The Chicago School MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis
The Chicago School is one of 71 BBS-approved MFT programs in California. Compare all 71 in our directory. Program data collected April 2026 from publicly available sources including The Chicago School MA in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy program page, the MCFT Program Guidebook, the Chicago School locations and accreditation pages, the COAMFTE directory, and BBS records. Prospective students should verify all details directly with the program before applying.
Program Snapshot
University: The Chicago School (formerly The Chicago School of Professional Psychology)
Official Degree Name: Master of Arts in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy, per the program page.
Campus Location: Los Angeles campus at 707 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017, and the Anaheim campus per the locations page. The program is also offered in a fully online format with required in-person residencies. San Diego appears in some COAMFTE accreditation records as a historical or current California cohort site; prospective students should confirm current campus availability directly with the admissions office. See the Chicago School home page.
Institution Link: The Chicago School.
Modality: On-campus (in-person) at the Los Angeles and Anaheim campuses and a fully online format that requires two in-person residencies during the program. Both on-campus and online students complete their required practicum in California.
Licensure Track: California LMFT. The program is designed to meet California Board of Behavioral Sciences educational requirements for LMFT licensure. A dual MFT and LPCC track is not listed on the current program page.
Accreditation: Institutional accreditation through the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Program-specific accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), per the Chicago School accreditation page. The most recent COAMFTE reaffirmation listed is 2022 with the next scheduled review in 2028.
Program Length: 60 credit hours, typically completed in approximately 3 years following the recommended fall start curriculum per the MCFT Program Guidebook.
Estimated Total Program Tuition (effective 2025-2026): The Chicago School tuition and fees page lists master's program tuition at $1,458 per credit hour. Based on the 60-credit MCFT curriculum described in the Program Guidebook, total tuition is approximately $87,480 before institutional fees, residency travel costs (for online students), books, and living expenses. Annual adjustments apply.
GRE Requirement: Not required. The GRE is optional and applicants may submit scores if they wish to strengthen their application.
Religious Orientation: None. The Chicago School is a secular, nonprofit graduate institution.
Entering Class Size: Not publicly listed.
Concentrations: The MCFT curriculum emphasizes systemic and relational therapy approaches. Named concentrations or specialization tracks are not separately listed on the current program page; the Program Guidebook should be consulted for elective pathways.
This profile is one of 71. See how every California MFT program compares on tuition, format, accreditation, practicum, and clinical training. No ads, no paid placements.
Compare All 71 →Student Outcomes
Outcomes are shown only as published by the program or its accreditor. Where a value is not published, we say so rather than estimate it.
Graduation rate: Across the seven cohorts the program reports (entering 2015-2016 through 2021-2022), graduation within the advertised three years ranged from 42% to 58% (most recent reported cohort, 2021-2022: 57%). This on-time measure excludes students who complete the program later. The three most recent cohorts (2022-2023 through 2024-2025) are in process. Source: COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data (Fall 2025).
Job placement rate: 94% to 100% across the 2015-2016 through 2021-2022 cohorts (2021-2022: 100%). Job placement counts graduates employed using skills learned in the program. Source: COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data (Fall 2025).
Licensure rate: 81% to 95% across the 2015-2016 through 2021-2022 cohorts (2021-2022: 95%), above the 70% per-cohort benchmark COAMFTE sets for master's programs. Licensure rate counts graduates who have attained any level of MFT licensure. Source: COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data (Fall 2025).
Licensure exam pass rate: Not published (the Graduate Achievement Data tracks licensure attainment, not exam pass rates).
The Chicago School's MA in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy is COAMFTE-accredited (effective November 1, 2022) and the institution is accredited by WSCUC. As a COAMFTE program it publishes annual Graduate Achievement Data with graduation, job placement, and licensure rates by cohort; the three most recent cohorts (2022-2023 through 2024-2025) are reported as in process. It does not publish a separate licensure-exam pass rate.
Cost and Regional Pay
Approximate placement of this program’s total cost (about $90,500, tuition only (2026-2027)) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.
Estimated total tuition: approximately $90,540 in tuition for the 60-credit program at $1,509 per credit hour for 2026-2027 (about $87,480 at the 2025-2026 rate of $1,458). Fees, residency travel for online students, books, and living expenses are additional.
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.
Schedule and Format Details
Los Angeles and Anaheim On-Campus Formats: Cohort-based, primarily in-person training on each California campus. Specific class day and time blocks are published in the program guidebook and may vary by cohort.
Online Format: A fully online pathway delivered primarily through asynchronous and synchronous online coursework, with two mandatory in-person residency experiences during the program. California-based online students complete their practicum in California, which supports the LMFT educational pathway.
Clinical Training and Fieldwork
Clinical Hours: The MCFT Program Guidebook specifies practicum as ten credit hours completed over four semesters (or eight terms) within a 12-month clinical field placement, with a minimum of 300 face-to-face direct client hours, including at least 100 relational hours (work with couples or families). These minimums align with COAMFTE standards and California BBS educational requirements.
Training Clinic: A dedicated in-house training clinic is not featured on the program page. Fieldwork is completed at community-based partner agencies through the program's practicum seminar sequence.
Practicum Arrangement: Placements are coordinated through the program's practicum seminar, with students supported in securing sites at Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and other California community agencies. Both on-campus and online students complete practicum within California.
Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Not publicly listed on the program page. Prospective students should confirm this directly with the admissions office or review the Program Guidebook.
Culminating Requirements
Students complete a Written Comprehensive Examination and a formal Competency Evaluation that includes a case presentation with a video submission during the practicum seminar. A thesis is not listed as a required culminating component.
Application Process
Application Deadlines: The program page indicates multiple start dates and rolling admissions. Specific term deadlines should be confirmed with the admissions office.
Start Term: Multiple entry points throughout the year for the online format, with a recommended fall start for the standard on-campus pathway.
GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA.
Prerequisites: A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is required. A bachelor's in psychology is not required, and specific prerequisite courses are not listed on the program page. Applicants should confirm foundational coursework expectations with the admissions office.
Application Components: Online application through the Chicago School application portal, a $50 application fee, official transcripts from all colleges attended, resume or CV, personal essay, and three letters of recommendation.
Interview: Required. Applicants complete an admissions interview as part of the selection process.
Concentrations and Specializations
Systemic and Relational Focus: Curriculum emphasizes systemic, couple, and family therapy theory and practice consistent with COAMFTE accreditation standards.
Elective and Emphasis Pathways: Detailed in the MCFT Program Guidebook rather than on the marketing program page. Prospective students should review the guidebook to understand specific elective options.
What This Program Says About Itself
- Per the program page, the MA in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy prepares graduates to provide systemic, relational, and culturally responsive therapy to individuals, couples, and families.
- The program is accredited by COAMFTE, which supports portability of graduates' credentials across states that recognize COAMFTE-accredited degrees.
- Students can choose among multiple California delivery options, including Los Angeles, Anaheim, and a fully online format with in-person residencies, per the Chicago School locations page.
- The program emphasizes community-based training, with practicum placements across hundreds of partner agencies in California.
- Graduate Achievement Data, including graduation, licensure, and employment outcomes, is published annually in accordance with COAMFTE requirements.
This Program May Be a Good Fit For
Students planning to practice in multiple states: COAMFTE accreditation supports license portability, since many states explicitly recognize COAMFTE-accredited master's degrees for LMFT licensure.
Students interested in a fully online format: The Chicago School offers a fully online MCFT pathway with required in-person residencies, with California-based practicum completion for students planning California licensure.
Students seeking geographic flexibility in Southern California: Los Angeles and Anaheim campuses provide in-person options for students commuting from the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
Career changers entering the field: A bachelor's degree in psychology is not required, and specific prerequisite courses are not listed, making the program accessible to applicants from a range of academic backgrounds.
Students seeking strong practicum infrastructure: Practicum placements are coordinated through the program's practicum seminar, drawing on a broad network of California partner agencies.
Students who value systemic and relational training: The curriculum is built around couple, family, and systemic therapy, consistent with COAMFTE accreditation standards.
Related California MFT Programs
If you are weighing The Chicago School, you may also want to compare these nearby and similar programs in our directory:
- Alliant International University: LA area, COAMFTE-accredited, online option
- Touro University Worldwide: Fully online, COAMFTE-accredited
- Pacific Oaks College: LA area, professional-school setting
- Antioch University: LA area, online and low-residency
- Pepperdine University: LA area, private, online option
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 but says almost nothing about how skilled a clinician you can become. The students who get the most out of these years treat licensure as the floor, and then ask a far more ambitious question: which program will help me reach the very top of what I am capable of as a therapist? The program you choose changes everything. By the time they reach practicum, 2 in 3 students at COAMFTE-accredited MFT programs do not feel prepared to see clients. Training built around real, performable clinical skills, rather than theory alone, is what lets you walk into your first session with genuine confidence and keep growing from there. You get to decide how high to aim, and the right program will rise to meet you.
Look closely at four things. First, Deliberate Practice: the strongest programs let you rehearse specific skills with immediate feedback, the same way world-class musicians and athletes build mastery over time. Second, clinical hours: seek out programs that give you a high volume of direct client contact, because nothing accelerates your development faster than real, supervised repetition. Third, video recording in supervision rather than student self-report, so your supervisors can coach what actually happened in the room. Fourth, routine outcome monitoring, which teaches you to track, honestly and objectively, whether your clients are getting better. A program that does all four is training you to pursue excellence, not just clear a requirement.
Also consider programs that teach you safe and ethical AI-integrated clinical training. 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 are useful inputs to your program search, but they cannot tell you what a school is actually like to attend. Marketing materials, program websites, and admissions presentations are designed to present a program favorably. The most reliable way to cut through that and understand what a program actually delivers in the classroom is to ask to sit in on a live class session, whether in person or online, before you commit. Every program that is confident in the quality of its instruction should not only allow this but actively welcome it. If a program is reluctant to let prospective students observe a class, that reluctance is itself informative. The California MFT job market rewards clinical skill, and the training environment you choose over the next two to three years will shape the kind of therapist you become. Take the time to see it for yourself before you decide.
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 The Chicago School's MFT program, visit their official website at thechicagoschool.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 The Chicago School's MFT program accredited?
Yes. The MA in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy is accredited by COAMFTE effective November 1, 2022, and the institution is accredited by WSCUC. It meets California BBS educational requirements for the LMFT.
Does The Chicago School require the GRE?
No. The GRE is not required, though applicants may submit scores to strengthen an application.
How long is the program and how many units?
The program is 60 credit hours and is typically completed in three years on the standard full-time track.
Does The Chicago School prepare students for the LPCC as well as the LMFT?
No. The program prepares graduates for California LMFT licensure; a dual LMFT and LPCC track is not listed.
What outcomes does The Chicago School publish?
As a COAMFTE-accredited program it publishes annual Graduate Achievement Data with graduation, job placement, and licensure rates by cohort; the three most recent cohorts (2022-2023 through 2024-2025) are still in process.
Where is the program offered, and what does it cost?
It is offered at the Los Angeles and Anaheim campuses and fully online (with two Southern California residencies). Master's tuition is $1,509 per credit hour for 2026-2027, which puts the 60-credit degree near $90,500 before fees.
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 April 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
Compare all 71 CA MFT programs →