All three of Florida's accredited doctoral MFT programs are ranked below, not just the ones with results to show. Each carries a score out of 100 built from published results, from whether those results were published at all, and from the standing of its accreditation.
Every accredited doctoral MFT program in Florida, ranked
All 3 of Florida’s accredited doctoral MFT programs carry a score out of 100. Two have a full published record behind their outcomes component. One publishes nothing, so it forfeits the 60 points for results and cannot pass 40. That is a statement about disclosure, not about teaching.
- #1
Florida State University (PhD)
Tallahassee, FL
93.6
program score
Campus-basedDoctoral4 Years5 scored cohortsWhat Florida State University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time91.3%typical is 84.3%
- Working in the field100%typical is 100%
From 5 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Florida
Florida carries less of this work per head than most states, at a median of $56,400, so it is worth asking the program where its graduates end up. Ten per cent earn under $39,460 and ten per cent over $102,280, a spread driven more by whether you are salaried or in practice than by years served.
What to know about it
Florida State University runs this doctorate from Tallahassee, FL. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2021-2022 intake of 4: 100% finished on time, 100% found relevant work. Individual years swing hard, though, from 67% in 2019-2020 to 100% in 2017-2018, so the average is doing some hiding. No licensure rate is published, which is true of every program on this page, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone. At 4 years it runs shorter than the 6-year median on this list. Curriculum runs to 86 credits. Next accreditation review falls in 2027. Several cohorts are still running, 4 of them, the most recent entering in 2025-2026. Cohorts this small mean every percentage above is built from a handful of people.
Why it sits here Scored 93.6 of 100, with 57.1 of 60 from a record covering 5 completed cohorts and 44 students.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2025-2026 8 in process in process in process 2024-2025 4 in process in process in process 2023-2024 6 in process in process in process 2022-2023 3 in process in process in process 2021-2022 4 100% 100% – 2020-2021 7 100% 100% – Florida State University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 57.1/6095.1 across 5 completed cohorts
- Transparency 25/25publishes 5 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
- Standing 11.6/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2027-05
44 students admitted since 2015
- #2
Nova Southeastern University (PhD)
Fort Lauderdale, FL
90.4
program score
Campus-basedDoctoral8 yearsAccredited since July 1, 20003 scored cohortsWhat Nova Southeastern University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time77.3%typical is 84.3%
- Working in the field100%typical is 100%
From 3 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Florida
This is a quieter market than most: Florida sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $56,400. The range behind that runs from about $39,460 to $102,280, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.
What to know about it
Nova Southeastern University runs this doctorate from Fort Lauderdale, FL. Individual years swing hard, though, from 56% in 2016-2017 to 90% in 2015-2016, so the average is doing some hiding. Finishing is the hard part here rather than getting hired: 77.3% graduate on time, and 100% of those who do find relevant work. No licensure rate is published, which is true of every program on this page, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone. At 8 years it asks longer than most here, where the median is 6 years. Accreditation dates to 2000. Several cohorts are still running, 4 of them, the most recent entering in 2024-2025. Cohorts this small mean every percentage above is built from a handful of people.
Why it sits here Scored 90.4 of 100, with 52.3 of 60 from a record covering 3 completed cohorts and 67 students.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 4 in process in process in process 2023-2024 7 in process in process in process 2022-2023 5 in process in process in process 2021-2022 7 in process in process in process 2017-2018 15 73% 100% – 2016-2017 9 56% 100% – Nova Southeastern University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 52.3/6087.2 across 3 completed cohorts
- Transparency 25/25publishes 3 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
- Standing 13.1/15accredited without conditions, no renewal date on file
67 students admitted since 2015
- #3
Nova Southeastern University (DMFT)
Fort Lauderdale, FL
23.1
program score
Campus-basedDoctoralWhere it leads in Florida
This is a quieter market than most: Florida sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $56,400. The range behind that runs from about $39,460 to $102,280, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.
What to know about it
Nova Southeastern University runs this doctorate from Fort Lauderdale, FL. No licensure rate is published, which is true of every program on this page, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone. Florida carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, so ask this program where its graduates actually end up working. Worth asking early about the assistantships and tuition remission it advertises, rather than waiting for an offer. Nothing here is published, so ask the program for it: three years of graduation rates, what share of those graduates reached licensure, and where that data sits if not at the address the accreditor lists. COAMFTE requires accredited programs to publish graduate achievement data, which is what makes a missing table a fact about the program rather than a gap in this page. Three completed cohorts is a thin record, so ask what the years still in progress look like.
Why it sits here 23.1 of 100. The program forfeits the 60 points attached to published results by not publishing any, and keeps what transparency and standing earn it.
Nova Southeastern University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 0/60no completed-cohort outcomes published
- Transparency 10/25publishes a document with a table we could not read as cohort data
- Standing 13.1/15accredited without conditions, no renewal date on file
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How is this ranking of Florida MFT programs ordered?
This ranking of Florida MFT programs is ordered by score, and two of the state's three accredited doctoral programs publish results and are scored on them. The other one publish none, so their scores come from transparency and standing alone and stop at 40. Three components make up the 100: results carry 60, publishing them at all carries 25, and the accreditor's own verdict on the program carries 15.
The 60 points for results are not redistributed when a program publishes none. Sharing them out would score a silent program on standing alone, and since nearly every program is in good standing it would finish near the top, which would mean rewarding programs for telling you less.
A low score here is a statement about disclosure, not a measurement of teaching. A program that has published no graduation rate is given none, no estimate and nothing borrowed from a peer, and its card says so in those words. Publishing the data is a condition of accreditation, so what is being marked down is a requirement the program agreed to and has not met.
For the full scoring model, including what it refuses to measure, see the methodology.
Does a doctorate change what you earn in Florida?
A doctorate does not change what you earn in Florida in any way the published data can show, because the degree has no wage series of its own. The federal survey counts everyone licensed under SOC 21-1013 together, so the state's median of $56,400 describes master's-qualified and doctorally-qualified therapists in one number.
Think of it as qualifying for a different job rather than being paid more for this one. That is a real reason to do it and a poor reason to expect a return on the fees.
The state's own figures, the median, the percentile range and the employment count, are set out alongside the master's programs in Florida, and the salary page compares every state and setting.
How do you get licensed as an MFT in Florida?
Getting licensed as an MFT in Florida runs degree, then supervised hours, then examination, and the three programs above are where the first step happens without leaving the state. The hour counts, coursework rules and examination requirements that follow are the Florida board's to set and to change, and this page does not reprint them, because a stale figure copied from a directory is worse than no figure at all.
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 doctoral programs. Worth weighing alongside it: Florida carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, at 0.22 times the national rate, so ask the programs above where their graduates actually end up.
Two things are worth asking the Florida state board directly before you commit: how many supervised hours it requires, and whether it accepts hours accrued in another state. Programs answer both questions confidently and are not the authority on either.
Both halves of that are covered elsewhere: the route on the career page, the scoring on the methodology page.
MFT programs in Florida by city
One city in Florida 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 Florida does not have what you want?
If Florida does not have what you want, looking elsewhere is a choice rather than a necessity here, because the state is better supplied with accredited programs than most at this level.
The nearest alternatives with accredited doctoral MFT programs are Georgia (one), Louisiana (one), North Carolina (one). 34 states have no accredited programs at this level at all, which is the gap the accredited distance programs exist to fill.
The distance doctoral ranking lists the programs open to you wherever in Florida you live.
Widen it further and the national ranking covers all 18 programs with a publishable record.
Cities near Florida with their own page
These sit elsewhere in the south, 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 Florida
How many accredited doctoral MFT programs are in Florida?
Can you get licensed as an MFT in Florida with an online degree?
What does a doctoral MFT degree get you in Florida?
Should you study in Florida or move for a program?
Where do these figures come from?
The figures on this page come from primary records rather than from a compiled list. Accreditation is COAMFTE's, the outcome rates are each program's own, and the wages are the federal survey's.
- COAMFTE Directory of Accredited Programs Accredited programs in Florida, 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 Florida postholders.
- Ranking methodology The three factors, their weights, and the eligibility floor.
Show all 3 program pages cited
Florida State University (PhD) Nova Southeastern University (PhD) Nova Southeastern University (DMFT)