California Southern University MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

California Southern University is one of 71 BBS-approved MFT programs in California. Compare all 71 in our directory. Program data collected September 2026 from publicly available sources including the California Southern University MA in Psychology program page, the CalSouthern School of Behavioral Sciences page, the CalSouthern accreditation and licensure page, and BBS records. Prospective students should verify all details directly with the program before applying.

Student Outcomes

Cost and Regional Pay

Approximate placement of this program’s total cost (about $39,175, published program tuition with fees) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: $39,175 as published by CalSouthern for the 60-credit MA (Program Tuition with Fees, at $645 per semester credit); up to 12 transfer credits may be accepted. Books, technology fees, and other costs are additional. The program does not participate in Title IV federal financial aid.

Regional pay context: In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, marriage and family therapists earn a median of about $71,110 per year, with a typical range of roughly $49,860 to $98,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). These figures cover all marriage and family therapists in the area at all experience levels, not this program’s graduates. For more, see our Los Angeles LMFT salary guide.

Those medians describe licensed therapists; the associate years before licensure pay less. See what therapists actually earn before licensure and, for take-home estimates, what a therapy career actually pays in California.

Schedule and Format Details

Online Asynchronous Format: All coursework is delivered online and asynchronously through CalSouthern's learning platform. Students complete readings, assignments, and assessments on their own schedule within each course's timeframe.

Monthly Start Dates: New courses begin each month, allowing students to start the program at multiple points throughout the year rather than waiting for a fixed fall or spring cohort.

Pacing: Students choose their course load based on personal and professional commitments, with CalSouthern estimating up to approximately 4 years to completion at full-time pacing.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Per the CalSouthern 2025-2026 academic catalog, Practicum I (MFT 6704) requires a minimum of 85 hours of direct client contact and 19 units of supervision at the Board-mandated ratio (1 unit equals 1 hour of individual or triadic supervision or 2 hours of group supervision). A program-wide total of supervised clinical hours across Practicum I, II, and III is not publicly itemized. The program is designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for LMFT and LPCC licensure.

Training Clinic: Not publicly listed as a dedicated in-house training clinic. Given the fully online delivery model, clinical training is arranged at external community-based sites.

Practicum Arrangement: The program includes three required practicum courses (Practicum I, II, and III) and an optional internship course for additional credits per the program page. Students are typically responsible for identifying approved practicum sites in their local area with program support.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Yes. Per the CalSouthern 2025-2026 academic catalog, students must submit documentation attesting to the completion of 16 hours of individual personal psychotherapy as a prerequisite for practicum approval.

To see how practicum hours fit into the full California licensure sequence, from degree through the 3,000 supervised hours, read how therapist licensure actually works in California.

Curriculum Structure

The 60 credit curriculum is organized to meet California BBS educational requirements for LMFT and LPCC licensure, per the CalSouthern MA in Psychology program page. Required coursework includes:

Core Coursework: Counseling theories and strategies, ethical and legal issues in therapy, culture and diversity in counseling, systems of family therapy, couples and sex therapy, research methods and statistics, psychopathology, assessment, and human development.

Practicum Sequence: Three required practicum courses (Practicum I, II, and III) with an optional internship for students seeking additional clinical hours.

Culminating Requirements

Per the CalSouthern 2025-2026 academic catalog, the MA in Psychology with MFT Emphasis does not require a thesis or comprehensive examination. The culminating requirement is successful completion of the three-course practicum sequence (Practicum I, II, and III). Students should confirm current culminating requirements directly with the program.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: CalSouthern operates on rolling monthly enrollment. Courses begin each month, with an application cycle noted on the program page of applying in April for a May start, and comparable monthly cycles throughout the year.

Start Term: Rolling monthly starts.

GPA Requirement: A specific admission GPA cutoff is not publicly listed. Per the CalSouthern 2025-2026 academic catalog, enrolled students must maintain a minimum 3.0 overall cumulative GPA to remain in good academic standing and to be approved for clinical practicum.

Prerequisites: No specific prerequisite courses are listed on the program page.

Application Components: Specific required components (letters of recommendation, statement, résumé) are not publicly detailed on the program page. CalSouthern directs applicants to contact admissions at Admissions@calsouthern.edu or via the online application portal.

Interview: Not publicly listed as a required component.

Concentrations and Specializations

Marriage and Family Therapy Emphasis: The primary emphasis within the MA in Psychology, aligned to California BBS educational requirements for LMFT licensure per the program page.

LPCC Pathway: The curriculum is also designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for LPCC licensure per the program page.

Jurisdictional Tailoring: CalSouthern indicates that additional courses may be made available to meet specific jurisdictional licensure requirements outside of California.

For statement-of-purpose, interview, and recommendation advice that applies to any program on this list, see how to get into a therapy graduate program.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the CalSouthern MA in Psychology program page, the program is designed specifically for students pursuing careers as Marriage and Family Therapists or Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors.
• The program is delivered fully online and asynchronously, with monthly course starts designed to accommodate working adult learners.
• The curriculum is designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure, per the program page.
• CalSouthern holds institutional accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission, per the CalSouthern accreditation and licensure page.
• Up to 12 transfer credits may be accepted toward the 60 credit degree.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Before weighing any single program, it is worth being honest about fit for the career itself: try the self-assessment Are You Built to Be a Therapist? and read why some people say not to become a therapist.

Working adults needing full scheduling flexibility: The fully asynchronous online format allows students to complete coursework around work and family commitments.

Students who cannot commit to a fixed cohort schedule: Monthly course starts and self-paced progression provide flexibility not typical of cohort-based programs.

Students in areas without local MFT programs: Fully online delivery eliminates geographic barriers, though students must still arrange local practicum placements.

Students seeking a lower sticker price: A published program tuition of $39,175 is substantially below many California MFT programs, though the program does not participate in Title IV federal financial aid.

Students interested in dual licensure (LMFT and LPCC): Curriculum is designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for both licenses.

Career changers entering the field: The GRE does not appear to be required and specific prerequisite courses are not listed. If you are coming from another field, see changing careers to become a therapist.

Students with transfer graduate credits: Up to 12 credits may be accepted toward the degree.

Related California MFT Programs

If you are weighing California Southern University, you may also want to compare these nearby and similar programs in our directory:

• University of Phoenix: Fully online, California statewide
• UMass Global: Fully online, dual LMFT/LPCC option
• Touro University Worldwide: Fully online, COAMFTE-accredited Clinical Track
• National University: Online option, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Rhombus University: Fully online, dual LMFT/LPCC

Or compare all 71 California MFT programs side by side.

How This California MFT Directory Is Built

This is the only California MFT program directory that accepts no paid placements of any kind. No program can pay to be listed, pay to rank higher, pay to be featured, or pay to remove information, and there are no affiliate links or sponsored entries. Every program on the California BBS approved-program list is included. At Sentio University, we believe in program transparency. Every prospective student should have as much objective information about MFT programs as possible to make the best decision for themselves.

How to Choose an MFT Program in California

Meeting the BBS requirements tells you that a curriculum clears a legal bar. It tells you very little about how skilled a clinician you will become. The students who get the most out of these years treat licensure as the floor and then ask a more ambitious question: which program will help me reach the top of what I am capable of as a therapist? Training built around real, performable clinical skills, rather than theory alone, is what lets you walk into your first session with confidence and keep growing from there. You get to decide how high to aim, and the right program will rise to meet you.

Four questions separate programs that look similar on paper. How much class time is spent rehearsing specific clinical skills with immediate feedback, rather than discussing theory? How many hours of direct client contact will you accumulate, and when do they start? Does supervision review recorded sessions, or your own account of what happened in the room? Are client outcomes tracked with a measure? Ask every program you are considering, Sentio University included, and compare the answers. Our guide to how to evaluate a therapy graduate program explains what a strong answer to each question sounds like.

Also consider programs that teach you safe and ethical AI-integrated clinical training, and read about AI and the future of therapy careers. And do not let cost quietly lower your sights. There are more scholarships and financial aid options for California MFT students than most applicants ever realize.

The purpose of these years is not simply to pass a board and collect a license. It is to become the best therapist you can be, so struggling therapy clients will trust you with the hardest moments of their lives. Hold your education to that standard. Reach for the ceiling rather than settling for the floor, and choose the program that will help you get there.

Note from the Field:
"Aim higher than the license. A degree gets you in the door, but skill is what earns a client's trust. Pick the program that takes your training as seriously as you do."
Alexandre Vaz, PhD

Making Your Decision: What to Do Before You Apply

Salary data and job market projections describe the field. They cannot tell you what a school is like to attend. Ask to sit in on a live class, in person or online, before you commit, and most programs will accommodate that on request. The two to three years you spend in training shape the kind of therapist you become, so it is worth seeing a classroom before you decide. For the full picture, from career fit through licensure and program choice, see Becoming a Therapist in California: an Honest Guide.

For a detailed comparison of every California MFT program, see our directory of all 71 BBS-approved MFT programs in California.

To learn more about California Southern University's MFT program, visit their official website at calsouthern.edu. If you are comparing MFT programs in California, you can explore Sentio University's MFT program to see how our Deliberate Practice training model compares.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CalSouthern's MFT program accredited?

California Southern University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and its curriculum is designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure. It is not COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited.

Does CalSouthern require the GRE?

The GRE is not publicly listed as a required component on the program page.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 60 semester-credit, fully online and asynchronous program with new courses beginning monthly. CalSouthern estimates up to about four years at full-time pacing, varying by course load and transfer credits.

Does CalSouthern prepare students for the LPCC as well as the LMFT?

Yes. The curriculum is designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure.

Does CalSouthern publish outcome rates?

We could not verify outcome figures specific to the MFT emphasis. The university maintains general institutional key-performance-indicator and California BPPE fact-sheet pages, but those pages were not retrievable when this profile was prepared, so no figures are shown here.

How is the program delivered?

It is delivered fully online and asynchronously, designed for working adults, with no on-campus residency requirement.

Disclaimer: This profile was prepared by Sentio University for informational purposes only. Sentio University is an MFT program in California and a peer institution to the program profiled above. All information was drawn from publicly available sources and the program's own published materials as of September 2026. Sentio University makes no guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information. Prospective students should contact the program directly to verify all details, including admissions requirements, tuition, accreditation status, and clinical training structure. This profile does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. For a full list of California MFT programs, visit our California MFT Program Directory.

About the Authors

Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD is the President of Sentio University and Executive Director of the Sentio Counseling Center. He is Past President of the psychotherapy division of the American Psychological Association and the author of over 20 books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training, including The Essentials of Deliberate Practice book series (APA Books). He is a licensed psychologist in California and Washington. Learn more

Alexandre Vaz, PhD is the Chief Academic Officer of Sentio University and cofounder of the Deliberate Practice Institute. He is co-editor of The Essentials of Deliberate Practice book series (APA Books) and the author of over a dozen books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training. Dr. Vaz is the founder and host of Psychotherapy Expert Talks. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Portugal. Learn more

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