My Experience at Touro University Worldwide

If you’d prefer listening to the audio instead of reading, here’s the YouTube link for this blog post.

Program Format

My experience with Touro University Worldwide’s (TUW’s) program overall has been fantastic! One of the things I love about TUW is their format. All of the non-practicum courses are asynchronous and the synchronous courses further into the program are only once/week for 2 hours.

There’s no tests (with the exception of the capstone course as part of the MFT Licensure Track where you’ll complete practice exams for licensure). However, the program is writing-intensive and I can see how people who dislike and/or struggle with writing will probably not like this program very much.

There are multiple discussion posts you have to write every week (4 per class). Assuming you’re going in sequential order, the classes you take at the very beginning of the program have a minimum word count for the discussion posts. For the most part, though, as long as you answer the questions, use APA formatting, reference the readings assigned for the week, and meet the word count (if there is one) you’ll be fine. Every now and again some professors may still ask for work that’s a little more in depth, though so keep that in mind.

Aside from that, there are essays due every 4 weeks. The midterm essay (known as the case assignment) is shorter and is usually a minimum of 4 or 5 pages. Essays during finals (signature assignments) typically need to be at least 8 pages.

For the 1st couple of classes in sequential order, there’s also an additional component to the paper. This may change over time but for one course I had to do a Power Point presentation with a voice over and for the other class I had to do a mock therapy session.

Rough Estimate of the Time Commitment

On weeks where no case or signature assignment is due, I spend about 15 hours/week getting everything done and getting a tiny bit ahead for the next week (I try to do about 3 hours/school work Mon. - Fri. which is why I know that). You can spend more or less time depending on what your goals are, how quickly you work, etc.

For reference, I tend to read most, if not all of the materials assigned for each week and read/take notes at a rate of about 10 pages/hour. It’s likely you don’t need to put as much time and/or effort in but that is just personally what I’ve been doing and what’s worked for me.

Pros, Cons, and What You’re Really Paying For

It does seem pretty easy to get A’s in the program (at least in my experience) but at the same time I still feel like I’m getting a quality education - at least in terms of the information that I’m learning. Some students, however, have mentioned that they felt a lot of the information is outdated. I’ve seen material that goes back to the ‘90s and very early 2000’s so if you want a university with more recent/progressive material, this may not be the place for you.

This is very much a teach yourself environment. I don’t mind that at all but I recognize that generally for a lot of people, that’s one of the cons of online education. There’s a lot readings and sometimes there are links to YouTube videos and that is essentially what you’re paying for.

Unfortunately, there’s also not really much help with finding practicum sites and the whole practicum search is a little confusing/intimidating. TUW seems to have some of the most rigorous requirements for graduation, which makes it difficult to find sites that get us what we need in order to graduate.

TUW does host a Zoom meeting going over some practicum information once per term and provides us with a list of practicum sites but, in my experience, that is the extent of the support from them.

Why I’ve Continued to Stay Enrolled

I would say that one of my main reasons for staying enrolled regardless of the cons that I’ve listed is because flexibility is incredibly important to me. Also, I didn’t really care for lectures in undergrad and can’t imagine that that has changed. Additionally, the school doesn't seem to have an awful reputation like some of the other online programs I’ve come across.

Moreover, at the end of the day I’ll be able to get licensed as a MFT from an accredited program. The program, like a lot of things in life, will be what you make of it.

I’m not paid or compensated in any way by the university to promote the program (I pay tuition every term, like all students who are enrolled). The above information presented is opinion-based and draws from my personal experience. The information is not in any way a guarantee of any specific experiences or outcomes if you enroll in the program.