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Best MFT Programs in Minnesota (2027) | Compare Top Schools
Compare accreditation, tuition, outcomes, and licensure alignment across Minnesota's top MFT graduate programs.
Minnesota licenses marriage and family therapists through the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, requiring a graduate degree, supervised clinical hours, and a national exam. Only four institutions in the state offer dedicated MFT pathways, and the mix is distinctive: two public university doctoral programs, one private hybrid master's, and one private campus-based counseling psychology concentration with a family therapy track.
The split between COAMFTE-accredited and non-accredited options is the critical variable. COAMFTE accreditation streamlines license portability across state lines, while a non-accredited program may require additional documentation if you relocate. Understanding the full LMFT license requirements by state can help you gauge how much accreditation status will matter for your plans. With annual tuition ranging from roughly $12,500 to over $22,000 depending on institution and residency status, the financial calculus varies as much as the clinical training models.
Minnesota's marriage and family therapy degree landscape is compact, but it spans doctoral research training, hybrid master's programs, and fully online options. With only a handful of MFT-focused programs in the state, accreditation alignment and clinical hour requirements carry extra weight when comparing your choices. The programs below are ranked with an eye toward value, career outcomes, and how well each positions graduates for Minnesota LMFT licensure.
Winona, MN · $12,000/yr
Best for: Working adults needing evening hybrid classes
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota offers a COAMFTE-accredited Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy designed for working adults who need a direct path to LMFT licensure. The 48 credit curriculum is mapped to Minnesota Board requirements and includes 300 clinical contact hours plus 150 relational hours. A hybrid format with evening courses makes the program especially practical for students already employed in human services or commuting from Greater Minnesota.
Minneapolis, MN · $22,000/yr
Best for: Doctoral researchers seeking funded MFT scholarship
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities houses the state's only COAMFTE-accredited doctoral program in couple and family therapy, offered through the Department of Family Social Science. The research-intensive, cohort-based PhD prepares graduates for faculty, research, and clinical administration roles, with clinical training embedded in the university's Couple and Family Therapy Clinic. Most admitted students receive funding through fellowships or graduate assistantships, making it a competitive but affordable option for candidates who already hold a clinical master's degree.
Minneapolis, MN · $15,000 – $20,000/yr
Best for: Online learners needing a structured remote format
Capella University offers a COAMFTE-accredited online Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy with a GuidedPath format of weekly assignments and discussions. The 72 quarter credit program includes two in-person residencies, one practicum, and four internship courses, with AAMFT-approved supervisors overseeing clinical training. Tuition is $512 per credit with no application fee, no GRE or GMAT requirement, and up to 16 transfer credits accepted.
Saint Paul, MN · $21,000/yr
The University of St. Thomas offers a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a Family Psychology concentration, a 66 credit program pre-approved to meet Minnesota LMFT licensure requirements. Students complete practicum and internship hours across 90-plus Minnesota sites, including community mental health centers, schools, and hospital systems, building a strong local network for early career placement. The program is based on the Minneapolis campus and emphasizes social justice and service to diverse Twin Cities communities.
Minnetonka, MN · $15,000/yr
Adler Graduate School in Minnetonka offers a 60 credit Master of Arts in Counseling with a marriage, couple, and family counseling specialization. The CACREP-accredited program is designed for full-time students to finish in about two years and includes 700 hours of field experience, with 300 direct service hours and 150 relational hours. The curriculum takes a multicultural, trauma-informed, and social justice oriented approach to relational counseling.
Choosing between a COAMFTE-accredited program and one without that designation is one of the most consequential decisions you will make on the path to becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. The distinction affects everything from how smoothly you move through the licensure process to whether you can practice in another state down the road.
COAMFTE, the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, is the only programmatic accreditor dedicated exclusively to MFT training.1 Its standards are built around the marriage and family therapy knowledge base: systemic theory, relational assessment, clinical practice with couples and families, and supervised practicum hours that align with state licensing boards nationwide.
You may also encounter CACREP, which accredits broader counseling programs. CACREP covers disciplines like clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, and rehabilitation counseling. While a CACREP credential is valuable in those fields, it does not carry the same weight with MFT licensing boards. Understanding the difference between an LMFT vs LPC credential can help clarify why the accrediting body matters so much. In Minnesota, Saint Mary's University, the University of Minnesota, and Adler Graduate School all hold COAMFTE accreditation. Bethel University and the University of St. Thomas do not hold COAMFTE or CACREP accreditation for their MFT tracks, though both are regionally accredited institutions.
Minnesota does not mandate a COAMFTE-accredited degree to sit for the LMFT exam. The state board will accept graduates of programs that are COAMFTE-accredited or "substantially equivalent," meaning the coursework and clinical hours align closely with COAMFTE standards. If your program is not COAMFTE-accredited, expect a more granular transcript review. The board will audit your credit hours topic by topic to confirm you have met every requirement in areas such as human development, ethics, systemic therapy, and research methods. Graduates of COAMFTE programs typically bypass this audit because the accreditation itself serves as verification.
If you plan to build your entire career in Minnesota, the practical difference between a COAMFTE and a non-COAMFTE program may be modest, provided you confirm your coursework meets the board's standards before you enroll. However, if there is any chance you will move to another state, COAMFTE accreditation becomes significantly more important. You can browse COAMFTE accredited programs nationwide to compare your options and gauge portability.
Many states use COAMFTE accreditation as a baseline for licensure eligibility. Graduates of non-accredited programs often face additional coursework audits, supplemental documentation requirements, or even remedial courses before they can transfer their credentials. This can delay your ability to practice by months or longer.
Consider these questions as you weigh your options:
The bottom line is straightforward. COAMFTE accreditation offers the smoothest, most portable path to licensure. If you are confident you will stay in Minnesota and the program you prefer meets the board's coursework thresholds, a non-COAMFTE option can work. But if flexibility and mobility matter to you, prioritizing a COAMFTE-accredited program is the more strategic move.
Published tuition rates at Minnesota's MFT-granting institutions range from roughly $12,500 to over $22,000 per year, but sticker price only tells part of the story. After institutional aid, grants, and scholarships are factored in, the effective net price shifts considerably. Median graduate debt across these schools falls between $19,500 and $23,250, which translates to manageable monthly payments for most new LMFTs entering the workforce.
Minnesota's MFT landscape leans heavily toward in-person and hybrid delivery. None of the state's programs are fully online, so students should plan for a significant on-campus or face-to-face component regardless of which school they choose.
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Bethel University both offer hybrid MFT programs that blend online coursework with required in-person sessions. Saint Mary's COAMFTE-accredited M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy uses a blended learning format and requires 300 clinical client contact hours, including at least 150 hours of direct relational work with couples and families, completed under direct supervision in a counseling or mental health setting.1 Bethel's hybrid program requires a residency component and expects students to log 10 to 12 hours of direct therapy per week during practicum, with face-to-face clinical supervision.2
These formats let working adults attend evening or weekend classes and complete didactic work on their own schedule, but they do not eliminate the need to be physically present for clinical training.
The University of St. Thomas offers a 66-credit campus-based M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a Family Psychology Concentration, drawing on over 90 external practicum sites in the Twin Cities metro. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the University of Minnesota Duluth both offer doctoral programs in Couple and Family Therapy that are entirely campus-based and require applicants to hold a clinical master's degree.
Even in hybrid programs, clinical practicum hours must be completed in person at approved sites. Students living in or near Minneapolis and St. Paul will find the densest network of community mental health agencies, hospitals, and family therapy clinics willing to host practicum students. Those in greater Minnesota, particularly in rural areas, may face a longer search for a qualified supervisor and an approved site. If you live outside the metro, start identifying potential placements early and confirm that your program's clinical coordinator can support remote-site arrangements.
Because no Minnesota school currently offers a fully online MFT degree, some students explore COAMFTE-accredited programs based in other states that enroll Minnesota residents. You can browse a broader list of LMFT programs nationwide to compare options. This can be a viable path, but it carries a critical caveat: before you enroll, verify directly with the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy that the program's curriculum and clinical requirements satisfy the state's licensure standards. A degree that meets another state's rules does not automatically qualify you for LMFT licensure in Minnesota.
Hybrid programs offer real scheduling advantages, yet they can extend your time to degree. Full-time campus cohorts at schools like St. Thomas or the University of Minnesota typically move through their curricula on a more compressed timeline, but they demand daytime availability that may conflict with a full-time job. Weigh your financial situation, family obligations, and career timeline carefully. If finishing faster matters most, a full-time campus program is usually the shortest route. If you need to keep working while you earn your degree, a hybrid format at Saint Mary's or Bethel will let you do that, even if it adds a semester or two to your plan.
Minnesota offers strong earning potential and robust demand for licensed marriage and family therapists. The statewide median hourly wage sits at $35.28, which translates to roughly $73,380 annually, and the profession is projected to grow 15% between 2022 and 2032, well above average. The Minneapolis, St. Paul metro area commands the highest median hourly pay at $35.55, while outstate regions such as Central and Northeast Minnesota offer slightly lower wages but faster projected job growth, creating opportunities across the state for new graduates. According to BLS estimates, the statewide annual median wage is approximately $72,370, with top earners reaching above $82,870 at the 75th percentile. Data are drawn from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the U.S. Department of Labor.
| Region | Median Hourly Wage | Approx. Annual Median | Projected Job Growth (2022 to 2032) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota (Statewide) | $35.28 | $72,370 | 15% |
| Minneapolis, St. Paul Metro (Seven County) | $35.55 | $73,940 | 14.8% |
| Central Minnesota | $33.63 | $69,950 | 18.5% |
| Northeast Minnesota | $30.84 | $64,150 | 16.4% |
| Northwest Minnesota | N/A | N/A | 19.1% |
| Southwest Minnesota | N/A | N/A | 13.8% |
Our rankings are built on a weighted scorecard designed to surface programs that deliver real value for aspiring marriage and family therapists, not just name recognition. Every school on this list was evaluated across multiple dimensions, and each dimension carries a specific weight based on how much it matters to your career outcomes and financial well-being.
The core factors in our methodology include:
We drew from three primary sources: the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and information reported directly by each program. When program-specific data was not yet published for a given metric, we noted that gap rather than estimating or filling in approximations. For a deeper look at the formulas and weight distributions behind every score, see our full Rankings Methodology.
You will notice that our rankings do not simply mirror national prestige lists. A program can be well-known and still leave you with excessive debt or inadequate clinical hours for Minnesota licensure. If cost is your primary concern, our guide to cheapest MFT programs highlights options across the country that keep tuition low without sacrificing quality. We weighted factors that reflect your ability to graduate, pass licensure requirements, and begin earning a living as a therapist. That is a fundamentally different question than which school has the most recognizable brand, and it is the question that matters most when you are investing years of study and tens of thousands of dollars into your future career.
marriagefamilytherapist.org updates these rankings annually as new data becomes available, so the scores you see reflect the most current information we can verify.
Choosing the right MFT program involves sorting through accreditation details, timelines, costs, and delivery formats. Below are answers to the questions prospective students ask most often about pursuing a marriage and family therapy degree in Minnesota.
