Missouri has a single COAMFTE-accredited doctoral MFT program, at Saint Louis University (PhD) in Saint Louis. That makes this a different decision from the one in California: there is no shortlist to work through, only the question of whether this program fits and what you do if it does not.
Every accredited doctoral MFT program in Missouri, ranked
All 1 of Missouri’s accredited doctoral MFT programs carry a score out of 100. One has published one or two cohorts, too few to take at face value, so its result is pulled toward the field median first.
- #1
Saint Louis University (PhD)
Saint Louis, MO
76.4
program score
Campus-basedDoctoral1 scored cohortWhat Saint Louis University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time67%typical is 67%
- Working in the field67%typical is 67%
From 1 completed cohort the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Missouri
Missouri carries less of this work per head than most states, at a median of $60,440, so it is worth asking the program where its graduates end up. The surveyed headcount behind that is small, so read it as indicative rather than firm.
What to know about it
Saint Louis University runs this doctorate from Saint Louis, MO. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2016-2017 intake: 67% finished on time, 67% found relevant work. No other doctoral program in Missouri holds COAMFTE accreditation, which makes the choice less about comparing and more about whether this one fits. Coursework named on its own page covers medical family therapy. Next accreditation review falls in 2028. Several cohorts are still running, 3 of them, the most recent entering in 2024-2025. Three completed cohorts is a thin record, so ask what the years still in progress look like.
Why it sits here Scored 76.4 of 100. Its published 67 rests on 1 completed cohort, too few to take at face value, so it is pulled toward the 81.3 field median before being weighted.
Cohort by cohort
Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed 2024-2025 – in process in process in process 2023-2024 – in process in process in process 2022-2023 – in process in process in process 2016-2017 – 67% 67% – Saint Louis University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 46.6/6067 over 1 cohort, adjusted to 77.7 for the thin record
- Transparency 17.5/25publishes a table, but only 1 cohort has completed
- Standing 12.3/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2028-11
How is this ranking of Missouri MFT programs ordered?
This ranking is ordered by score, and Missouri is in the minority of states where every accredited doctoral program has published something, so no program here is scored on standing alone. Every program is marked out of 100 on the same three things: what its graduates achieved (60 points), whether it published that at the address the accreditor lists (25), and the standing of its accreditation (15).
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 sets out the weights and the thresholds in full.
Does a doctorate change what you earn in Missouri?
A doctorate does not change what you earn in Missouri so far as the published figures are concerned, because they cover the license and not the degree. Master's and doctoral holders sit inside the same number, so any claim about what a doctorate earns here is an inference rather than a measurement.
What the doctorate reliably changes is the range of work open to you rather than the rate for clinical hours: faculty posts, program directorships and approved-supervisor roles are gated behind it in a way ordinary practice is not.
The state's own figures, the median, the percentile range and the employment count, are set out alongside the master's programs in Missouri, and the salary page compares every state and setting.
How do you get licensed as an MFT in Missouri?
Getting licensed as an MFT in Missouri starts with a qualifying doctorate, and the state offers exactly one accredited doctoral program to get it from, which is why the out-of-state and distance options on this page matter more here than they would in California. What comes after it, the supervised hours, the examination and whatever else the Missouri board asks for, is set by the Missouri 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 doctoral programs. Worth weighing alongside it: Missouri carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, at 0.31 times the national rate, so ask the programs above where their graduates actually end up.
Two things are worth asking the Missouri 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.
The career page walks the same route in order, and the methodology sets out how the programs above were scored.
MFT programs in Missouri by city
One city in Missouri 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 Missouri does not have what you want?
Where else you can study matters more in Missouri than in most states: a one-program offering means most people weighing this decision are weighing somewhere else too, which is the shape of a small field rather than a failure of the state.
The nearest alternatives with accredited doctoral MFT programs are Illinois (one), Kansas (one), Michigan (one). 34 states have no accredited programs at this level at all, which is the gap the accredited distance programs exist to fill.
The online and hybrid doctoral ranking covers what you can study from Missouri without moving.
All 18 scored programs at this level are on the national ranking.
Cities near Missouri with their own page
These sit elsewhere in the midwest, 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 Missouri
How many accredited doctoral MFT programs are in Missouri?
Can you get licensed as an MFT in Missouri with an online degree?
What does a doctoral MFT degree get you in Missouri?
What if the one accredited doctoral program in Missouri is not right for you?
Where do these figures come from?
These figures come from three records, none of them ours: the accreditor's directory of accredited programs, each program's own published outcome table, and the federal wage survey.
- COAMFTE Directory of Accredited Programs Accredited programs in Missouri, 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 Missouri postholders.
- Ranking methodology The three factors, their weights, and the eligibility floor.