Best Marriage programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems.
21 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 896 people a year. The job pays a median of $49,990 in Alabama across about 190 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Alabama that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 44.0701In Alabama → | 878 | 98.0% | 17 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1505In Alabama → | 17 | 1.9% | 3 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | CIP 51.1506In Alabama → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
Top 21 schools in Alabama
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troy University Troy, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 211 | Social Work | $31,190 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 2 | The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 206 | Social Work | $31,462 | 73% | — | 77% |
| 3 | University of North Alabama Florence, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 130 | Social Work | $36,948 | 55% | — | 87% |
| 4 | Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Social Work | $34,485 | 55% | — | 78% |
| 5 | Alabama A & M University Normal, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Social Work | — | 24% | — | 58% |
| 6 | Auburn University Auburn, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Social Work | — | 82% | — | 46% |
| 7 | Alabama State University Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Social Work | $34,792 | 30% | — | 98% |
| 8 | University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Social Work | $35,750 | 64% | — | 88% |
| 9 | Samford University Birmingham, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Social Work | — | 77% | $28,160 | 82% |
| 10 | Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Social Work | — | 33% | — | 92% |
| 11 | University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Social Work | $32,262 | 54% | — | 54% |
| 12 | University of South Alabama Mobile, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Social Work | $33,771 | 53% | — | 71% |
| 13 | Miles College Fairfield, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Social Work | — | 16% | $16,735 | — |
| 14 | Oakwood University Huntsville, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Social Work | — | 45% | $23,870 | 45% |
| 15 | Amridge University Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 100% | — | — |
| 16 | Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Social Work | — | 55% | $33,313 | 49% |
| 17 | University of Mobile Mobile, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 57% | $19,817 | 78% |
| 18 | University of West Alabama Livingston, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 35% | — | 43% |
| 19 | Talladega College Talladega, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Social Work | — | 31% | $15,807 | 85% |
| 20 | Faulkner University Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling | — | 37% | $25,801 | 73% |
| 21 | Huntsville Bible College Huntsville, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Social Work | — | 0% | $11,562 | — |
All 21 schools in Alabama
Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy University | Troy | Public | 211 | 1 |
| The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa | Public | 206 | 1 |
| University of North Alabama | Florence | Public | 130 | 1 |
| Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville | Public | 70 | 1 |
| Alabama A & M University | Normal | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Auburn University | Auburn | Public | 41 | 1 |
| Alabama State University | Montgomery | Public | 30 | 1 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Samford University | Birmingham | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 1 |
| Auburn University at Montgomery | Montgomery | Public | 17 | 1 |
| University of Montevallo | Montevallo | Public | 16 | 1 |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Miles College | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Oakwood University | Huntsville | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Amridge University | Montgomery | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
What marriage and family therapists earn in Alabama
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,940. Alabama pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Alabama
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Marriage and Family Therapists page.
How to become a Marriage
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Alabama
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Marriage and Family Therapists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 44.0701Social Work
- 51.1505Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
- 51.1506Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
- 51.1510Infant/Toddler Mental Health Services(no graduates reported)
- 51.1511Medical Family Therapy/Therapist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing marriage and family therapists programs in Alabama.
What degree do you need to become a Marriage?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 878 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 98.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Marriage?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. Together they graduate about 896 people a year in Alabama.
How much do marriage and family therapists earn in Alabama?+
The median is $49,990 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 25.3% below the U.S. median of $66,940. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for marriage and family therapists growing?+
BLS projects a +12.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 7,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+
21 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do marriage and family therapists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Clinical Therapist, Outpatient Therapist, Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1013.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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