Simpson University MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

Simpson 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 Simpson University Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program page, the Simpson University 2025-2026 academic catalog, and California regulatory records. A standalone clinical training handbook is referenced in the catalog but is not publicly posted; the 2025-2026 catalog serves as the primary public institutional document. 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 $47,000, tuition only (about $49,000 with fees)) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $46,575 in tuition for the 67.5-credit program at $690 per credit (2025-2026), or about $49,005 including the $36-per-credit registration fee. The per-credit rate rises to $710 for 2026-2027.

Regional pay context: In the Redding area, marriage and family therapists earn a median of about $71,110 per year, with a typical range of roughly $53,350 to $95,570 (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 California LMFT salary guide.

Schedule and Format Details

Evening Classes: Coursework meets two evenings per week, approximately 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., on the Redding campus. Some courses are delivered in online or hybrid formats.

Dual Cohort Model: Simpson describes the program as operating through a "dual cohort model," in which LMFT-track and LPCC-track students enter together each September and move through the curriculum in tandem as a supportive student community.

Clinical Field Training Scheduling: During the final year, students complete clinical field training at approved community sites, typically requiring a minimum of 10 to 15 hours per week at the site during standard working hours. Prospective students who plan to work while enrolled should factor the daytime clinical hour requirement into their planning.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Per the 2025-2026 catalog, students must complete a minimum of 225 direct client contact hours for the LMFT track or 280 hours for the LPCC track. Supervision is provided at a ratio of one hour of individual supervision or two hours of group supervision for every five hours of client contact.

Training Clinic: Simpson does not operate an in-house MFT training clinic. Clinical field training is completed at community mental health agencies, private group practices, or other approved settings.

Practicum Arrangement: Students secure clinical field training placements at approved community sites in coordination with the program. Placements at a student's current employer are not permitted.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Yes. Per the catalog, students must complete 25 hours of individual personal psychotherapy, or a combined 20 hours consisting of 10 individual and 10 group hours, with a licensed mental health professional. Completion must occur before clinical field training clearance.

Curriculum Structure

The 67.5-credit MACP curriculum is delivered as a lockstep cohort program per the Simpson University 2025-2026 catalog:

Core Coursework: Counseling theories, human development, psychopathology and diagnosis, multicultural counseling, professional ethics and California law, assessment, group counseling, marriage and family systems, research methods, and spirituality and counseling.

Capstone Sequence: Four half-credit Master's Capstone courses (CP 6610, 6620, 6630, 6640) completed over nine terms culminate in the capstone project.

Clinical Sequence: Clinical field training during the final year at approved community sites, with concurrent individual and group supervision.

Culminating Requirements

Per the 2025-2026 catalog, the culminating academic requirement is a Master's Capstone Project, with a thesis option available. Students also complete a Clinical Evaluation Project during the final clinical training term.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: Priority deadline December 1 (with interviews held in January); final deadline May 1 (with interviews held in late May or early June).

Start Term: Fall (September); one cohort per year.

GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA calculated across the last 60 semester credits (or 90 quarter credits) of undergraduate work. Provisional admission is available at the admissions committee's discretion for applicants with a 2.5 to 2.99 GPA, subject to a 3.25 GPA requirement across the first 12 graduate credits.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Psychology, Theories of Personality or Theories of Counseling, Research Methods, Statistics (a higher math course may be accepted in lieu of Statistics at the admissions committee's discretion), and Human Development. Prerequisites are required only when the undergraduate degree is not in psychology or a related field or was earned more than 10 years prior.

Application Components: Online application via simpsonu.edu/apply, official transcripts, three reference forms with letters from professionally qualified recommenders, a personal statement addressing relevant circumstances, and participation in an admissions interview.

Interview: Yes. A group interview with the Graduate Professional Studies Admissions Committee is required; priority applicants interview in early January and other applicants interview in late May or early June.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the Simpson University MA in Counseling Psychology page, the program prepares students for California LMFT or LPCC licensure within a Christ-centered learning community.
• The single curriculum satisfies California BBS educational requirements for either the LMFT or LPCC pathway, allowing students to choose their licensure focus.
• Classes meet two evenings per week to accommodate students who work during the day.
• The program includes a required personal psychotherapy component and a low supervision ratio during clinical field training.
• The cohort model supports relationship-based learning and peer development across the program.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students in far Northern California seeking an in-person program: Simpson's Redding campus serves Shasta County and the broader North State, an area with relatively few graduate counseling options.

Students seeking a Christian educational environment: Simpson is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and integrates spirituality into counselor training while leaving doctrinal affiliation open for students.

Working adults who need evening coursework: Classes meet two evenings per week during the first two years.

Students interested in either LMFT or LPCC licensure: The program is designed to satisfy California BBS educational requirements for either pathway, with students choosing between them based on their career goals.

Students who value personal therapy as part of training: The program requires a documented personal psychotherapy component before clinical field training.

Career changers entering the field: The GRE is not required, and prerequisite psychology coursework can be completed after admission when needed.

Students seeking close clinical supervision: Supervision is structured at one hour of individual or two hours of group supervision for every five hours of client contact.

Related California MFT Programs

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

• Cal Poly Humboldt: Nearest North State public CSU
• CSU Chico: Nearest public CSU, North State
• William Jessup University: Faith-based, Sacramento area, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Weimar University: Faith-based, fully online, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Fresno Pacific University: Central Valley, faith-based private

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 Simpson University's MFT program, visit their official website at simpsonu.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 Simpson University's MFT program accredited?

Simpson University is institutionally accredited through WSCUC, and the MA in Counseling Psychology meets the California BBS educational requirements for both LMFT licensure (Business and Professions Code 4980.36) and LPCC licensure (Code 4999.32). It does not hold COAMFTE or CACREP accreditation.

Does Simpson University require the GRE?

No. The GRE is not required for admission to the program.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 67.5-credit program completed in two years, with classes two evenings a week in a seven-week course format.

Does Simpson University prepare students for the LPCC as well as the LMFT?

Yes. The single curriculum prepares students for California licensure as either a Marriage and Family Therapist or a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor.

What outcomes does Simpson University publish?

Simpson does not publish graduation, job placement, licensure, or exam pass rates for the program on its website.

What does the program cost?

For 2025-2026 tuition is $690 per credit plus a $36-per-credit registration fee, so the 67.5-credit program totals roughly $49,005 including fees. A minimum 3.0 GPA is generally required.

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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