Saint Mary's College of California MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

Saint Mary's College 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 Saint Mary's College Kalmanovitz School of Education MFT/PCC program page, the Counseling program details page, the Counseling admissions page, the Counseling frequently asked questions page, the Kalmanovitz School of Education tuition and fees page, and BBS records. A dedicated program handbook was not located on the public web. 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 $80,200, tuition only) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $80,240 in tuition (68 units at $1,180 per unit, effective 2026-2027 per the Kalmanovitz School of Education). Tuition is subject to annual adjustment; books, campus fees, 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

Moraga Campus Format: Classes meet in afternoon and evening blocks Monday through Thursday with some Saturday classes, per the Counseling program details page. The program is cohort-flexible, with students choosing a three, four, or five year plan of study developed with an assigned academic advisor.

Specific classroom days and times for each term are not published on the program's public pages and should be confirmed with the program.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Specific direct client contact, relational, and supervision hour minimums are not detailed on the program's public web pages. Fieldwork is completed through COUN 791 Counseling Field Experience, taken for one to three units per term with a minimum of six units total. Students should request current fieldwork hour requirements directly from the program.

Training Clinic: Not publicly listed as a dedicated in-house counseling training clinic. Fieldwork is completed at community-based partner sites.

Practicum Arrangement: Students complete field placements in clinical, school, or college settings appropriate to their specialization. Placements are supervised by Counseling Department campus supervisors together with department-approved field supervisors at the placement site, per the MFT/PCC program page.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Not publicly listed; confirm with program.

Curriculum Structure

The 68-unit curriculum covers counseling theory, systemic and relational therapy, assessment, law and ethics, multicultural counseling, research, and clinical fieldwork, aligned to the coursework required for both LMFT and LPCC educational eligibility.

Core Coursework: Counseling theory, marriage and family therapy, human development, multicultural and social justice counseling, group counseling, career counseling, psychopathology, assessment, law and ethics, trauma, substance use, and research methods.

Fieldwork Sequence: COUN 791 Counseling Field Experience, taken across multiple terms for a minimum of six units of placement credit.

Culminating Course: COUN 799 Counseling Master's Project, Thesis, or Exam (three units).

Culminating Requirements

Students complete COUN 799 Counseling Master's Project, Thesis, or Exam as the culminating requirement, per the Counseling program details page. The program offers multiple options within this course, including a written comprehensive exam, a master's project, or a thesis. Specific format requirements for each option are not published on the public pages and should be confirmed with the program.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: March 1 for Fall admission and October 15 for Spring admission, per the Counseling admissions page.

Start Terms: Fall and Spring.

GPA Requirement: Minimum 2.8 undergraduate GPA. Applicants below 2.8 are asked to address the discrepancy in their personal statement and may be asked to complete a second interview, per the frequently asked questions page.

Prerequisites: A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Specific prerequisite courses are not listed on the program's public pages.

Application Components: Online application with a fifty dollar application fee, official transcripts from all colleges attended, a two to three page double-spaced personal statement, a current resume, two letters of recommendation from academic or professional references, proof of health insurance, and tuberculin (TB) test results, per the admissions page.

Interview: Yes. A group interview led by two Counseling faculty members is required as part of the admissions process.

Concentrations and Specializations

MFT/PCC Focus: The primary focus within the MA in Counseling, designed to meet California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure.

MFT/PCC with School Counseling Credential: Students may combine the MFT/PCC focus with the School Counseling focus, which includes the California Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential, per the MFT/PCC program page.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the Saint Mary's College MFT/PCC program page, the program prepares graduates to meet California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure through a single integrated curriculum.
• The program is housed within the Kalmanovitz School of Education at a Catholic, Lasallian institution with a stated focus on social justice, intercultural practice, and service to underserved communities.
• Students are assigned an academic advisor and build a three, four, or five year plan of study tailored to their schedule, per the program details page.
• Fieldwork is supervised by both Counseling Department campus supervisors and department-approved site supervisors at placement agencies.
• Students may combine the MFT/PCC focus with the School Counseling focus to add the California Pupil Personnel Services credential.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students in the East Bay seeking a dual LMFT and LPCC pathway: The program is structured to meet California BBS educational requirements for both licenses through a single curriculum.

Working professionals seeking afternoon, evening, and Saturday coursework: Classes meet in the afternoon and evening Monday through Thursday with some Saturday sessions.

Students who want a flexible time to degree: The program supports three, four, and five year plans of study developed with an assigned academic advisor.

Career changers entering the field: The GRE is not required and no specific prerequisite courses are listed.

Students interested in adding a school counseling credential: Saint Mary's allows students to combine the MFT/PCC focus with the School Counseling focus and the California PPS credential.

Students who value a Catholic, Lasallian educational environment: Saint Mary's Lasallian identity informs the institution's broader emphasis on social justice and service.

Applicants with a GPA near the minimum: The program sets a minimum 2.8 undergraduate GPA and provides a clear pathway for applicants below that threshold to address the discrepancy through the personal statement and a second interview.

Related California MFT Programs

If you are weighing Saint Mary's College of California, you may also want to compare these nearby and similar programs in our directory:

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

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 Saint Mary's College of California's MFT program, visit their official website at stmarys-ca.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 Saint Mary's MFT program accredited?

Saint Mary's is institutionally accredited by WSCUC, and the MA in Counseling (MFT/PCC) meets California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure. It is not COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited.

Does Saint Mary's require the GRE?

No. The GRE is not required per the Counseling program FAQ.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 68-unit minimum program, with three, four, or five year plans of study. Classes meet in afternoon and evening blocks Monday through Thursday with some Saturday classes.

Does Saint Mary's prepare students for the LPCC as well as the LMFT?

Yes. The MFT/PCC focus is structured to meet California BBS educational requirements for both the LMFT and the LPCC.

Does Saint Mary's publish outcome rates?

No. The program does not publish graduation, job placement, licensure, or exam pass rates specific to the program; the college's institution-wide outcomes dashboard is largely undergraduate and not MFT-specific.

Is Saint Mary's a faith-based program?

Saint Mary's is a Catholic, Lasallian institution. The Counseling program emphasizes social justice, intercultural practice, and service to underserved communities; no separate faith-integration coursework is listed for the MFT/PCC focus.

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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