentation while conducting admission reviews to evaluate a candidate’s record before a final admission decision can be made.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your doctoral degree after the last day of class for your master’s degree.
- Complete a Master’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 transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show that you are within 6 credit hours of completion for a 30-48 credit hour master’s degree or within 9 credit hours of completion for a 49+ credit hour master’s degree.
- 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 doctoral degree.
Transcript Policies
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.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Ready to Apply?
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
Military Tuition Discount
We want to help you find the doctoral degree you want – at a price you’ve earned. As a thank-you for your military service, Liberty University offers eligible current and former service members like you or your spouse multiple pathways to earn a doctoral degree for only $300/credit hour. Find out how you can take advantage of this unique opportunity as you work toward your goal of reaching the pinnacle of your profession – for less.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a PhD in marriage and family therapy?
If you’re considering a PhD in marriage and family therapy program online, it’s important to know what you’re committing to. Most PhD programs take approximately 7 years to complete.*
The good news is that with Liberty University’s doctorate in counseling, you can get a respected terminal degree in half the time. Our EdD in Community Care and Counseling is comparable to a PhD in marriage and family counseling – and you can earn this doctorate in just 2.5 years!
*U.S. News & World Report, at How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree? (viewed online June 15, 2021).
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