Best Marriage programs in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,162 people a year. The job pays a median of $46,700 in Tennessee across about 1,440 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Tennessee that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Tennessee that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Tennessee (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 Tennessee page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 44.0701In Tennessee → | 1,062 | 91.4% | 19 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1505In Tennessee → | 80 | 6.9% | 3 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | CIP 51.1506In Tennessee → | 20 | 1.7% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
Top 21 schools in Tennessee
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 418 | Social Work | $37,730 | 74% | — | 42% |
| 2 | University of Memphis Memphis, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 126 | Social Work | $36,220 | 51% | — | 72% |
| 3 | Union University Jackson, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 86 | Social Work | $38,056 | 66% | $25,882 | 60% |
| 4 | East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 77 | Social Work | $32,514 | 53% | — | 86% |
| 5 | Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Social Work | $35,574 | 54% | — | 69% |
| 6 | King University Bristol, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Social Work | $34,380 | 48% | $23,546 | 100% |
| 7 | The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Social Work | $27,923 | 50% | — | 81% |
| 8 | Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Social Work | $34,384 | 40% | — | 96% |
| 9 | The University of Tennessee - Martin Martin, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Social Work | $34,240 | 53% | — | 88% |
| 10 | Lipscomb University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 72% | $24,309 | 68% |
| 11 | Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 53% | $14,286 | 69% |
| 12 | Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Social Work | — | 49% | $24,187 | 65% |
| 13 | Tennessee State University Nashville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Social Work | $29,449 | 34% | — | 70% |
| 14 | Lee University Cleveland, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling | — | 63% | $18,918 | 71% |
| 15 | Pentecostal Theological Seminary Cleveland, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Belmont University Nashville, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Social Work | — | 71% | $29,246 | 95% |
| 17 | Freed - Hardeman University Henderson, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Social Work | — | 71% | $19,418 | 60% |
| 18 | Milligan University Milligan, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Social Work | — | 63% | $19,143 | 72% |
| 19 | Le Moyne - Owen College Memphis, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Social Work | — | 27% | $9,032 | 99% |
| 20 | Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Social Work | — | 50% | $18,981 | 63% |
| 21 | Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Social Work | — | 48% | $14,614 | 69% |
All 21 schools in Tennessee
Every school in Tennessee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 418 | 1 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis | Public | 126 | 1 |
| Union University | Jackson | Private not-for-profit | 86 | 1 |
| East Tennessee State University | Johnson City | Public | 77 | 1 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro | Public | 54 | 1 |
| King University | Bristol | Private not-for-profit | 53 | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Austin Peay State University | Clarksville | Public | 49 | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee - Martin | Martin | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Lipscomb University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 2 |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | Nashville | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 2 |
| Southern Adventist University | Collegedale | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 1 |
| Tennessee State University | Nashville | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Lee University | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Pentecostal Theological Seminary | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 1 |
What marriage and family therapists earn in Tennessee
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,940. Tennessee pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Tennessee
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 Tennessee
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 Tennessee.
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 1,062 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 91.4% 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 1,162 people a year in Tennessee.
How much do marriage and family therapists earn in Tennessee?+
The median is $46,700 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 30.2% 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 Tennessee?+
21 institutions in Tennessee 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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