The District of Columbia has no COAMFTE-accredited marriage and family therapy program, and the one accredited program in the Washington metropolitan area is the University of Maryland's master's in College Park. It is also the only accredited MFT program in Maryland. The metro pays marriage and family therapists one of the highest medians the wage survey publishes anywhere.
Which accredited MFT programs are in the Washington metro area?
One accredited MFT program is in the Washington metro area: University of Maryland, in College Park, in Prince George's County, Maryland. Its score is the same composite the Maryland ranking uses, built from the outcomes the program publishes, its transparency and its accreditation standing.
| Program | Level | Format | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maryland (MS) College Park, in Prince George's County, Maryland | Master's | Campus | 92.4 | Full record |
Where are the nearest accredited MFT programs to Washington?
The closest accredited MFT program to Washington, DC is the University of Maryland in College Park, the only one inside the metropolitan area. Virginia's one accredited program is a doctorate in Blacksburg, so for a master's degree the next options are in Pennsylvania.
| State | Programs | Where | Top score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland, outside the metro | None | No accredited program | |
| Virginia 0 master's, 1 doctoral | 1 | Blacksburg | 84.1 |
| Pennsylvania 3 master's | 3 | Philadelphia | 92.3 |
Can you earn an accredited MFT degree online from Washington?
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 Washington. 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 the District of Columbia 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 Washington area?
Marriage and family therapists in the Washington metro area earn a median of $95,460, 43% above the national median, which puts the metro 7th of the 131 metros with a published figure.
The survey publishes no separate figure for the District on its own, so the metro is the only local number there is. The metro is also small for its population: it counts 260 marriage and family therapists, a 0.19 location quotient, meaning the occupation makes up a far smaller share of local jobs than it does nationally.
The metro spans the District, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and each of them licenses marriage and family therapists through its own board. A license is issued by the jurisdiction you practice in, not the one you live in, so check the board for where your clients will be.
How do you get licensed as a marriage and family therapist in Washington, DC?
You get licensed as a marriage and family therapist in the District through DC Health, whose professional counseling licensing page carries the marriage and family therapy application checklist and the supervision policy. The requirements themselves sit in those documents and the District's municipal regulations rather than on the page, so read the checklist before you choose a program.
If you will practice across the line in Maryland or Virginia, that state's own board is the one that licenses you, and its rules are separate from the District's.
Common questions about MFT programs near Washington
Is there an accredited MFT program in Washington, DC?
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.
- DC Health, professional counseling licensing : the District's MFT application checklist and supervision policy, read 2026-10-05
- BLS OEWS, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro : metro wage and employment figures for SOC 21-1013, May 2025