Arizona has no COAMFTE-accredited marriage and family therapy program, so there is none in Phoenix or anywhere else in the state. A student in Phoenix who wants an accredited degree has two routes: an online or hybrid program with a clinical placement arranged locally, or a campus program in a neighboring state.
Where are the nearest accredited MFT programs to Phoenix?
The nearest accredited MFT programs to Phoenix are all outside Arizona, in Nevada, Utah, California and Colorado. New Mexico has none either. The table counts what each neighboring state holds and links to its full ranking.
| State | Programs | Where | Top score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada 1 master's | 1 | Las Vegas | 14.3 |
| Utah 3 master's, 1 doctoral | 4 | Logan, Orem, Provo | 95.6 |
| California 17 master's, 8 doctoral | 25 | Alhambra, Anaheim, Fullerton, Irvine, Loma Linda, Los Alamitos, Los Angeles, Northridge, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego | 91.2 |
| Colorado 3 master's, 1 post-degree | 4 | Denver, Fort Collins, Thornton | 95.6 |
| New Mexico | None | No accredited program |
Can you earn an accredited MFT degree online from Phoenix?
Yes. 29 of the 127 COAMFTE-accredited programs are delivered online or as a hybrid of online coursework and short residencies, and they can be studied from Phoenix. The clinical practicum is the part that cannot move online: it is supervised, face-to-face work with clients, and the program arranges it, or approves one you find, near where you live.
Before enrolling in a program based in another state, ask it directly whether it places students in Arizona and whether its graduates have been licensed here. A program that has done it before will know the answer.
Best online master's in marriage and family therapy programs. Online and hybrid doctoral MFT programs.
What do marriage and family therapists earn in the Phoenix area?
Marriage and family therapists in the Phoenix metro area earn a median of $61,850, which is 8% below the national median and 5% below the Arizona statewide figure.
The survey publishes pay for marriage and family therapists in the Phoenix metro and in Arizona, but no headcount for either: the employment estimate did not meet the survey's standards for release. So the pay figures stand, but there is no published count of how many people do this work locally.
How do you get licensed as a marriage and family therapist in Arizona?
You get licensed as a marriage and family therapist in Arizona through the Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, and a COAMFTE-accredited degree is the first of the routes its rules name. The degree must be a master's or higher in a behavioral health science program that is accredited by COAMFTE, was previously approved by the board, or covers set coursework in each core content area. So a degree earned in Nevada, Utah, California or Colorado, or online, can qualify.
Arizona has two tiers. There is no supervised work experience requirement for the associate license, so it comes first. The full license needs at least 3,200 hours of supervised work experience in no less than 24 months, including 1,600 hours of direct client contact, at least 1,000 of them with couples or families, and at least 100 hours of clinical supervision.
Common questions about MFT programs near Phoenix
Is there an accredited MFT program in Phoenix?
Which other large cities have no accredited MFT program?
Where do these figures come from?
The program list and every score come from the COAMFTE directory and each program's own published Graduate Achievement Data, scored as the methodology describes. Wage figures are the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for SOC 21-1013, marriage and family therapists.
- Arizona Administrative Code R4-6-601 (Cornell LII) : education requirement, read 2026-10-05
- Arizona Administrative Code R4-6-603 (Cornell LII) : supervised experience and associate license, read 2026-10-05
- BLS OEWS, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro : metro wage figures for SOC 21-1013, May 2025