University of San Francisco MFT Program: Comprehensive Profile and Student Fit Analysis

University of San Francisco 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 USF School of Education MFT program overview, the program FAQs page, the USF MFT tuition and aid page, the USF School of Education application requirements page, 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 $81,000, tuition only) against the directory’s lowest and highest published totals.

Estimated total tuition: approximately $81,000 in tuition (60 units at $1,350 per unit, effective 2026-2027 per USF). 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

San Francisco Campus 3-Year Format: Fall and spring classes meet during late afternoon (3:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.) and evening (7:20 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.) blocks. Summer sessions use a 6-week intensive schedule meeting weekdays in the evening and Saturdays during the day.

San Francisco Campus 2-Year Intensive Format: A condensed 7-semester pathway available only at the San Francisco campus for students who can commit to a faster pace.

Regional Campus Formats: Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and South Bay sites meet primarily on one weekday afternoon and evening, typically from approximately 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., with some Saturday classes.

Clinical Training and Fieldwork

Clinical Hours: Specific direct client contact, relational, and supervision hour requirements are not detailed on USF's public MFT program pages. The program states that clinical training complies with California BBS educational requirements for LMFT and LPCC licensure. Students should request current fieldwork requirements directly from the program.

Training Clinic: Not publicly listed as a dedicated in-house MFT training clinic. Traineeships are completed at community-based partner sites.

Practicum Arrangement: Students complete a traineeship during the final year of the program at Bay Area community-based and school-based partner sites coordinated through the program.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement: Not publicly listed on the program's web materials.

Curriculum Structure

The 60-unit curriculum is designed around USF's Jesuit mission of social justice and cultural responsiveness, per the USF MFT program overview page:

Core Coursework: Systemic and relational theory, counseling psychology, human development, multicultural and social justice practice, assessment, law and ethics, and research methods.

Fieldwork Sequence: Traineeship and concurrent supervision courses completed in the final year at community-based and school-based partner sites.

Culminating Requirements

The specific culminating requirement (thesis, comprehensive examination, or portfolio) is not detailed on USF's public MFT program pages. Students should confirm current culminating requirements directly with the program.

Application Process

Application Deadlines: Specific deadline dates are not listed on the program's public pages; as of April 2026 the program's main page indicates it is still accepting applications for Fall admission. Prospective students should confirm current deadlines with the USF School of Education.

Start Term: Fall (cohort-based).

GPA Requirement: The USF School of Education lists a recommended minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Program-specific cutoffs are not listed separately.

Prerequisites: No specific prerequisite courses are listed on the program's public pages.

Application Components: Online application, official transcripts, two current letters of recommendation, a current résumé, and a statement of intent. Specific prompts for the statement of intent are made available through the application portal.

Interview: Not publicly confirmed as a required component on the program's public pages.

Concentrations and Specializations

Marriage and Family Therapy Concentration: The primary concentration within the MA in Counseling Psychology degree, aligned to California BBS educational requirements for LMFT licensure.

LPCC Pathway: Students may complete additional fieldwork and coursework to qualify for LPCC or dual LMFT/LPCC licensure, per the program FAQs page.

School Counseling Combination: Students may combine the MFT concentration with the School Counseling concentration, per the program FAQs page.

What This Program Says About Itself

• Per the USF MFT program page, the program prepares graduates to deliver culturally responsive, community-oriented mental health care rooted in the Jesuit mission of social justice.
• The program offers multiple Bay Area locations (San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, South Bay, and the East Bay) to serve students across Northern California.
• Both a 3-year standard pathway and a 2-year intensive pathway (San Francisco only) are available to accommodate different student needs, per the USF MFT program overview page.
• The program maintains a partnership with the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Scholars Academy, per the USF MFT program page.
• The program emphasizes community mental health through traineeship placements at Bay Area community-based and school-based partner sites.

This Program May Be a Good Fit For

Students in Northern California seeking geographic flexibility: USF offers MFT coursework across five Bay Area and Sacramento area locations.

Working professionals seeking evening coursework: Both the San Francisco campus and regional sites meet primarily in late afternoon and evening hours.

Students interested in social justice-oriented training: USF's Jesuit mission shapes the program's emphasis on cultural responsiveness and community mental health.

Students who want to complete the degree faster: The 2-year intensive format (San Francisco only) compresses the program into 7 semesters.

Students interested in dual licensure (MFT and LPCC): Additional coursework and fieldwork allow students to qualify for LPCC or dual LMFT/LPCC licensure.

Students interested in combining MFT and School Counseling: USF allows students to pursue both concentrations within the MA in Counseling Psychology.

Career changers entering the field: The GRE is not required and specific prerequisite courses are not listed.

Students who value a Jesuit educational environment: USF's Jesuit Catholic identity informs the mission of the broader institution and the School of Education.

Related California MFT Programs

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

• San Francisco State University: Same San Francisco, public, CACREP-accredited
• California Institute of Integral Studies: Same San Francisco, dual LMFT/LPCC option
• Santa Clara University: Same Bay Area, Jesuit, dual LMFT/LPCC
• Dominican University of California: Same Bay Area, dual LMFT/LPCC
• The Wright Institute: Same Bay Area, Berkeley, social-justice orientation

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 University of San Francisco's MFT program, visit their official website at usfca.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 USF's MFT program accredited?

USF is institutionally accredited by WSCUC, and the MA in Counseling Psychology (MFT concentration) meets California BBS educational requirements for LMFT and LPCC licensure. It is not COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited.

Does USF require the GRE?

No. The GRE is not required per the USF MFT FAQs page.

How long is the program and how many units?

It is a 60-unit program with a 3-year (8-semester) standard format and a 2-year (7-semester) intensive format offered only at the San Francisco campus.

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

Yes. Students pursue the California LMFT and may also pursue LPCC or dual LMFT/LPCC licensure with additional fieldwork.

Does USF publish MFT outcome rates?

No. The program does not publish graduation, job placement, licensure, or exam pass rates specific to the MFT concentration; a university-wide first-destination survey exists but does not describe this program.

Where is the program offered?

Primarily in person at the San Francisco campus (late-afternoon and evening classes plus a summer intensive), with regional instructional sites in Sacramento, Santa Rosa, the South Bay, and the East Bay; confirm site details with the program.

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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