MFT Programs
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Texas · Master's

Master's MFT Programs in Texas (2026)

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Texas has eight accredited master's MFT programs and this page puts all of them in order, including the ones that publish nothing. Every one is marked out of 100 on the same three things: what its graduates achieved, whether it disclosed that, and what the accreditor says about it.

Every accredited master's MFT program in Texas, ranked

All 8 of Texas’s accredited master's MFT programs carry a score out of 100. Two have a full published record behind their outcomes component. One has published one or two cohorts, too few to take at face value, so its result is pulled toward the field median first. Five publish nothing, so they forfeit the 60 points for results and cannot pass 40. That is a statement about disclosure, not about teaching.

Program score out of 100 for all 8 accredited master's MFT programs in Texas; the 5 in gray publish no results
Program Score Evidence behind it
Abilene Christian University (MMFT) 94.2 8 cohorts
Our Lady of the Lake University - San Antonio (MS) 89.2 8 cohorts
Our Lady of the Lake University - Houston (MS) 82.0 1 cohort, adjusted
Texas A&M University, Central Texas (MS) 23.0 no results published
Abilene Christian University Online (MMFT) 21.6 no results published
Texas Tech University (MS) 21.2 no results published
Texas Woman's University (MS) 20.0 no results published
Our Lady of The Lake University - Rio Grande Valley 18.8 no results published
Each program's own COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data table, read 2026-08-21.
  1. #1

    Abilene Christian University (MMFT)

    Abilene, TX

    94.2

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's2 yearsAccredited since August 1, 19838 scored cohorts
    What Abilene Christian University publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs
    • Finish on time89.7%
      typical is 88.1%
    • Working in the field100%
      typical is 100%
    • Reached licensure85.7%
      typical is 85.7%

    From 8 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    Abilene Christian University has been accredited on this degree since 1983, and now admits about 11 students a cohort. The direction of travel is good: earlier cohorts graduated 87.5% on time, later ones 91.5%. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2022-2023 intake of 9: 89% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 88% reached licensure. Graduates reaching a license has risen over the window, 81.3% to 92.3%. Intake has contracted, from about 17 a cohort early in the window to 11 now. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. Disclosure runs deeper than most, 8 cohorts complete out of 9 published. Six or more completed cohorts is enough history to trust the pattern rather than the latest year.

    Why it sits here Scored 94.2 of 100, with 55.5 of 60 from a record covering 8 completed cohorts and 119 students.

    Cohort by cohort

    Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed
    2023-2024 13 in process in process in process
    2022-2023 9 89% 100% 88%
    2021-2022 10 100% 100% 90%
    2020-2021 11 91% 100% 91%
    2019-2020 14 86% 100% 100%
    2018-2019 12 67% 100% 100%

    Abilene Christian University program page Its published outcome table

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 55.5/60
      92.5 across 8 completed cohorts
    • Transparency 25/25
      publishes 8 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
    • Standing 13.7/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2031-11

    119 students admitted since 2015

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  3. #2

    Our Lady of the Lake University - San Antonio (MS)

    San Antonio, TX

    89.2

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster'sAccredited since November 1, 20148 scored cohorts
    What Our Lady of the Lake University - San Antonio publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs
    • Finish on time88.1%
      typical is 88.1%
    • Working in the field88.1%
      typical is 100%
    • Reached licensure84.1%
      typical is 85.7%

    From 8 completed cohorts the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    Accredited since 2014, taught on campus. Taking the last cohort with complete figures, its 2022-2023 intake of 15: 100% finished on time, 100% found relevant work, 93% reached licensure. Graduates reaching a license has risen over the window, 76.8% to 97%. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. Texas carries eight accredited master's programs, so a shortlist here can afford to be selective in a way it cannot in most states. Clinical hours run through a training clinic the program runs itself, which is the difference between being placed and finding your own site. Teaching is scheduled in the evenings, which matters if you are keeping a job. Curriculum runs to 60 credits. Six or more completed cohorts is enough history to trust the pattern rather than the latest year.

    Why it sits here Scored 89.2 of 100, with 52.4 of 60 from a record covering 8 completed cohorts and 152 students.

    Cohort by cohort

    Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed
    2024-2025 14 in process in process in process
    2023-2024 12 in process in process in process
    2022-2023 15 100% 100% 93%
    2021-2022 19 100% 100% 94.9%
    2020-2021 12 75.3% 100% 100%
    2019-2020 12 100% 100% 100%

    Our Lady of the Lake University - San Antonio program page Its published outcome table

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 52.4/60
      87.3 across 8 completed cohorts
    • Transparency 25/25
      publishes 8 completed cohorts at the address COAMFTE lists
    • Standing 11.8/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2027-11

    152 students admitted since 2015

  4. #3

    Our Lady of the Lake University - Houston (MS)

    The Woodlands, TX

    82

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's3 years1 scored cohort
    What Our Lady of the Lake University - Houston publishes about its graduates, against the median for comparable programs
    • Finish on time61%
      typical is 88.1%
    • Working in the field100%
      typical is 100%
    • Reached licensure100%
      typical is 85.7%

    From 1 completed cohort the program published itself. The mark on each bar is the median for comparable programs.

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    Our Lady of the Lake University teaches this one in The Woodlands, TX over 3 years. Finishing is the hard part here rather than getting hired: 61% graduate on time, and 100% of those who do find relevant work. Texas carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, so ask this program where its graduates actually end up working. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. A part-time route exists, so the advertised length is not the only timetable. Coursework named on its own page covers cognitive behavioral therapy. Three completed cohorts is a thin record, so ask what the years still in progress look like.

    Why it sits here Scored 82 of 100. Its published 82.5 rests on 1 completed cohort, too few to take at face value, so it is pulled toward the 89.5 field median before being weighted.

    Cohort by cohort

    Cohort Admitted Graduated Placed Licensed
    2015-2016 21 61% 100% 100%

    Our Lady of the Lake University - Houston program page Its published outcome table

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 52.7/60
      82.5 over 1 cohort, adjusted to 87.8 for the thin record
    • Transparency 17.5/25
      publishes a table, but only 1 cohort has completed
    • Standing 11.8/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2027-11

    21 students admitted since 2015

  5. #4

    Texas A&M University, Central Texas (MS)

    Killeen, TX

    23

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    The program runs this degree from Killeen, TX. No licensure rate is published, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone, as it does for 5 of the 8 programs here. Studying here means being in Killeen, which is worth pricing before it is worth comparing. Next accreditation review falls in 2030. 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 Scored 23 of 100 on transparency and accreditation standing alone. The 60 points for published results are unearned because this program publishes none, which is a fact about its disclosure and not a measurement of its teaching.

    Texas A&M University, Central Texas program page Its published outcome table

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 0/60
      no completed-cohort outcomes published
    • Transparency 10/25
      publishes a document with a table we could not read as cohort data
    • Standing 13/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2030-05
  6. #5

    Abilene Christian University Online (MMFT)

    Dallas, TX

    21.6

    program score

    OnlineMaster's

    Where it leads in Texas

    Texas carries less of this work per head than most states, at a median of $46,300, so it is worth asking the program where its graduates end up. Ten per cent earn under $36,700 and ten per cent over $93,500, a spread driven more by whether you are salaried or in practice than by years served.

    What to know about it

    The program runs this degree from Dallas, TX, fully online. No licensure rate is published, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone, as it does for 5 of the 8 programs here. Curriculum runs to 60 credits. Texas employs 1,380 marriage and family therapists at a median of $46,300, which is the market a graduate of this program enters first. Concentrations run to substance use and addiction, play and expressive therapies and trauma. Coursework named on its own page covers medical family therapy. On its own published figures that is 60 credits at $799 each, or roughly $47,940 in tuition before fees. 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 A score of 21.6 out of 100 with the outcomes component empty. Read it as the ceiling for a program that has not disclosed, not as a verdict on how it teaches.

    Abilene Christian University Online program page The address COAMFTE lists for its outcome data

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 0/60
      no completed-cohort outcomes published
    • Transparency 10/25
      publishes a document with a table we could not read as cohort data
    • Standing 11.6/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2027-05
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  8. #6

    Texas Tech University (MS)

    Lubbock, TX

    21.2

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    Texas Tech University runs this degree from Lubbock, TX. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. 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 21.2 of 100, all of it from transparency and standing. Nothing is deducted for poor results here; the 60 points that results carry are simply not claimed, because none are published.

    Texas Tech University program page The address COAMFTE lists for its outcome data

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 0/60
      no completed-cohort outcomes published
    • Transparency 7.5/25
      publishes a document with no cohort table in it
    • Standing 13.7/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2031-11
  9. #7

    Texas Woman's University (MS)

    Denton, TX

    20

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's

    Where it leads in Texas

    This is a quieter market than most: Texas sits in the bottom quarter of states for jobs per head, paying a median of $46,300. The range behind that runs from about $36,700 to $93,500, and where you land in it is mostly a question of setting rather than of seniority.

    What to know about it

    Texas Woman's University runs this degree from Denton, TX. No licensure rate is published, so the score rests on graduation and placement alone, as it does for 5 of the 8 programs here. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. Worth asking early about the assistantships and tuition remission it advertises, rather than waiting for an offer. With no published outcomes to read, the questions to put to this accredited program directly are its graduation rate for the last three cohorts, how many of those graduates are licensed, and why the figures are not on its site. Publishing this data is a condition of the accreditation the program holds, so its absence is worth a question rather than a shrug. Three completed cohorts is a thin record, so ask what the years still in progress look like.

    Why it sits here Scored 20 of 100 on transparency and accreditation standing alone. The 60 points for published results are unearned because this program publishes none, which is a fact about its disclosure and not a measurement of its teaching.

    Texas Woman's University program page The address COAMFTE lists for its outcome data

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 0/60
      no completed-cohort outcomes published
    • Transparency 7.5/25
      publishes a document with no cohort table in it
    • Standing 12.5/15
      accredited without conditions, current term runs to 2029-05
  10. #8

    Our Lady of The Lake University - Rio Grande Valley

    La Feria, TX

    18.8

    program score

    Campus-basedMaster's

    Where it leads in Texas

    Texas carries less of this work per head than most states, at a median of $46,300, so it is worth asking the program where its graduates end up. Ten per cent earn under $36,700 and ten per cent over $93,500, a spread driven more by whether you are salaried or in practice than by years served.

    What to know about it

    Our Lady of The Lake University runs this degree from La Feria, TX. Eight of the programs ranked here are in Texas, and this is one of them. Clinical hours run through a training clinic the program runs itself, which is the difference between being placed and finding your own site. With no published outcomes to read, the questions to put to this accredited program directly are its graduation rate for the last three cohorts, how many of those graduates are licensed, and why the figures are not on its site. Three completed cohorts is a thin record, so ask what the years still in progress look like.

    Why it sits here 18.8 of 100. The program forfeits the 60 points attached to published results by not publishing any, and keeps what transparency and standing earn it.

    Our Lady of The Lake University - Rio Grande Valley program page The address COAMFTE lists for its outcome data

    Score breakdown

    • Outcomes 0/60
      no completed-cohort outcomes published
    • Transparency 7.5/25
      publishes a document with no cohort table in it
    • Standing 11.3/15
      accredited without conditions, current term ran to 2021-11 and is due for review

How is this ranking of Texas MFT programs ordered?

This ranking of Texas MFT programs is ordered by score, and three of the state's eight accredited master's programs publish results and are scored on them. The other five 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.

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 Texas?

Marriage and family therapists in Texas earn a median of $46,300, against $66,940 nationally, on Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for May 2025. That is $20,640 below the national figure , and 43th highest of the 45 states that publish one. The range runs from about $36,700 at the tenth percentile to $93,500 at the ninetieth.

The state employs 1,380 of them, which is 0.23 times the national rate per head of population. With that many posts in the state, the figures above carry the weight of a market rather than a sample. For how that compares with the rest of the country, see the salary page.

How do you get licensed as an MFT in Texas?

You get licensed as an MFT in Texas by starting with a qualifying master's degree, and with eight accredited programs in the state that is a step you can take without moving. The hour counts, coursework rules and examination requirements that follow are the Texas 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.

What accreditation buys is a shorter conversation with the state board, which is why all eight master's MFT programs listed here are accredited and no unaccredited one appears. Worth weighing alongside it: Texas carries fewer of these jobs per head than the country as a whole, at 0.23 times the national rate, so ask the programs above where their graduates actually end up.

Two things are worth asking the Texas 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 Texas by city

5 cities in Texas have a page of their own, each covering the programs based there and what the job pays in that metropolitan area rather than statewide. Programs in the rest of the state are on this page and nowhere else.

Where else can you study if Texas does not have what you want?

Where else you can study is worth knowing even though Texas gives you enough to choose between, with eight accredited programs in state.

The nearest alternatives with accredited master's MFT programs are Alabama (two), Florida (two), Georgia (four). 17 states have no accredited programs at this level at all, which is the gap the accredited distance programs exist to fill.

If moving is off the table, the online and hybrid master's ranking is the page to read next.

All 59 scored programs at this level are on the national ranking.

Cities near Texas 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 Texas

How many accredited master's MFT programs are in Texas?
Can you get licensed as an MFT in Texas with an online degree?
What do marriage and family therapists earn in Texas?
Should you study in Texas or move for a program?

Where do these figures come from?

These figures come from documents anyone can open and check, which is the point of listing them: the accreditor's directory, the programs' own disclosures, and the federal wage tables.

  • Each program's own page For what a program says about its own curriculum, schedule, concentrations and cost. 8 of the 8 programs here publish one at the address COAMFTE holds for them.
    Show all 8 program pages cited
    Read 2026-08-21
  • On this page
    1. Every program, ranked
    2. How the order works
    3. Pay in Texas
    4. Getting licensed
    5. Nearby and online
    6. Common questions
    7. Sources

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