National University Reviews of Master's in Marriage & Family Therapy

My experience at National University (formerly Northcentral) has been very positive. I know there are a lot of negative reviews and I was hesitant when I enrolled, but I want to add my experience to the conversation. I am in the MFT Master's program, have done very well (3.98 GPA), and have had only positive experiences with all of my professors and advisors. I've never had any difficulty with the financial aid or student advisors; everyone replies within a few days via email. I completed my undergraduate... Read More education at UNC Chapel Hill and the transition to National University was very smooth, with comparable education standards. While tuition is high, this program has allowed me to study full-time and work full-time to support myself. That is very VERY rare! I believe where some people might struggle with this school is the online format and lack of one-on-one support. If you're used to people guiding you through the enrollment, financial aid, and classwork, this probably isn't the school for you. You need to make sure you complete everything required on time and advocate for yourself if you need something. The coursework is rigorous (multiple chapter readings and an assignment each week), but if you are self-motivated and decent at time management, it's really not bad. I feel very prepared to start my career as a therapist, thanks to NU!

Do not transfer to this school, and I almost lost an entire year by doing that. I'm supposed to start clinical, and I can't meet with an advisor for five weeks which is ridiculous. The practicum is so confusing they don't help you in any way just confuse you more by giving different information depending on which Clinical Team member you talk to. I 100% regret coming to this school halfway through my education which I would have finished if I hadn't. They lied to me about the timeline and added three... Read More courses delaying my internship and do not assist at all with finding a place.

I have experience with other universities and never experienced a cluster like NCU. NCU is COAMFT and has strict policies to follow APA standards and a 1:1 student/teacher ratio. None of that matters. The recruiters are great deceivers by telling people it is possible to graduate in two years. Advisors have a revolving door and students like me get a new advisor every 6-9 weeks. The advisors are incompetent and make changes to students' schedules without informing them of the impact. For example,... Read More they do not see an issue with extending a student's graduation date. If you have a disability and require accommodations, NCU will provide an advisor from the disabilities group. The disabilities group is supposed to help you with financial aid and curriculum information. The curriculum team does not communicate changes to the disabilities group or inform them of updated documents until after a student receives feedback from the teacher (usually two weeks after courses have started). In one case, a teacher was not informed of the change in curriculum. The stress of getting accommodations was causing me additional work on top of being vigilant of course information. After each course, there is a survey. It seems pointless to complete the surveys because the weekly coursework is poorly written and does not follow APA format. My friends and I run the instructions through Grammarly for laughs. Dr. Watters is the curriculum director and many clinical students in her class complain about her and request to be assigned. There are other schools that will take your $40,000, provide quality education, adhere to higher institution standards, and work hard to provide a positive experience. NCU will not. The Department of Education needs to shut down schools like NCU. National University should have done its due diligence before merging with NCU.

Truly wanted to like this school. They claim to have a one-on-one teaching style. This is far from the truth. Each week you have a couple of articles to read, a maybe 20-minute video to watch (poorly done), and a chance of a slideshow to go over and that it. After submitting your paper or assignment you'll be lucky to get more than a few sentences of feedback. Some of which are just a confirmation that I "Did well". You will get no expansion on any topics, no in-depth conversations, and no actual... Read More learning from the professors. I am severely disappointed with this school. The administration process is incredibly involved but beyond that, you are on your own. After realizing this is the worst possible set-up for me I learned that you are financially responsible for that course after the first week. The first week of each course is an introduction to the professor and a broad introduction to the main concepts. How would this be enough time for me to withdraw from the course? After talking with this week's academic advisor I was told that "maybe online learning was not for me." Well maybe online teaching is not for you NCU. Don't sign up for this amount of stress go with another school.

I should of already graduated. The internship program NCU supplied me has been very slow. I do not get enough hours to finish the 500 hours. It is very frustrating that the internship is taking so long. As we only get credited for the hours of council, not the hours of writing up. To me, I feel like the company that I am doing the internship with is abusing the system as they have me for 'free' hours. I have over 300 hours in for over a year. I go three times a week for 8 hours each day, but out... Read More of the 15 appointments, there are more than half no shows and that equals to no credit. I have asked for more companies that I can finish but have received no response from any counselor or staff at NCU.

I am a current student and my tuition has not "magically increased". My mentor has been helpful and practical in thinking. I have not had any difficulty in getting in contact with my mentor. Financial aid has been extremely transparent and I feel like I am able to make informed decisions. The curriculum is difficult and has forced me to learn. This is my 2nd masters degree, and I am learning a lot more than my prior brick and mortar school. The format forces you to be engaged in the process and be... Read More accountable for reading the material. There are times I need clarification on a theory which prompted me to email my professor/instructor, in which I received a timely response. I am sure I will hit bumps in the road, but I am engaged in my education and will motivate myself to push forward.

DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL! The mentors are ok, but for my internship, it was HORRIBLE. It takes supervisors, assistants, etc. weeks, a few times a month to reply to emails or call you back. Or they never do. When I complained that it took so long to return my calls/emails, the response I received was "there a lot of students, they are busy, etc." The directions are unclear and unorganized. In the 3.5 years I was there I had seven different academic advisors. The dean is rude and condescending. I've... Read More been to four universities and this by far the worst! I could go on and on...just go someplace else!

My experience with NCU has been outstanding. I left the program for personal reasons just before engaging in my internship. The staff has been extraordinary in helping me return and find a clinical site. I found the course work far more rigorous than classes I have taken at prominent public universities. All of my instructors held doctorates and were currently working in the field of marriage and family therapy or psychology, depending on the course I was enrolled in. Their specific feedback to my... Read More assignments and insight into my weaknesses and strengths were excellent. They shared personal clinical experiences when I needed a greater understanding of a particular modality or technique. Also, the online library is extensive, and a number of self-directed programs are in place to help the student navigate the databases. When all else fails, the librarians are eager to help.

I am currently enrolled in NCU and will be completing my degree in February 2017. The past 18 months with NCU have represented the best learning experience of my life. The professors, the assignments, the chosen textbooks and resources all deserve a 5 star from me. I have been treated with the utmost respect and have had a team working with and for me to make my dream of being a therapist come true. As part of the MFT program I have to work at a local clinic and see clients for therapy. NCU has had... Read More constant contact with my local internship site and I have been impressed with the level of support and mentoring that I am being offered. I don't understand why there are such negative reviews, I am assuming that either the other programs at NCU are not well structured or that the people writing the bad reviews are the 1% who fail for personal short comings. NCU is a great university and I will be forever grateful for the role it has played in my professional life.

You are definitely teaching yourself. I expected Skype class sessions, but it's not the worst. If I need help with an assignment, all I have to do is email my professor, and they will set up a Skype session with me. They've even let me re-submit assignments for a chance at a higher grade. Dr. West, really took the time to explain concepts to me, and Dr. Ribadu is great as well. I'm only in my 4th class, but I have not felt like I'm in a "For profit school". I would like to believe that they have... Read More truly come a long way from their inception and are not accredited with the AAMFT. I can pay my tuition in installments and choose the amount for each payment. I found out that later on in the programme, I will have Skype class sessions that meet once per week, so that satisfies everything for me. My only wish is that they weren't purely an online based school. I would like to have had the option to physically go in to a campus if I wanted to/was able to. There's a student association for MFT students and they're a great support system. I haven't had any problems with my advisor. She's cleared up all of my issues with graduation dates and how the programme works. I would definitely give it a try if you're looking for an accredited online programme for MFT, because there aren't many to choose from.