Transferring from big 3 for MFT degree?

I am interested in testing out of a bachelors degree in psychology or business and moving to a masters program in Marriage and Family Therapy. My best options for a advanced degree in MFT (based on licensing) are from Northwestern University, Capella and Northcentral. I have asked all these schools if they would accept students who graduated from the big 3 and they give me cookie cutter answers, "We consider any student who has the minimum required GPA from a regionally accredited school."

I'm curious how they actually judge these 3 schools and if I test out of most of the degree, if that makes a difference. Does anybody have any experience getting into a respected masters program after testing out of a bachelors degree from one of the big 3?

PS. I may want a Bachelors in business instead of psychology because I can see the benefit of having a business degree if I choose to open a private practice.

Thanks for any help and happy new year!

 

First of all, I am curious as to why you are limiting your options to Northwestern, Capella, and Northcentral. As far as helping you with licensing is concerned, Northcentral is the only one of those schools with an online Masters in MFT that is accredited by COAMFTE (the national accrediting agency for MFT Education programs)... and a large majority of states require a COAMFTE-accredited masters in order to be licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist.

Capella's Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy is accredited by CACREP, which is the accrediting arm of the American Counseling Association (ACA)... so that degree would most likely lead toward licensing as a LPC/LMHC (unless your state's requirements state otherwise).

Northwestern does not have an online/distance MFT program.

Finally... the "Big 3" are all regionally accredited schools. So, if you met the required GPA and other requirements for getting into your graduate program, I do not see why any school would discriminate.

What state are you seeing MFT licensure from? Also good FYI is that you can still learn family/systems theory, and practice as a "family therapist" as a licensed masters-level clinical/professional counselor and clinical social worker... so if that is what you aspire to do, feel free to look at many of the online CACREP and CSWE accredited programs that are out there.

* CACREP is not a requirement in many states, although some states are requiring it now and the ACA's goal is to have it be standardized in the future (like CSWE is for social workers and COAMFTE is for MFTs). CACREP accreditation is currently required for people who would like to work as licensed professional mental health counselors in the DOD and VA systems. So are COAMFTE and CSWE for those careers in the DOD and VA.

 

Hi Hadashi...thanks for responding!

Capella and Northcentral are actually the only 2 online schools that are fully accredited (COAMFTE) by the AAMFT.

Northwestern doesn't have an online program, however I live close enough to the school that I could attend it.

I would be seeking licensure in Illinois. I actually have considered getting my license as a counselor or social worker, however I have spoken with MFTs who claim that they get the most training in couples therapy, which is what I want to focus in. I'm open to any feedback as I'm still in my researching phase.

 

Interesting... that must be very new!! That program was accredited by CACREP only when I last checked. Good news Also, a friend of mine did his training at the Family Institute at Northwestern, in his Counseling Psychology masters program. It seemed like a pretty great experience. I'd say, if Northwestern is closest to you and if you are considering going there... go for it. It's name and training will likely give you many more career opportunities than either Capella or NCU. There are some top-notch people working there.

Another good point about Northwestern's training... my friend that I spoke about above was working in his practicum before his coursework even started. He worked as a therapist throughout his entire program and was able to graduate with about double the work experience than he would have in other counseling programs in that area. He was also hired right away.

 

The big question I have is getting through my bachelors. I am already in my 30's and would like to gain most of my credits through testing. I have been reading about the bain4weeks methods and that is of most interest to me. I'm not sure if Northwestern would actually accept me based on my testing out of most of my bachelors through TESC, COSC or Excelsior.

Also, I would prefer to get my Bachelors in business as I find that most interesting to owning a private practice in counseling. Plus, I already own my own business as a dating coach and wouldn't necessarily need to find a job after the program.

 

You'll want to be sure to check with those graduate programs about any possible prerequisites... such as basic psychology courses, human development, statistics, etc. You could probably work some of those into a business degree even if it is as electives (which can be done by testing for credit as well as through taking regular coursework).

Since MFT training is done through graduate education, it is unlikely that any program will accept any undergraduate coursework for advanced standing or anything like that (although, many social work programs do this).

I have a masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling... and even though I had 21 credits of CLEP, DSST, and Excelsior testing in my undergraduate transcript, none of the schools that I applied to questioned them. All that they cared about was that I had a bachelors degree, a good GPA, and that I met all of their other requirements. As far as I know, testing out of courses shows that you are more capable of independent learning. A lot of graduate programs like to see that.

 

Just a warning: bain4weeks is extremely out of date. If you strictly go by what's on that website, you will make a lot of mistakes. While many of the degree programs on this wiki are way out of date (mine for TESC are regularly updated), the rest of the wiki is much more up to date than bain4weeks.

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