Dominican University of California MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

Dominican University of California 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 Dominican University of California Counseling Psychology MS (MFT/PCC) program page, the 2025-2026 academic catalog entry for the Counseling Psychology MS, the Counseling Psychology graduate tuition and aid page, Dominican's institutional mission and history pages, WSCUC records, and BBS approved program lists. A dedicated Counseling Psychology program handbook is not publicly posted on the Dominican website; the academic catalog serves as the authoritative source for program requirements, clinical hours, and personal therapy requirements. 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 $81,700, tuition only (about $83,800 with fees)) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $81,680 in tuition for the 60-unit MFT/PCC pathway (tiered at about $1,321 to $1,402 per unit across program years per Dominican); with campus, technology, and graduate-activities fees the total is about $83,800. Books and living expenses are additional.

Regional pay context: In the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area, marriage and family therapists earn a median of about $77,210 per year, with a typical range of roughly $66,940 to $125,140 (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 San Francisco Bay Area LMFT salary guide.

Schedule and Format Details

In-Person San Rafael Campus: All coursework is delivered on Dominican's San Rafael campus. The program accommodates working professionals with part-time, full-time, late afternoon, evening, and weekend class options.

Pacing: Full-time students typically complete the 60-unit MFT or PCC concentration in 30 to 36 months. Part-time pacing is also supported.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Per the academic catalog, MFT/PCC students complete a minimum of 500 practicum hours, including a minimum of 280 direct counseling hours. Supervision is provided by licensed professionals at each placement site. Faculty-led practicum seminars accompany fieldwork and are capped at 6 students per section.

Practicum Eligibility: Students must complete 24 units of required coursework and receive a formal academic evaluation before beginning practicum.

Training Clinic: A university-operated in-house training clinic is not listed. Dominican emphasizes its network of community-based partners.

Practicum Arrangement: The program has "well-established" relationships with more than 50 community agencies and reports placing 100 percent of trainees in the field. Sites include governmental agencies, schools and colleges, nonprofit and charitable corporations, and licensed health facilities.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Per the catalog, MFT/PCC students complete a minimum of 45 hours of personal psychotherapy, with up to 15 hours permitted from the two years before program entry. The requirement may be satisfied through individual, couple, or family therapy, provided by a licensed professional. The requirement is rooted in the program's belief that students benefit from personally experiencing the process they train to provide.

Culminating Requirements

The MFT/PCC concentration uses a competency-based culminating model organized around three Practicum Seminars (CP 5294, 3 units each, 9 units total) taken concurrently with fieldwork. Formal evaluations occur at two benchmarks: after the first 24 units (academic review) and after the first semester of practicum (clinical review). A traditional thesis or written comprehensive examination is not listed as a culminating requirement. The General Master's track uses two Proficiency Project Seminars plus a General Master's Proficiency Project.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: June 1 for Fall entry and December 1 for Spring entry, per the program page.

Start Terms: Fall and Spring.

GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 GPA based on the last 60 units of graded undergraduate or graduate coursework.

Prerequisites: A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution and a Theories of Personality course (or equivalent) completed prior to program start or concurrently within the first year.

Application Components: Online application, official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions, resume, a 500-word Statement of Purpose describing professional and personal goals, a 4 to 5 page Autobiography describing influential people and experiences relevant to counseling, and a written response to a clinical Scenario involving a neighbor disclosing suicidal ideation.

Interview: A personal interview with the program director is conducted if necessary, at the discretion of the program.

Concentrations and Specializations

Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Concentration: 60-unit pathway designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for LMFT licensure.

Professional Clinical Counseling (PCC) Concentration: 60-unit pathway designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for LPCC licensure.

Dual MFT/PCC Track: Students may complete both concentrations within a single 60-unit program, qualifying for both LMFT and LPCC licensure pathways.

General Master's in Counseling Psychology: A 43-unit non-licensure pathway for students whose goals do not require LMFT or LPCC eligibility.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the program page, Dominican reports that approximately 90 percent of its graduates become licensed MFTs or registered MFT associates.
• The program maintains relationships with more than 50 Bay Area community agencies and reports 100 percent placement of trainees in the field.
• Small class sizes, with classes capped at 20 students and practicum seminars capped at 6, support close faculty-student engagement.
• All faculty are practicing clinicians, and coursework is designed to integrate multiple therapeutic orientations.
• The 60-unit dual MFT/PCC option allows students to earn eligibility for both LMFT and LPCC licensure within a single program per the catalog entry.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students interested in dual licensure (MFT and LPCC): The dual MFT/PCC track is offered within a single 60-unit program, providing efficient access to both California licensure pathways.

Working professionals seeking schedule flexibility: Late afternoon, evening, and weekend classes, along with part-time pacing, accommodate students who are employed during the day.

Students who value small cohort learning: Classes are capped at 20 students and practicum seminars at 6, supporting close mentoring relationships.

Students seeking strong practicum infrastructure: Dominican reports placing 100 percent of its trainees through a network of more than 50 community agency partners.

Career changers entering the field: No GRE is required and only a single prerequisite course (Theories of Personality) is specified, which can be completed concurrently within the first year.

Students seeking Bay Area community placements: The San Rafael campus and the program's established partnerships provide access to diverse clinical populations across Marin, San Francisco, and the greater Bay Area.

Students who value personal therapy as part of training: The required 45 hours of personal psychotherapy is a distinctive commitment to the therapist's own development within the curriculum.

Related California MFT Programs

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

• The Wright Institute: Same Bay Area, Berkeley
• Saint Mary's College of California: Same Bay Area, dual LMFT/LPCC
• University of San Francisco: Same Bay Area, dual LMFT/LPCC option
• Notre Dame de Namur University: Same Bay Area, Peninsula, dual LMFT/LPCC
• CSU East Bay: Same Bay Area, public CSU

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 Dominican University of California's MFT program, visit their official website at dominican.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 Dominican's MFT program accredited?

Dominican is institutionally accredited by WSCUC, and the MS in Counseling Psychology (MFT/PCC) is approved by the California BBS for both LMFT and LPCC licensure. It is not COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited.

Does Dominican require the GRE?

No. The program page explicitly notes that the GRE and GMAT are not required.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 60-unit program for the MFT, PCC, or dual MFT/PCC concentration, typically completed in about 30 to 36 months. A non-licensure General Master's (43 units) is also offered.

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

Yes. The LMFT, LPCC, and dual LMFT/LPCC pathways are all offered within a single 60-unit program.

What outcomes does Dominican publish?

The program states that about 90% of graduates are licensed MFTs or registered MFT associates and that 100% of trainees are placed in field sites across 50-plus agencies. Both are undated program-stated figures, and the 100% is an in-program practicum placement rate, not a post-graduation employment rate. It does not publish a graduation rate or exam pass rate.

How large are classes?

Classes are capped at about 20 students, and practicum seminars are limited to a maximum of six students per section.

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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