All three of Connecticut's accredited master's MFT programs are ranked below, not just the ones with results to show. All of them are scored on one scale, so the programs that publish nothing sit in the same order as the ones that do rather than in a list of their own.
Every accredited master's MFT program in Connecticut, ranked
All 3 of Connecticut’s accredited master's MFT programs carry a score out of 100. Three have a full published record behind their outcomes component.
- #1
Southern Connecticut State University (MFT)
New Haven, CT
94.7
program 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 84.8%
- Working in the field99.4%typical is 97.6%
- Reached licensure97%typical is 90.7%
From 8 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Connecticut
Once licensed, the median for the occupation in Connecticut is $86,250, in a market about as dense as most states'. The surveyed headcount behind that is small, so read it as indicative rather than firm.
What to know about it
The program runs this degree from New Haven, CT, blended. Individual years swing hard, though, from 81% in 2020-2021 to 94% in 2023-2024, so the average is doing some hiding. At 2 years it runs shorter than the 2.5-year median on this list. Clinical hours run through a training clinic the program runs itself, which is the difference between being placed and finding your own site. Several cohorts are still running, 2 of them, the most recent entering in 2025-2026. Six or more completed cohorts is enough history to trust the pattern rather than the latest year.
Why it sits here Scored 94.7 of 100, with 56.5 of 60 from a record covering 8 completed cohorts and 243 students.
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
- Outcomes 56.5/6094.2 across 8 completed cohorts
- Transparency 25/25publishes 8 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
- Standing 13.2/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2030-11
243 students admitted since 2015
- #2
Central Connecticut State University (MS)
New Britain, CT
92.3
program score
Campus-basedMaster's3 years7 scored cohortsWhat Central Connecticut State University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time84.8%typical is 84.8%
- Working in the field97.6%typical is 97.6%
- Reached licensure90.7%typical is 90.7%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Connecticut
Marriage and family therapists in Connecticut earn a median of $86,250, on a concentration of work close to the typical state's. The surveyed headcount behind that is small, so read it as indicative rather than firm.
What to know about it
The program runs this degree from New Britain, CT. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 15: 73.3% finished on time, 70% found relevant work, 81.8% reached licensure. Individual years swing hard, though, from 73.3% in 2021-2022 to 89.6% in 2016-2017, so the average is doing some hiding. Placement has softened, from 100% in the earlier cohorts to 88.8% in the later ones. At 3 years it asks longer than most here, where the median is 2.5 years. Teaching is scheduled in the evenings, which matters if you are keeping a job. Next accreditation review falls in 2030. Several cohorts are still running, 2 of them, the most recent entering in 2023-2024. Six or more completed cohorts is enough history to trust the pattern rather than the latest year.
Why it sits here Scored 92.3 of 100, with 54.3 of 60 from a record covering 7 completed cohorts and 268 students.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2023-2024 15 in process in process in process 2022-2023 9 in process in process in process 2021-2022 15 73.3% 70% 81.8% 2020-2021 21 76.2% 100% 93.8% 2019-2020 37 86.5% 96.4% 96.9% 2018-2019 45 82.2% 100% 94.6% Central Connecticut State University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 54.3/6090.5 across 7 completed cohorts
- Transparency 25/25publishes 7 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
- Standing 13/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2030-05
268 students admitted since 2015
- #3
Fairfield University (MA)
Fairfield, CT
87.4
program score
Campus-basedMaster's7 scored cohortsWhat Fairfield University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time76.2%typical is 84.8%
- Working in the field94.3%typical is 97.6%
- Reached licensure85%typical is 90.7%
From 7 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Connecticut
Marriage and family therapists in Connecticut earn a median of $86,250, on a concentration of work close to the typical state's. The surveyed headcount behind that is small, so read it as indicative rather than firm.
What to know about it
Fairfield University runs this degree from Fairfield, CT. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 14: 78.6% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 81.8% reached licensure. Graduates reaching a license has fallen over the window, 87.6% to 80.3%, which is worth a question. Intake has contracted, from about 24 a cohort early in the window to 16 now. Three of the programs ranked here are in Connecticut, and this is one of them. Tuition on its own page runs to $975 a credit before fees. Clinical hours run through a training clinic the program runs itself, which is the difference between being placed and finding your own site. Next accreditation review falls in 2027. Six or more completed cohorts is enough history to trust the pattern rather than the latest year.
Why it sits here Scored 87.4 of 100, with 50.6 of 60 from a record covering 7 completed cohorts and 194 students.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 10 – – – 2023-2024 10 – – – 2022-2023 27 – 87.5% – 2021-2022 14 78.6% 100% 81.8% 2020-2021 16 62.5% 88.9% 80% 2019-2020 22 86.4% 84.2% 79% Fairfield University program page The address COAMFTE lists for its outcome data
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 50.6/6084.3 across 7 completed cohorts
- Transparency 25/25publishes 7 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
- Standing 11.8/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2027-11
194 students admitted since 2015
How is this ranking of Connecticut MFT programs ordered?
This ranking is ordered by score, and Connecticut is in the minority of states where every accredited master's program has published something, so no program here is scored on standing alone. The score is out of 100: 60 points for published results, 25 for whether the disclosure COAMFTE requires is actually there and reachable, and 15 for accreditation status and how long the current term runs.
Read a score in the twenties as "this program has not shown its results", never as "this program's results are poor". Nothing is imputed on a program's behalf; the missing component simply goes unearned, and the card explains that where it appears. COAMFTE requires this data to be published, which is why the absence is scorable at all.
The methodology covers how each factor is weighted and why the field is not scored on anything else.
What do marriage and family therapists earn in Connecticut?
Marriage and family therapists in Connecticut earn a median of $86,250, against $66,940 nationally, on Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for May 2025. That is $19,310 above the national figure , and 5th highest of the 45 states that publish one. The range runs from about $47,500 at the tenth percentile to $168,750 at the ninetieth.
The state employs 260 of them, which is 0.36 times the national rate per head of population. That headcount is small enough that the wage figure rests on relatively few responses, so treat it as indicative rather than firm. Every state and every setting sits side by side on the salary page.
How do you get licensed as an MFT in Connecticut?
Getting licensed as an MFT in Connecticut runs degree, then supervised hours, then examination, and the three programs above are where the first step happens without leaving the state. What comes after it, the supervised hours, the examination and whatever else the Connecticut board asks for, is set by the Connecticut state board and is deliberately not reproduced here: those numbers change, they differ from every neighboring state, and one repeated a year out of date could cost someone a year.
A state board treats an accredited MFT degree as settled, which is the practical argument for insisting on one and the reason this page lists only accredited master's programs. Worth weighing alongside it: Connecticut carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, at 0.36 times the national rate, so ask the programs above where their graduates actually end up.
Ask the Connecticut state board two things in writing: what it counts as a qualifying degree, and how it treats supervised hours accrued out of state. Those answers shape the choice between accredited programs more than any brochure will.
The route is set out in order on the career page, and the methodology explains what the scores above are built from.
MFT programs in Connecticut by city
One city in Connecticut has a page of its own, covering the programs based there and what the license pays in that metropolitan area. Programs in the rest of the state are on this page and nowhere else.
Where else can you study if Connecticut does not have what you want?
Where else you can study is worth knowing even though Connecticut gives you enough to choose between, with three accredited programs in state.
The nearest alternatives with accredited master's MFT programs are New Hampshire (two), New York (four), Pennsylvania (three). 17 states have no accredited programs at this level at all, which is the gap the accredited distance programs exist to fill.
The distance master's ranking lists the programs open to you wherever in Connecticut you live.
All 59 scored programs at this level are on the national ranking.
Cities near Connecticut with their own page
These sit elsewhere in the northeast, and each has a page covering the programs based there and what the job pays in that metropolitan area rather than statewide.
Common questions about MFT programs in Connecticut
How many accredited master's MFT programs are in Connecticut?
Can you get licensed as an MFT in Connecticut with an online degree?
What do marriage and family therapists earn in Connecticut?
Should you study in Connecticut or move for a program?
Where do these figures come from?
These figures come from three independent sources, kept separate on purpose, because that is what makes any one of them checkable against the original.
- COAMFTE Directory of Accredited Programs Accredited programs in Connecticut, their level, city and status. Read 2026-08-21.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025 release, SOC 21-1013, all Connecticut postholders.
- Ranking methodology The three factors, their weights, and the eligibility floor.
Show all 3 program pages cited
Southern Connecticut State University (MFT) Central Connecticut State University (MS) Fairfield University (MA)