Only one doctoral MFT program in Ohio holds COAMFTE accreditation, Ohio State University (PhD) in Columbus. A single-program state changes what a page like this can usefully do: instead of comparing, it sets out the record of the one option and the shape of the alternatives beyond the state line.
Every accredited doctoral MFT program in Ohio, ranked
All 1 of Ohio’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
Ohio State University (PhD)
Columbus, OH
82.8
program score
Campus-basedDoctoral2 scored cohortsWhat Ohio State University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs - Finish on time100%typical is 100%
- Working in the field100%typical is 100%
From 2 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.
Where it leads in Ohio
Ohio carries less of this work per head than most states, at a median of $70,240, so it is worth asking the program where its graduates end up. Ten per cent earn under $41,200 and ten per cent over $157,860, a spread driven more by whether you are salaried or in practice than by years served.
What to know about it
The record here rests on cohorts of about 2 students. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2019-2020 intake of 2: 100% finished on time, 100% found relevant work. No other doctoral program in Ohio 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. Much of the published table is still pending, 2 cohorts complete out of 8. Next accreditation review falls in 2028. Cohorts this small mean every percentage above is built from a handful of people.
Why it sits here Scored 82.8 of 100. Its published 100 rests on 2 completed cohorts, 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 2025-2026 2 in process in process in process 2024-2025 3 in process in process in process 2023-2024 1 in process in process in process 2022-2023 2 in process in process in process 2021-2022 2 in process in process in process 2020-2021 0 in process in process in process Ohio State University program page Its published outcome table
Score breakdown
- Outcomes 53.3/60100 over 2 cohorts, adjusted to 88.8 for the thin record
- Transparency 17.5/25publishes a table, but only 2 cohorts has completed
- Standing 12/15accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2028-05
14 students admitted since 2015
How is this ranking of Ohio MFT programs ordered?
The order of this ranking of Ohio MFT programs is built end to end from what the programs themselves publish, because all one of them report outcomes. 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).
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.
The methodology sets out the weights and the thresholds in full.
Does a doctorate change what you earn in Ohio?
What you earn in Ohio is reported for the license rather than for the degree, so a doctorate is not separated out anywhere. The occupation is surveyed as a whole, which is worth knowing before anyone quotes you a doctoral salary for the state.
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 Ohio, and the salary page compares every state and setting.
How do you get licensed as an MFT in Ohio?
Getting licensed as an MFT in Ohio 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. The hour counts, coursework rules and examination requirements that follow are the Ohio 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: Ohio carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, at 0.19 times the national rate, so ask the programs above where their graduates actually end up.
Two things are worth asking the Ohio 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.
For the route step by step, see the career page; for what the scores here measure, the methodology.
MFT programs in Ohio by city
One city in Ohio 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 Ohio does not have what you want?
If Ohio does not have what you want, you are in ordinary company, because a shortlist built only from this state would have one name on it.
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 Ohio without moving.
To see Ohio's programs against the other 18 scored nationally, the national ranking puts them in one order.
Cities near Ohio 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 Ohio
How many accredited doctoral MFT programs are in Ohio?
Can you get licensed as an MFT in Ohio with an online degree?
What does a doctoral MFT degree get you in Ohio?
What if the one accredited doctoral program in Ohio 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 Ohio, 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 Ohio postholders.
- Ranking methodology The three factors, their weights, and the eligibility floor.