The mission of the marriage and family therapy doctoral specialization is to prepare students to be excellent clinicians, supervisors, educators, and researchers working in a variety of academic and/or clinical settings.

The School of Family Studies and Human Services is a multidisciplinary program that provides graduate training for M.S. and Ph.D. students. The professional specializations are addressed to broad issues concerning individuals and families, and the courses are taught by a faculty of sociologists and psychologists, educators and economists, health specialists and gerontologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, speech language pathologists and audiologists.

Extensive research and professional practice opportunities are provided through seven centers operated by the program: Early Childhood Laboratory; The Family Center, Stone House Early Childhood Education Center and the C.Q. and Georgia Chandler Institute for Child and Family Studies; Speech and Hearing Center; Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. Opportunities are also available through the university-wide Galichia Center on Aging.

The school offers graduate work toward M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in a broad range of the human sciences and human services. The M.S. degree in family studies and human services includes specializations in communication sciences and disorders, early childhood education, family studies, life span human development, marriage and family therapy, personal financial planning, and youth development. The school offers the following specializations leading to the Ph.D. degree in human ecology: family studies, life span human development, and marriage and family therapy.

 Students pursue programs of study that include course work in human development, family studies, marital and family therapy, statistics, and research methods.