Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy (PhD-MFT)

Students in this course will be prepared for success in the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) doctoral program at the University. Students are introduced to relevant academic communities, professional standards, and doctoral level expectations. Essential skills, including critical thinking, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, as well as ethical and effective written communications are emphasized. Students will begin to explore potential research topics for use in their doctoral studies and complete the course with a roadmap to navigate their way to degree completion. Students will also develop a personal philosophy of diversity and cultural competence, as well as continue to explore a personal fit of MFT theories.

This course provides an advanced overview of the theoretical literature related to the practice of marriage and family therapy. The course offers an opportunity to critically examine systems theories from cybernetics to natural systems. Students will also have an opportunity to reflect on common factors influencing MFT clinical practice and integration of various systems-based models.

This course examines the theoretical and empirical contributions to the understanding of diverse couple and family systems. The specific focus of the course is on the processes and dynamics of interaction within these relationships, highlighting that from a life course perspective, these dynamics change over time. The course will include content on the history of family life and diverse family types, exploring various family structures and roles. Legal processes related to families will also be reviewed. Conceptualizations of effective functioning in couple and families will be studied and various factors that impact couple and family systems will be addressed.

This course provides students the opportunity to prepare a collection of documents or artifacts that represent their progress through the program, as well as the achievement of specific academic and professional goals.

This course focuses on the scholarly review of literature and academic writing in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. The course emphasizes preparation for an applied dissertation focused on issues at the local, community, or societal level. In this course, students will a) conduct effective literature searches; b) critically read and synthesize current research; c) write comprehensive, critical, and synthesized reviews of research literature; d) critically review and write about theoretical frameworks; e) address issues of diversity and ethics pertaining to research topics; and f) exercise cultural awareness while apprising a possible research topic. The overarching goal of this course is for students to conduct an exhaustive search of the peer-reviewed research literature in their topic area and identify potential areas of inquiry for their dissertation in the framework of the field of Marriage and Family Therapy.

This course provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their competence in advanced MFT practice. Emphasis is placed on the clinical competence in working with diverse populations, advanced application of family and couple therapy models, ethical decision-making, and professional growth. Students must be clinically active during the course and participate in weekly clinical supervision.

This course provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their competence in advanced relational/systemic practice. Emphasis is placed on the clinical competence in working with diverse populations, advanced application of family and couple therapy models, ethical decision-making, and professional growth. Students must be clinically active during the course and participate in scheduled supervisory sessions with their University supervisor.

This practicum course provides students opportunities to enhance their ability to help MFT students begin their growth toward clinical competence and professional identity as an MFT. Students will be invited to participate in the supervision of the University’s MFT master’s students while receiving guidance from the University instructor on the development of their supervisory skills. The course will provide an opportunity to engage in discussions and practice of supervisory tasks enhancing students’ ability to further develop their identities as MFTs and future MFT supervisors.

This course introduces the fundamentals of systemic supervision with an emphasis on the importance of contextual variables such as culture, SES, and ethnicity. There is also an exploration of the impact of gender on the supervisory relationship. The design of the course meets the criteria for the 30-hour supervision fundamentals course for the AAMFT Approved Supervisor track. The intention is for the course also to be useful for any professional who is actively engaged in clinical supervision. Learning methods include short writing exercises and 15 hours of participant involvement in videoconferences with colleagues and course faculty. During the videoconferences there will be critiques of vignettes, role playing exercises, and discussion of short papers. Participants wishing to pursue the AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation should verify their eligibility with AAMFT.

This graduate-level introductory research methods course builds on the Scholarly Literature Review course. In addition, it provides a foundation for subsequent research courses in preparation for successfully completing a dissertation at the University. Students will practice some of the skills learned in the Scholarly Literature Review course, such as how to critically analyze the work of others, but now with a focus on methods utilized. In addition, students will learn to critically discuss the primary research methodologies used in scholarly research, determine the steps to collect data, and begin to explore techniques used to analyze original data relating to marriage and family therapy. Students will also identify what criteria are needed for a quality research project and be able to recognize whether the various elements of a research study are aligned and cohesive. These topics and others will be examined with the goal of enhancing a student’s independent scholarly skills and preparing them for their own dissertation research and future scholarly endeavors.

In this course, you will learn how to use statistical analyses in research. You will explore key aspects of descriptive and inferential statistics and learn how to use statistical software to analyze data. You will gain skills as an independent scholar by enhancing your scientific and statistical literacy. Therefore, emphasis will be on comprehending statistical concepts, analyzing, interpreting, and critically evaluating data and statistical information, and communicating statistical information and knowledge.

In this course, students are trained to develop and evaluate research studies in behavioral sciences. Students will become familiar with sampling, research design, reliability, validity, and the creation and interpretation of measures in marriage and family therapy. Students will also identify and critique specific measures and evaluation tools and methods for potential use in their own research projects.

In this course students will add to and refine the collection of documents or artifacts that represent their progress through the program, as well as the achievement of specific academic and professional goals.

This course will provide you with the philosophical foundation of interpretive qualitative inquiry and addresses beginning skills essential to the critique and execution of qualitative research in marriage and family therapy. You will become familiar with the major research paradigms and the assumptions inherent to qualitative inquiry. You will learn to identify elements critical to the credibility of a qualitative study and apply this knowledge by evaluating selected published research. You will also develop basic skills in qualitative data analysis, and develop a research purpose statement and research question that can be addressed qualitatively while incorporating contextual knowledge and ethical guidelines promoted by the AAMFT Code of Ethics.

The APEC is the capstone clinical experience. During each APEC course, students propose activities they will engage in that are congruent with their programmatic clinical specialization. Students must also select at least two areas from the following to focus on during the APEC: advanced research, grant-writing, teaching, supervision, consultation, advanced clinical theory, clinical practice/innovation, program development, leadership, or policy. Students may also propose to pursue opportunities for presenting and professional writing. As part of the APEC contract, students identify the artifacts or deliverables they will submit at the end of each of the three APEC courses as evidence they have achieved their goals for the experience.

The APEC is the capstone clinical experience. In this course, students propose activities they will engage in that are congruent with their programmatic clinical specialization. Students must also select at least two areas from the following to focus on during the APEC: advanced research, grant-writing, teaching, supervision, consultation, advanced clinical theory, clinical practice/innovation, program development, leadership, or policy. Students may also propose to pursue opportunities for presenting and professional writing. As part of the APEC contract, students identify the artifacts or deliverables they will submit at the end of the courses as evidence they have achieved their goals for the experience.

The APEC is the capstone clinical experience. In this course, students propose activities they will engage in that are congruent with their programmatic clinical specialization. Students must also select at least two areas from the following to focus on during the APEC: advanced research, grant-writing, teaching, supervision, consultation, advanced clinical theory, clinical practice/innovation, program development, leadership, or policy. Students may also propose to pursue opportunities for presenting and professional writing. As part of the APEC contract, students identify the artifacts or deliverables they will submit at the end of the courses as evidence they have achieved their goals for the experience.

This course will provide students with an overview of the major types of qualitative inquiry and advance their skills toward the execution of qualitative research in marriage and family therapy. Students will practice multiple types of data collection and analysis. In addition, they will develop a paper that lays the foundation for their dissertation proposal. This process will require application of the assumptions inherent to the qualitative research paradigm: select an appropriate study type, and design a qualitative methodology appropriate to the research question developed in the framework of the qualitative design.

This course will introduce you to the uses and techniques of advanced quantitative design and analysis in marriage and family therapy and related fields. You will become competent consumers of quantitative research by learning how quantitative information is generated, summarized, evaluated, and represented. You will be prepared to design studies using methodology associated with multivariate analysis, regression, latent variable modeling, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The course provides a theoretical and practical basis for choosing and employing the wide range of current analysis techniques available to social science researchers.

In this course students will add to and refine the collection of documents or artifacts that represent their progress through the program, as well as the achievement of specific academic and professional goals.

Students in this course will be required to complete Chapter 1 of their dissertation proposal including a review of literature with substantiating evidence of the problem, the research purpose and questions, the intended methodological design and approach, and the significance of the study. A completed, committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Chapter 1 is required to pass this course successfully. Students who do not receive approval of Chapter 1 to minimum standards will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of Chapter 1.

Students in this course will be required to work on completing Chapters 1-3 of their dissertation proposal and receive committee approval for the Dissertation Proposal (DP) in order to pass the class. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review. Chapter 3 covers the research methodology method and design and to includes population, sample, measurement instruments, data collection and analysis, limitations, and ethical considerations. In this course, a completed, committee-approved Chapters 2 and 3 are required and, by the end of the course, a final approved dissertation proposal (against the minimum rubric standards). Students who do not receive approval of the dissertation proposal will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of these requirements.

Students in this course will be required to prepare, submit, and obtain approval of their IRB application, collect data, and submit a final study closure form to the IRB. Students still in data collection at the end of the 12-week course will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to complete data collection and file an IRB study closure form.

In this dissertation course students work on completing Chapters 4 and 5 and the final Dissertation Manuscript. Specifically, students will complete their data analysis, prepare their study results, and present their findings in an Oral Defense and a completed manuscript. A completed, Committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Dissertation Manuscript and successful Oral Defense are required to complete the course and graduate. Students who do not receive approval for either or both their Dissertation Manuscript or defense can take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of either or both items as needed.