CSU Long Beach MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

CSU Long Beach 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 CSULB College of Education Counseling Psychology program pages, the CSULB Student Records tuition and fees page, the program's practicum and fieldwork page, the program FAQs, 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 $25,000 to $30,000, California resident estimate) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $25,000 to $30,000 for California residents (see the Program Snapshot above for the basis of this estimate).

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

Cohort-Based Evening Schedule: Most classes meet Monday through Thursday between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with some required weekend sessions on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Limited summer course offerings are available. The program is designed for students who can commit to a structured evening and occasional weekend schedule.

Advisor Assignment: Each student is assigned a faculty advisor upon admission to develop an individualized course plan.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Per the CSULB practicum and fieldwork page, students complete a minimum of 500 total clinical hours across three sequential courses: COUN 609 Practicum (150 hours, approximately 15 hours per week), COUN 643D Fieldwork (175 hours, approximately 15 hours per week), and COUN 644D Advanced Fieldwork (175 hours, approximately 15 hours per week).

Supervision: Direct supervision must be provided by a licensed Counseling Psychologist, LCSW, psychologist, or board-certified psychiatrist employed at the trainee's work site and holding the license for at least two years, per the practicum and fieldwork page.

Training Clinic: Yes. Students begin their clinical training at the Community Clinic for Counseling and Educational Services, CSULB's on-campus training clinic, during the first semester of practicum (COUN 609). Students then transition to approved community-based sites for COUN 643D and 644D in subsequent semesters.

Practicum Arrangement: First-semester practicum is completed on-site at the CSULB Community Clinic. Advanced fieldwork placements are completed at approved community mental health agencies, with coordination through the program.

Prior Experience: BBS does not recognize prior mental health experience toward the 500-hour requirement; all clinical hours must be completed within the CSULB program.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Not publicly listed.

Curriculum Structure

The 65-unit curriculum includes foundational and clinical coursework per the CSULB program description:

Core Courses: COUN 510 Law and Ethics, COUN 511, COUN 512, COUN 513 Clinical Interviewing, COUN 515 Theories, COUN 522 Methods, COUN 608 Assessment, COUN 609 Practicum, COUN 643D Fieldwork, COUN 644D Advanced Fieldwork, and EDP 400 Introduction to Educational Research (required during the first year).

Culminating Experience (6 units): Either EDP 698 Thesis, or 6 units of approved counseling electives combined with a comprehensive examination.

Electives: Remaining units are filled with approved counseling electives selected in consultation with the faculty advisor.

Culminating Requirements

Students choose between two culminating options in consultation with their faculty advisor: a thesis (EDP 698, 6 units), or a comprehensive examination paired with 6 units of approved counseling electives. Both options satisfy the university's culminating experience requirement for the MS in Counseling Psychology.

Application Process

Application Deadline: For the most recent posted Fall 2027 cycle, Cal State Apply opens October 1, 2026 and closes December 1, 2026, with program-specific materials in MyCED due by December 12, 2026. The application fee is $70 and is non-refundable. No fee waivers are available.

Start Term: Fall only. The program does not admit for Spring or Summer terms.

GPA Requirement: Minimum 2.85 overall GPA on the previous degree per the program eligibility page.

Prerequisites: None required before admission. A psychology degree is not required; applicants from any major can apply. Prerequisite courses (COUN 510, 511, 512, 513, 515, 522, and 608) may be completed the summer before admission or during the first year at the advisor's discretion.

Application Components: Cal State Apply university application with $70 fee. Program materials submitted through MyCED include a Statement of Purpose of 3 to 4 pages (12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margins) with required subheadings addressing Background, Career Perceptions and Goals, Strengths and Areas to Improve, Influential Factors, and CSULB Decision; a résumé including position titles, employers, duration, populations served, and job responsibilities with an emphasis on counseling-related experience; and two professional recommendations from mental health professionals, professors, or those who observed the applicant professionally. Official transcripts must be sent to Enrollment Services. Applicants may apply to only one CSU graduate program per cycle.

Interview: Required. Invited candidates must complete a mandatory virtual interview as part of the final admissions evaluation.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the CSULB Counseling Psychology program description, the program prepares students to meet the educational competencies for both the California LMFT and LPCC licenses within a single 65-unit degree.
• The program highlights its on-campus Community Clinic for Counseling and Educational Services as the initial training site for all practicum students.
• The program offers both a two-year and a two-and-a-half-year pacing track, allowing students to match their course load to personal and professional commitments per the program description.
• The program notes that no undergraduate psychology degree is required and that applicants from any educational background are welcome, per the program FAQ page.
• The program describes itself as highly selective; demand has driven cohort expansion from 25 to 50 students, per the program page.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students prioritizing affordability: The full program cost of approximately $25,365 to $30,330 for California residents is substantially below the $45,000 threshold and among the lowest in the state.

Working professionals seeking schedule flexibility: Most classes meet in late afternoons and evenings (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday), with a two-and-a-half-year pacing option available.

Students interested in dual licensure (LMFT and LPCC): The 65-unit curriculum is designed explicitly to produce graduates eligible for both California LMFT and LPCC licensure, without requiring additional add-on units.

Students planning to practice in multiple states: CACREP accreditation supports portability of the degree across U.S. jurisdictions that recognize CACREP-accredited programs.

Career changers entering the field: No undergraduate prerequisites are required before admission, and applicants from any major are welcome; the GRE is not required.

Students seeking early clinical exposure: First-semester practicum placement at the on-campus Community Clinic provides supervised client contact from the beginning of the clinical sequence.

Students in the Greater Long Beach and South Bay area: The program is based on the CSULB campus in Long Beach with in-person coursework and Southern California practicum placements.

Related California MFT Programs

If you are weighing CSU Long Beach, you may also want to compare these nearby and similar programs in our directory:

• CSU Dominguez Hills: Neighboring South LA public CSU
• Cal State Fullerton: Neighboring Orange County public CSU, dual
• CSU Northridge: LA public CSU
• Cal State LA: LA public CSU, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Mount Saint Mary's University: LA private, dual comparison

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 CSU Long Beach's MFT program, visit their official website at csulb.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 CSU Long Beach's MFT program accredited?

The university is accredited by WSCUC and the program is approved by the California BBS for LMFT and LPCC educational requirements. CSULB's own pages do not list COAMFTE or CACREP accreditation for this program.

Does CSULB require the GRE?

No. The GRE is not required.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a minimum 65-unit program offered on a two-year accelerated track or a two-and-a-half-year track, in a hybrid format with no fully online option.

Does CSULB prepare students for both the LMFT and LPCC?

Yes. The program prepares graduates for both the California LMFT and LPCC licenses through the BBS.

Does CSULB publish MFT outcome rates?

No formal graduation, licensure, or exam pass rate is published for this program. A CSULB news article states that more than 95% of graduates find work in their field after commencement, but it gives no cohort or methodology.

What GPA do I need and when is the deadline?

A minimum 2.85 GPA on the most recent degree. Admission is for Fall only; the Fall 2027 cycle opens October 1, 2026 with a December 1, 2026 university application close.

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

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