La Sierra University MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

La Sierra University 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 La Sierra University MA in Counseling program page, the La Sierra University School of Psychology and Counseling page, the La Sierra University tuition and costs page, California MFT program directories, and BBS records. A program-specific student handbook was not publicly downloadable at the time of data collection; some handbook-level details are therefore drawn from the program page and secondary directory sources and should be verified directly with the program. 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 $70,000, tuition only) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $70,080 in tuition (96 quarter units at about $730 per unit for 2025-2026, plus a per-quarter general graduate fee; books and living expenses are additional).

Regional pay context: In the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (Inland Empire) area, marriage and family therapists earn a median of about $68,570 per year (mean about $75,210), with the middle half earning roughly $48,090 to $95,020 (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 Inland Empire LMFT salary guide.

Schedule and Format Details

On Campus Format: All MFT coursework is delivered in person at the Riverside campus. Per the School of Psychology and Counseling page, classes are scheduled in late afternoons, evenings, and during summer sessions.

Full Time and Part Time Pacing: Full time students can progress through core coursework in approximately four to five quarters, with additional quarters typically required to complete practicum hours. Part time pacing is available for students balancing employment or family responsibilities.

Start Terms: La Sierra University operates on a quarter calendar with multiple entry points per year. Prospective students should confirm current admission cycles directly with the School of Education.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Students complete a minimum of 280 hours of face to face client contact during practicum, per publicly available program materials. Specific breakdowns of relational hours and supervision hours are not detailed on the program page.

Training Clinic: A publicly listed in house training clinic operated under the MFT program name is not featured on the current School of Psychology and Counseling page. Students typically complete practicum hours at community clinical placement sites.

Practicum Arrangement: Practicum is completed at approved community placement sites. Students work with the program to identify and secure a site that meets California BBS requirements.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Students are required to complete 20 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed clinician during the program, per publicly available program materials.

Curriculum Structure

The 96 quarter unit curriculum integrates systemic and relational theory, clinical foundations, and supervised practicum experience. Core areas include counseling theories, human development, psychopathology, marriage and family systems, multicultural counseling, law and ethics, assessment, research methods, and a sequenced clinical practicum. Because the MFT and LPCC specializations share the majority of coursework, students who elect the dual LMFT and LPCC pathway can meet both sets of California BBS educational requirements with a modest number of additional units.

Culminating Requirements

The culminating academic requirement is a departmental comprehensive examination, which students must pass at least four weeks before graduation, per publicly available program materials. A thesis is not required for the MFT specialization.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: Specific term by term deadlines are not publicly listed on the program page. Applicants should confirm current admission cycle dates directly with the Office of Graduate Admissions.

GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA on a 4.0 scale. Applicants below the threshold may be asked to submit additional materials such as a GRE score for departmental review.

Prerequisites: Specific undergraduate course prerequisites are not publicly listed for the MFT specialization. A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution is required.

Application Components: Online graduate application, official transcripts from all institutions attended, statement of purpose, and resume or curriculum vitae. Letters of recommendation are requested by the department on a case by case basis rather than as a universal component.

Interview: Required. Applicants who advance past the initial review complete an interview with two faculty members before final program approval.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the MA in Counseling program page, the Marriage and Family Therapy specialization trains students to work with individuals, couples, and families to address relational and emotional challenges using a systems approach.
• Per the School of Psychology and Counseling page, the program's coursework builds the foundation for California LPCC and LMFT licensure, with a dual licensure pathway that shares most coursework.
• La Sierra University describes the program as designed for working adults, with classes scheduled in late afternoons, evenings, and summers to accommodate student schedules.
• The program is delivered on the Riverside campus within the School of Education, offering close cohort contact with counseling and psychology faculty.
• The program operates within La Sierra University's Seventh-day Adventist educational mission, which integrates values based learning and service into professional preparation.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students interested in dual licensure (MFT and LPCC): The MFT and LPCC specializations share most coursework, and the program explicitly supports a dual licensure pathway with a small number of additional units.

Working professionals seeking schedule flexibility: Classes are offered in late afternoons, evenings, and summer sessions, and part time pacing is available.

Students who value personal therapy as part of training: The program requires 20 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed clinician during training.

Students seeking faith integrated training: La Sierra University operates within the Seventh-day Adventist educational tradition while welcoming students from all backgrounds.

Career changers entering the field: Specific undergraduate psychology prerequisites are not listed, and the GRE is not a standard admissions requirement.

Related California MFT Programs

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

• Loma Linda University: Same Inland Empire, Seventh-day Adventist, COAMFTE, dual
• California Baptist University: Same Riverside area, faith-based, dual LMFT/LPCC
• CSU San Bernardino: Same Inland Empire, public comparison
• Point Loma Nazarene University: Christian university, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Azusa Pacific University: Faith-based private, nearby eastern Los Angeles County

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 La Sierra University's MFT program, visit their official website at lasierra.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 La Sierra's MFT program accredited?

La Sierra is institutionally accredited by WSCUC and the Adventist Accrediting Association, and the MFT specialization is approved by the California BBS. It is not COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited.

Does La Sierra require the GRE?

Not as a standard admissions component; the department may request a GRE score from applicants below the standard GPA threshold.

Does it prepare students for both the LMFT and LPCC?

Yes. La Sierra notes that the MFT and Professional Clinical Counseling specializations share largely identical coursework, allowing dual LMFT/LPCC preparation with minimal additional coursework.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 96 quarter-unit program offered in person on the Riverside campus, with late-afternoon, evening, and summer scheduling for working adults.

Does La Sierra publish outcome rates?

No. The program does not publish graduation, job placement, licensure, or exam pass rates, and it is not COAMFTE-accredited.

What does the program cost?

Tuition is about $70,080 (96 quarter units at $730 per unit), plus a per-quarter general graduate fee and applicable course and technology 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

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