Loma Linda University MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

Loma Linda 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 program's official website, the Loma Linda University academic catalog, the COAMFTE directory, 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 $95,000, tuition only) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $94,739 in tuition, based on the university's published annual estimates of about $46,881 (Year 1) and $47,858 (Year 2); verify the current rate with the LLU Student Finance Office.

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: First-year students typically attend classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays; second-year students typically attend Mondays and Wednesdays. Full-time minimum enrollment is 8 units per quarter across Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer quarters. Fall quarter admission only.

Online Format: Distance delivery with a 9-quarter full-time plan. Fall quarter admission. Students complete clinical fieldwork at community mental health settings in their own geographic region.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Per the 2025-2026 LLU catalog entry for the MS in Marital and Family Therapy, students must complete a minimum of 300 direct face-to-face client contact hours, of which at least 100 must be relational or systemic work (couples, families, or relationship systems), with a minimum of 12 months of field experience. Students complete at least 100 hours of clinical supervision, of which at least 50 must use observable data (audio, video, or live observation). Supervision ratio is at least 1 hour of supervision per 5 hours of clinical work, with at least 1 hour of individual supervision per week when seeing clients.

Training Clinic: Yes. Students may complete placements at the program's Resiliency Clinic as well as at community mental health centers, agencies, schools, and hospitals, including sites across the Loma Linda University Health system.

Practicum Arrangement: Students complete fieldwork at program-approved clinical sites, with access to the LLU Health system and the program's Resiliency Clinic alongside community placements.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Not publicly listed.

Culminating Requirements

Per the 2025-2026 LLU catalog, students must pass a written comprehensive examination prior to advancement to candidacy and an oral examination at the end of the program.

Application Process

Application Deadline: On-Campus Fall 2026 deadline: April 15, 2026. No application fee.

Start Term: Fall only (admission occurs in autumn quarter only).

GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA on bachelor's degree, with an exception permitting a 2.75 overall GPA if the last 45 quarter credits (30 semester units) are at 3.0 or higher. Grade of B or better required for course progression.

Prerequisites: None required.

Application Components: Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, three letters of recommendation (academic or employment), and a pre-entrance health clearance.

Interview: Required. Interviews occur January through May and may be conducted in person or virtually. Evaluation criteria include communication skills, alignment with institutional values, critical thinking, cultural competence, and commitment to the field.

Concentrations and Specializations

Medical Family Therapy Concentration: Designed for students interested in working with patients and families affected by illness, injury, or disability. This track draws on clinical placements across the Loma Linda University Health system, which includes the Medical Center, Children's Hospital, the Behavioral Medicine Center, and the Behavioral Health Institute.

Play Therapy Certificate: Available as an add-on for current MS students with a tuition waiver.

Drug and Alcohol Counseling Certificate: Available as an add-on for current MS students with a tuition waiver.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per Loma Linda's MFT program page, the MS in Marital and Family Therapy is the only COAMFTE-accredited MFT program in the Inland Empire.
• The program describes itself as rooted in a Christian commitment to compassionate, whole-person care, with the university as a Seventh-day Adventist institution.
• Students can pursue a Medical Family Therapy concentration that draws on placements across the Loma Linda University Health system.
• The program offers both on-campus and fully online formats, with equivalent COAMFTE accreditation and curriculum, per the online program description.
• The program integrates embedded coursework for military and veteran practice and offers certificates in Play Therapy and Drug and Alcohol Counseling with tuition waivers, per Loma Linda's program overview.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Career changers entering the field: The program requires no undergraduate prerequisite courses and does not require the GRE.

Students seeking an accelerated path: The on-campus full-time plan can be completed in two years (7 academic quarters).

Students seeking strong practicum infrastructure: Access to the LLU Health system network and the on-site Resiliency Clinic supports supervised clinical training from early in the program.

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

Students interested in dual licensure (MFT and LPCC): A dual LMFT/LPCC pathway is available by completing four additional units.

Students seeking faith-integrated training: The program is rooted in a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist mission of whole-person care.

Students interested in a fully online format: A COAMFTE-accredited, 9-quarter online plan is available alongside the on-campus option.

Students in the Inland Empire: The on-campus program is based in Loma Linda and is the only COAMFTE-accredited MFT program in the region.

Students interested in serving medical and health care populations: The Medical Family Therapy concentration provides training for work with patients and families affected by illness, injury, or disability within the LLU Health system.

Related California MFT Programs

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

• La Sierra University: Same Inland Empire, Seventh-day Adventist, dual LMFT/LPCC
• California Baptist University: Same Inland Empire, faith-based
• CSU San Bernardino: Same Inland Empire, public comparison
• University of San Diego: COAMFTE-accredited, faith-based, Southern California
• Alliant International University: COAMFTE-accredited, on-campus and online

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 Loma Linda University's MFT program, visit their official website at home.llu.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 Loma Linda's MFT program accredited?

Yes. The MS in Marital and Family Therapy is COAMFTE-accredited (the program describes itself as the only COAMFTE-accredited MFT program in the Inland Empire) and LLU is institutionally accredited by WSCUC.

Does Loma Linda require the GRE?

No. The program states there are no GRE or course prerequisites for admission.

Is the program offered online?

Yes. It is offered both on-campus in Loma Linda and fully online. COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data is reported separately for each format.

What outcomes does Loma Linda publish?

As a COAMFTE-accredited program it publishes Graduate Achievement Data. For the 2022-2023 on-campus cohort it reports 87% on-time graduation, 92% job placement, and 92% licensure (full-time). Online figures are reported separately on small cohorts.

Does Loma Linda prepare students for the LPCC as well as the LMFT?

The program leads to the California LMFT by default, with dual LMFT and LPCC eligibility available by completing four additional units.

How long is the program and how much does it cost?

On-campus full-time is two years (seven quarters); online full-time is 2.5 years. Tuition is about $94,739 total based on the university's published annual estimates.

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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