Studying remotely does not have to mean settling. 22 accredited master's programs are delivered online or in a blended format, 10 of them publish enough completed cohorts to judge, and several match or beat the campus average for getting students through on time. What changes when you study this way is not the teaching but the logistics, above all where your clinical hours will come from, and that is the question worth carrying into every conversation below.
22
accredited online MFT programs at master's level
67.8%
median on-time graduation, online and blended master's
86.5%
median on-time graduation, campus-based master's
Online and blended are listed together, and labeled apart. COAMFTE records the two modes separately and each card says which one a program is, because a blended program that requires a week on campus twice a year is a different proposition from one you can complete from anywhere. A dash in place of a figure means the program did not publish it, and "GAD table" links the disclosure each number came from.
The best online MFT programs at master's level
The best online MFT programs at master's level are ordered by the same score the national list uses, out of 100 and built from each program's own published outcomes. Online here means the program is delivered online or in a blended form and still requires clinical placement in person.
- #1
Southern Connecticut State University (MFT)
New Haven, CT
94.2
outcome score
Blended or hybridMaster's2 year8 scored cohortsWhat Southern Connecticut State University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time89%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field99.4%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure97%typical is 83.4%
From 8 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
The record here rests on cohorts of about 28 students. Performance has barely moved in 8 years, 89.4% across the earlier cohorts and 88.1% across the later ones. Clinical hours run through a training clinic the program runs itself, which is the difference between being placed and finding your own site. Disclosure runs deeper than most, 8 cohorts complete out of 10 published. With 8 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2025-2026 39 in process in process in process 2024-2025 20 in process in process in process 2023-2024 24 94% 100% 100% 2022-2023 22 86.7% 100% 100% 2021-2022 22 90.8% 95.4% 95.4% 2020-2021 21 81% 100% 100% Southern Connecticut State University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 89%over 8 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 99.4%over 8 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 97%over 8 cohorts
243 students admitted since 2015
- #2
Indiana Wesleyan University - Online (MA)
Indianapolis, IN
88.9
outcome score
OnlineMaster'sAccredited since 11/13/20203 scored cohortsWhat Indiana Wesleyan University - Online publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time78.3%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field100%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure93.1%typical is 83.4%
From 3 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Indiana Wesleyan University has held accreditation on this degree since 2020. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2023-2024 intake of 15: 84.6% finished on time, 100% found relevant work. Scale is the caveat: 84 students across the scored cohorts, against a median of 442.5 among online and blended master's MFT programs. Curriculum runs to 60 credits. On its own published figures that is 60 credits at $610 each, or roughly $36,600 in tuition before fees. Next accreditation review falls in 2028. Only 3 cohorts have finished, so ask the program how the years still running are tracking.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 19 in process in process in process 2023-2024 15 84.6% 100% in process 2022-2023 16 81.3% 100% 100% 2021-2022 17 70.6% 100% 80.9% 2020-2021 17 – 100% 100% 2016-2017 – in process in process in process Indiana Wesleyan University - Online program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 78.3%over 3 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 100%over 4 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 93.1%over 3 cohorts
84 students admitted since 2015
- #3
Kairos University (MA)
Sioux Falls, SD
82.7
outcome score
OnlineMaster's4 YearsAccredited since May 1, 20136 scored cohortsWhat Kairos University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time72.1%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field98.7%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure78.7%typical is 83.4%
From 6 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Kairos University has been accredited on this degree since 2013, and now admits about 31 students a cohort. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 21: 76.2% finished on time, 100% found relevant work. Intake has grown across the window, from about 8 a cohort to 31. A concentration in faith-based practice sits alongside the core degree. One cohort enters a year, so a missed deadline costs twelve months. Next accreditation review falls in 2032. With 6 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 13 in process in process in process 2023-2024 61 in process in process in process 2022-2023 19 in process in process in process 2021-2022 21 76.2% 100% in process 2020-2021 18 55.6% 100% in process 2019-2020 7 in process 100% in process Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 72.1%over 6 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 98.7%over 7 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 78.7%over 2 cohorts
168 students admitted since 2015
- #4
Capella University (MS)
Minneapolis, MN
82.5
outcome score
OnlineMaster's4 yearsAccredited since May 1, 20137 scored cohortsWhat Capella University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time73.2%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field97.9%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure76.4%typical is 83.4%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Accredited since 2013, delivered fully online over 4 years. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 372: 85% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 75% reached licensure. Intake has grown across the window, from about 258 a cohort to 459. Budget for travel regardless of format, because it requires on-campus residencies. Expect scheduled time on campus whatever the delivery mode suggests. Disclosure runs deeper than most, 7 cohorts complete out of 10 published. With 7 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 487 – – – 2023-2024 469 – – – 2022-2023 420 – – – 2021-2022 372 85% 100% 75% 2020-2021 386 74% 96% 75% 2019-2020 178 79% 91% 76% Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 73.2%over 7 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 97.9%over 7 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 76.4%over 7 cohorts
3340 students admitted since 2015
- #5
Friends University - Kansas City (MS)
Overland Park, KS
82.3
outcome score
Blended or hybridMaster's9 scored cohortsWhat Friends University - Kansas City publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time74.8%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field93%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure80.2%typical is 83.4%
From 9 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
The record here rests on cohorts of about 35 students. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2023-2024 intake of 38: 63.2% finished on time, 90.5% found relevant work, 56.7% reached licensure. Finishing is the hard part here rather than getting hired: 74.8% graduate on time, and 93% of those who do find relevant work. Individual years swing hard, though, from 63.2% in 2023-2024 to 86.4% in 2016-2017, so the average is doing some hiding. Graduates reaching a license has fallen over the window, 88% to 74%, which is worth a question. Direction of travel is the worry, falling from 80.1% in the earlier cohorts to 70.9% in the later ones. Intake has grown across the window, from about 24 a cohort to 35. Next accreditation review falls in 2032. Disclosure runs deeper than most, 9 cohorts complete out of 10 published. With 9 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 39 in process in process in process 2023-2024 38 63.2% 90.5% 56.7% 2022-2023 29 75.9% 100% 72.7% 2021-2022 32 71.9% 95.5% 83.3% 2020-2021 29 72.4% 90.5% 83.3% 2019-2020 27 77.8% 83.3% 86.4% Friends University - Kansas City program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 74.8%over 9 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 93%over 9 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 80.2%over 9 cohorts
289 students admitted since 2015
- #6
Antioch University Seattle (MA)
Seattle, WA
80.4
outcome score
Blended or hybridMaster's3.5 yearsAccredited since July 1, 20057 scored cohortsWhat Antioch University Seattle publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time63.4%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field98.8%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure86.6%typical is 83.4%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Accredited since 2005, delivered blended over 3.5 years. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 64: 49% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 80% reached licensure. Graduates reaching a license has fallen over the window, 91% to 80.3%, which is worth a question. Coursework named on its own page covers play therapy and sex therapy. Next accreditation review falls in 2030. With 7 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2025-2026 – in process in process in process 2024-2025 49 in process in process in process 2023-2024 67 in process in process in process 2022-2023 62 in process in process in process 2021-2022 64 49% 100% 80% 2020-2021 69 70% 100% 80% Antioch University Seattle program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 63.4%over 7 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 98.8%over 7 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 86.6%over 7 cohorts
596 students admitted since 2015
- #7
Alliant University (MA)
Irvine, CA
79.4
outcome score
OnlineMaster's2 yearsAccredited since 7/1/20017 scored cohortsWhat Alliant University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time61.3%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field94.6%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure93.3%typical is 83.4%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Alliant University teaches this one in Irvine, CA over 2 years. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2023-2024 intake of 134: 69% finished on time, 90% found relevant work, 94% reached licensure. At 2 years it runs shorter than the 3.3-year median on this list. Intake has grown across the window, from about 54 a cohort to 154. Coursework named on its own page covers sex therapy. First accredited in 2001, with the next review due in 2027. With 7 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2025-2026 137 in process in process in process 2024-2025 190 in process in process in process 2023-2024 134 69% 90% 94% 2022-2023 139 63% 93% 95% 2021-2022 111 48% 95% 93% 2020-2021 166 69% 96% 94% Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 61.3%over 7 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 94.6%over 7 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 93.3%over 7 cohorts
1038 students admitted since 2015
- #8
The Chicago School (MA)
Los Angeles, CA
75.2
outcome score
Blended or hybridMaster's3 yearsAccredited since 11/01/20227 scored cohortsWhat The Chicago School publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time52.3%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field97.8%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure87%typical is 83.4%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Accredited since 2022, delivered blended over 3 years. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 93: 57% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 95% reached licensure. Intake has grown across the window, from about 70 a cohort to 99. Four of the programs ranked here are in California, and this is one of them. Applicants are told the GRE is not required. Disclosure runs deeper than most, 7 cohorts complete out of 10 published. With 7 completed cohorts behind it, the pattern is worth more than any single year in the table.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 95 in process in process in process 2023-2024 109 in process in process in process 2022-2023 92 in process in process in process 2021-2022 93 57% 100% 95% 2020-2021 102 42% 98% 88% 2019-2020 77 56% 96% 87% Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 52.3%over 7 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 97.8%over 7 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 87%over 7 cohorts
858 students admitted since 2015
- #9 Accredited with stipulations
National University (MA)
San Diego, CA
63.9
outcome score
OnlineMaster's4.5 years5 scored cohortsWhat National University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time42.5%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field97.1%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure53.9%typical is 83.4%
From 5 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
National University runs this degree from San Diego, CA, fully online. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2019-2020 intake of 351: 57.3% finished on time, 96.3% found relevant work, 51.1% reached licensure. Graduates reaching a license has fallen over the window, 57.3% to 51.1%, which is worth a question. Few programs here run at its scale, 3964 students across the scored cohorts against a median of 442.5. Four of the programs ranked here are in California, and this is one of them. Expect scheduled time on campus whatever the delivery mode suggests. Coursework named on its own page covers solution-focused therapy, sex therapy and medical family therapy. Curriculum runs to 30 credits. Next accreditation review falls in 2029. Stipulations sit on its accreditation, giving it a fixed window to correct something. That changes nothing about license eligibility, and it is worth raising at interview.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 343 in process in process in process 2023-2024 418 in process in process in process 2022-2023 495 in process in process in process 2021-2022 596 in process in process in process 2020-2021 459 in process in process in process 2019-2020 351 57.3% 96.3% 51.1% National University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 42.5%over 5 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 97.1%over 5 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 53.9%over 5 cohorts
3964 students admitted since 2015
- #10 Accredited with stipulations
Loma Linda University (MS)
Loma Linda, CA
57.7
outcome score
OnlineMaster'sFT 2.5 years, PT 3.5 yearsAccredited since November 20213 scored cohortsWhat Loma Linda University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time54.7%typical is 67.8%
- Working in the field63.6%typical is 97.9%
- Reached licensure54.2%typical is 83.4%
From 3 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
What the record shows
Loma Linda University has been accredited on this degree since 2021, and now admits about 16 students a cohort. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2023-2024 intake of 15: 55% finished on time, 0% found relevant work, 0% reached licensure. Scale is the caveat: 58 students across the scored cohorts, against a median of 442.5 among online and blended master's MFT programs. Four of the programs ranked here are in California, and this is one of them. Worth asking early about the assistantships and tuition remission it advertises, rather than waiting for an offer. A concentration in play and expressive therapies sits alongside the core degree. Next accreditation review falls in 2029. Stipulations sit on its accreditation, giving it a fixed window to correct something. That changes nothing about license eligibility, and it is worth raising at interview.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 20 in process in process in process 2023-2024 15 55% 0% 0% 2022-2023 14 58% 100% 80% 2021-2022 9 50.4% 90% 86% Loma Linda University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Graduation rate (45%) 54.7%over 3 cohorts
- Job placement rate (35%) 63.6%over 3 cohorts
- Licensure rate (20%) 54.2%over 3 cohorts
58 students admitted since 2015
Can an online MFT program lead to licensure?
An online marriage and family therapy program leads to licensure exactly as a campus program does, provided it is accredited. COAMFTE applies the same standards to online, blended and campus-based programs, and no state board asks whether your coursework arrived through a lecture theater or a browser. The degree is the degree.
Where online study genuinely differs is everything after the coursework. Your supervised clinical hours are in-person work with real clients, your relational hours require couples and families physically in the room, and your post-degree supervised hours run under a supervisor your state board will accept. None of that changes because the classes were remote, and none of it is optional.
How do clinical hours work in an online MFT program?
Clinical hours in an online marriage and family therapy program are completed at a placement site near where you live, face to face, under supervision. The programs split into two camps on how you get one, and the difference is the single biggest practical risk in studying remotely.
Some programs maintain a network of affiliated sites and place you into one. Others give you a list, a handbook and a deadline, and expect you to secure your own site, which in a saturated metro area can take months and in a rural one can fail outright. A student who cannot find a placement cannot progress, and that is a substantial part of why on-time graduation runs lower for online programs than for campus ones. Ask the admissions office directly: do you place me, and what happened to students who could not find a site last year? A program that answers precisely is worth more than one with a better website.
How do online MFT programs compare with campus programs?
Online MFT programs match campus programs on the outcome that decides whether the degree worked: 97.9% of graduates find relevant work, against 98.5% across the whole ranked field. Where the two differ is timing. Online cohorts finish within the advertised length at a median of 67.8%, against 86.5% on campus.
That difference is about who enrolls, not about how well the teaching travels. Online programs draw more students working full time, more with families at home, and more arranging their own clinical placements around a job. Those are the circumstances that add a semester, and they would add one on campus too.
Treat it as a planning number rather than a warning. Ask a program how many of its students finish on the advertised schedule and what usually causes the ones who do not to extend, then build that answer into your own timetable. The spread among the programs above is wide, so read each program's own rate rather than the median: several of them beat the campus figure outright.
Should you choose a fully online or a blended MFT program?
Choose fully online if geography is the constraint you cannot solve, and blended if you can travel a few times a year and want the cohort that comes with it. Of the programs ranked above, 6 are fully online and 4 are blended or hybrid.
Blended programs typically require residencies or intensives on campus, often a week at a time. That is a genuine cost in travel, accommodation and leave from work. What it buys is face-to-face skills practice, which is how relational technique is actually taught, and a cohort you know well enough to lean on for three years. For a license built on being in the room with people, that is not a small thing. Weigh it honestly against the days you would have to take off.
Will an online program work in your state?
An online program works in your state only if two separate things are true: the university is authorized to enroll students there, and its curriculum satisfies that state's licensing board. Programs treat these as one question in their marketing and they are not one question.
Most institutions publish a state-by-state disclosure covering both. Find it before you apply, and check it against the state where you intend to practice, which for a remote student is often not the state where they currently live. MFT licensure does not transfer automatically between states, so a program that clears your current state and not your destination is a problem you want to discover now rather than in year three.
What do online marriage and family therapy graduates earn?
Online marriage and family therapy graduates earn what other therapists in the field earn, a median of $66,940 a year with the bottom tenth under $44,650 and the top tenth over $123,730, on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for May 2025. There is no separate federal wage series for graduates of online programs, and there is no evidence of a pay penalty for the mode of study.
What does move earnings is licensure status, years in practice, and whether you build a private caseload. The median licensure rate among the online and blended programs ranked here is 83.4% where programs publish one, and that is the number closest to a pay outcome on this page.
How were the best online MFT programs chosen?
The best online MFT programs here were chosen on the same three published outcomes as every other ranking on this site, weighted 45% graduation rate, 35% job placement rate and 20% licensure rate, restricted to programs COAMFTE records as online or blended. Delivery mode changes which programs appear, never how they are scored.
A program needs 3 completed cohorts and 12 students since 2015 to qualify. Online MFT is a recent enough phenomenon that this threshold removes several programs simply for being new, including branch campuses accredited in the last few years that have not yet run a cohort to completion. The methodology page has the full rules.
What this ranking of the best online MFT programs leaves out
This ranking of the best online MFT programs leaves out the thing that most decides whether online study works: whether a program will find you a placement. which is the thing that most determines whether online study works for you. No accreditor collects it and no program publishes it in comparable form, so it stays a question for admissions rather than a column in a table.
It also does not capture synchronous load. Two programs both listed as online can differ completely on whether you must be at a screen at 7pm three nights a week or can work asynchronously around shifts. For anyone studying alongside a job, that difference outweighs several points of score, and it is on the program's own page rather than here.
Common questions about online MFT programs
Can an online MFT program lead to licensure?
How do clinical hours work in an online MFT program?
Are online MFT programs easier to get into or finish?
Is a blended MFT program the same as an online one?
Can you do an online MFT program from any state?
Sources
These are the sources behind every figure on this page, each also linked inline where the number appears.
- COAMFTE Directory of Accredited Programs Delivery mode for every accredited program, the 13 online and 16 blended counts, and accreditation status. Read 2026-08-21
- Each program's Graduate Achievement Data table Every graduation, job placement and licensure figure quoted here, by cohort, linked from the program's card. Read 2026-08-21
- Each program's own page
For what a program says about its own curriculum, schedule, concentrations and
cost. 10 of the 10 programs here publish one at the address COAMFTE holds for them. Read 2026-08-21
Show all 10 program pages cited
Southern Connecticut State University (MFT) Indiana Wesleyan University - Online (MA) Kairos University (MA) Capella University (MS) Friends University - Kansas City (MS) Antioch University Seattle (MA) Alliant University (MA) The Chicago School (MA) National University (MA) Loma Linda University (MS)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Every wage figure, for Marriage and Family Therapists (SOC 21-1013). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national release