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College of Health Sciences
Systemic Studies

Doctor of Philosophy
Online Degree Concentration in Systemic Studies

This theoretically oriented Ph.D. is uniquely designed for the clinician, counselor, coach, clergy, healer, educator, scholar, artist and professional who desires deeper study of the contexts that advance the practices necessary for change. The program鈥檚 faculty comprises a learned group of scholars, educators and seasoned practitioners. Coursework spans across academic disciplines and fields of practice and aims to study and contribute to the ways creativity helps awaken systemic processes of change. The program combines rigor with creativity and is subjected to universally accepted standards of academic rigor and measurement.

What is Systemic Studies?

The Doctoral Program, with a concentration in Systemic Studies, is inspired by the cybernetic ideas and pragmatic practices that underlie the origin of systemic family therapy, embracing these precepts to explore diverse contexts of stability and change. The program consists of 60 semester units (two years of full-time coursework) plus a dissertation. Courses go beyond disciplinary limitations and are informed by a wide range of academic interests and practices. Students will learn strategies of relevant qualitative research, especially those methods that highlight transformative processes.

Featuring a Theoretical (Non-Clinical) Program

Please note this is a scholarly program of study in applied system theory. Nonclinical in emphasis, this course of study does not prepare graduates to be eligible for the Marriage and Family Therapist license, and has no formal relationship with the professional credentialing boards or governing bodies such as COAMFTE, AAMFT, ACA, or APA.听 This nonclinical Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with a concentration in Systemic Studies is granted by The University of Louisiana at Monroe, a fully accredited public university that is part of the University of Louisiana System. The curriculum is entirely online and students can expect to complete their coursework in two years with an additional one to three years to complete their dissertation.

Our Learning Approach

While it is expected that students will be self-motivated and able to work independently, they receive advisory support throughout the program. Students will work together in a cohort, creating a learning community in which transformative skills and expressive performance are developed and possibilities for collaboration are encouraged. All courses are seminar-style where individuals are expected to participate in conversations relevant to course content and its application to lived experience. The program values the recursive interaction between theory and practice and the importance of fostering transformation inside and outside the classroom.

Apply Now

Our admission deadline is February 1st.

For more information about applying to this program, contact us.


Dr. Samuel Shannon

Associate Professor
Marriage and Family Therapy
School of Allied Health

Strauss Hall 369
(318) 342-5006