While there are several poor reviews the school has returned to it's former glory and stands out as an exceptional place to receive a master's in marriage and family therapy. The program is now under Campbellsville University and offers the Phillips Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. Many of the professors are Phillips alumn and have a long standing relationship with the school. Everything about my experience was exceptional. I enrolled in Fall 2023 and graduated in May 2025 and have no complaints at all! I would do it all over again if I could. If you're looking for an MFT degree, please reconsider this school. It's one of the only ones with an on-site counseling center where you receive real life observation of therapy and start earning your own clinical hours in the second term! read more

The worst! Maybe they we a great school 10 years ago but now they are scam. They mislead! They are not worth the money and more than 1 of their instructors is incredibly rude! read more

PGU - now called Phillips Educational Center of Campbellsville University -- is a DAMN SCAM. PLEASE DO NOT ENROLL HERE, THEY ARE THIEVES. They used to have a solid MFT program and they offered a PsyD program in Organizational Management and Consulting, in which I personally enrolled in September 2016. At that point in time the school was already in debt for 1.1 million and Presidents and major administrators were leaving one after the other, as the WASC (the Cali Accreditation body) gave them a "Show for Cause" letter, warning them for possible closure because of "finance and governance" issues. Nonetheless, they kept on enrolling students not warning or sharing any information with us, so we kept on paying, not knowing that the school was about to be closed. How did I find out? By coincidence. The then administrator named Dr. Elle Kaucher made the unfortunate move to record my conversation with her and play that conversation in front of their entire staff and faculty. This is a criminal offense. After I found out, I started digging, and found out about their pending closure. They lied to us. They took our money. And the students of the PsyD had the choice between leaving or graduating from a school that now no longer exists. The board of the School, presided by Dr. Tao NEVER responded to any of our letters or requests for clarity. They purposefully forfeited their fiduciary duty to let their constituents (the students) know about the fate of the school. I personally switched to Antioch University Santa Barbara, where I earned my MBA, and have no regret in doing so. Now, this school has been bought by Campbellsville in Kentucky and they re-opened under the name Phillips Education Center of Campbellsvile University. Please, if you are a parent, or a student yourself, DO NOT ENROLL HERE. THEY HAVE NO MORALS. THEY ARE THIEVES. If you are looking for MFT, I highly recommend you look at Antioch University Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, or any other MFT school in LA, but NOT THIS ONE! Please, be warned. read more

After graduating from CSUN, I attended when the school was still Cal Fam and experienced the transition to Phillips Graduate Institute along with the move to Encino. I was there for two years and graduated in 1994. The experience was okay, but not worth the price. There were some excellent staff there, but they all left or retired in the early 2000's. Ed Cox managed the school well. I don't know about those after him, though. Hindsight, may have been better to just get my Master's at CSUN or UCLA. It would have been cheaper and they are still around. However, it was a life experience and I take it for what it was worth. read more

Absolutely loved attending this school. The staff and students really do become family. I completed the MFT program in 2016 and was very pleased. The only downside I feel was the lack of preparation for working in community mental health. I feel like this program is more driven towards educating us more for a private practice setting. As far as staff, VERY supportive except for my countless negative interactions with Shelley Bloom who was one of my supervisors. She left a negative impact on me and fortunately I've had awesome supervisors since then to make up for it. Aside from that, very thankful for all the supportive teachers and students. Wish I could go back! read more

Just the facts: I am an alumni of PGI. I am proud of the degree I worked hard for. The course work was demanding. The school is expensive. I was prepared a career as a clinician. Employers who heard of PGI regarded it highly. The units transferred nicely into doctorate programs across the nation. The instructors are very knowledgeable (no former student can deny that) Over 10 yrs after graduating from PGI, I have conferred with former instructors on issues of career advancement and issues surrounding the profession who were gracious, informative and professional. read more

If ever you need somewhere to vent, stressed about life, just need someone to talk to yet don't have the ridiculous $150-$300 per hour therapy sessions then look no further. They have amazing staff at their mental health institute and based on your income and budget they provide you with a custom tailored and chosen specialist to help you walk through and get through whatever it is that's holding you down. It's so well worth it. Even if you go once a month, go. Stress kills bro. read more

Does anyone have updates regarding their accreditation? I was in the process of applying to a program and received a phone call from the institution stating they would not be having the program for the fall after all due to accreditation issues. Yet, when I go on the website, there is no mention of this. Instead I see that there is a calendar showing the beginning of fall classes. This is very confusing and unsettling. read more

I attended Phillips in 1995. I will share my experience. The school at that time was nick named the school of second chances. I experienced the classes as not challenging at all. Most of the instructors were graduates of Phillips. Occasionally they had teachers from other schools. Far from cutting edge. Even when I graduated the diploma sent to me was off center on the page. I would never recommend this school. I had to litigate against them. We came to a settlement. read more

Update: I have not heard anything new about their status. Their reputation has not been well received. My daughter is thriving at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA in their master's program for her MFT, Art Therapy. Happy we decided to switch and not deal with PGU. (Apologies to the gal who left me a message. It accidentally got deleted and I'm not sure how to retrieve it.) read more

I just completed my first year at PGU. I am a School Psychology Student. I have had such a wonderful experience so far. All of my professors are well respected and intellectual. I have a professor who is the super intendant of Simi Valley School District, another professor who is a program Specialist and representative of SELPA, and other professors with their doctorates. 4/6 School Psychology students that just graduated class of 2018 had a job offer and placement prior to their graduation ceremony, receiving their grades and diploma. There is a shortage of school psychologist which makes this a great field to go into and a very high pay. This school has already given me great mentors, letters of recommendations, guidance and extensive support. They will not let us fail. This is a hard major and it is not easy. But I love it. I have learned so much. The program is 3 years but it is honestly going by so fast and there is so much to learn! School psychology isn't a major that you can BS your way in. PGU offers the opportunity to get fieldwork experience prior to practicum. Other institutions do not offer that. Also, yes WASC is still a concern but it is not over academics or because of the professors. It is because of concerns over the governing and financial security due to the previous provost. There was been an improvement with this. We are moving forward. WASC does not want to take away our accreditation and we still are accredited. We are just in probation in order to structure the school in a better way read more

After reading the review about the poor quality of the faculty, the instructors that moonlight as therapists, and other statements about Phillips graduate university I felt the need to write my own review. I can only comment on my own personal experience, which for me, was very very good and exactly what I wanted from a experiential program training clinicians in the work of marriage and family therapy. I am currently a few weeks from graduating and beginning my internship at the David H. Fox Counseling Center and I feel extremely prepared to continue moving forward in my professional journey. As far as the instructors, in my experience (in the marriage and family therapy program) they were all extremely kind and knowledgeable in the field and gave me the tools I needed for working with clients, even the most difficult ones. They are totally there for you when you need it and really are your biggest advocates. I cannot stress how outstanding these instructors are. Of course, like at any institution, there will be instructors or classes you don't like.....it's graduate school....get over it...even the ones who you don't like will fight hard to make sure you get the support you need. The one thing I can say is that this may not be the right fit for everyone. It's experiential. If you are expecting to just sit in a lecture hall and be lectured at, this is not the right place. If you have a wall around you and you are not willing to work on yourself a bit in this process, this is not the right place. If you are willing to fully allow yourself to be open to Phillips process you will grow and transform and change and come out as a extremely competent clinician prepared for the most challenging clients and as a more successful you. read more

I'm a staff member (almost 10 years) and also a student in the doctoral program. Phillips provides a high-quality education in psychology in a small school setting so that you work closely with and get to know the cohort you come in with. It's terrific not to feel like a number--people here know your name and your personality. It's also a great place to work. Our new CEO is emotionally intelligent and at the same time business-savvy enough to get things done the right way. Leadership is transparent, egalitarian, and collaborative--all of the things I'm learning about in the Organizational Management and Consulting doctoral program, and all of which make it a great place to work as well as an outstanding place to go to school. read more

Upon making a career change in the second half of my life, I researched many graduate LMFT programs. In fact, I have some friends attending Pepperdine and a few other LMFT graduate programs in Southern CA. The hands on training starting week one is what cinched the deal for me. Theory and understanding the foundation are essential however without actually participating with clients and observing/applying principles in a supervised setting leaves a void in the process. I began in the Fall of 2014. There are a variety of students aged in their early 20's up to their 60's. The backgrounds of the individuals leads to amazing classroom discussions as we move through the course material. A full-time community counseling center is attached to the building. There are traineeships available through the school and they also bring additional outside trainee and internship programs to the students to offer us a choice based on schedule and needs of each person. They even have an art therapy program which seems fantastic - we've had a few art therapy student demonstrations in class. As a mother, and someone who works, I really appreciate the flexibility with this school. The Fall semester is a great time to begin because they offer a weekday or weekend schedule so if you have to miss one day, you can make it up another day. Again, the flexibility is great for a busy person. The teachers are very considerate of the students and seem to really care about our overall success in the program. I can't say I felt that in my undergraduate program. I won't lie. The program is hard. A lot of reading, researching, self processing, self reflection, and even self sacrifice are involved. However for me personally, it has been well worth it. I could not be happier with my decision to join this school. The faculty are practicing therapists and specialize in specific theories taught. We have guest speakers, videos and classroom exercises to enhance learning. Lots of training tools and resources with a well staffed library. I have come to discover the school has a wonderful reputation in the LMFT community. It is expensive. I wish there were more scholarship or discounted tuition programs available. I will say if you really want to make a career change or even begin a career in LMFT and want the best hands-on training to prepare you, this is the place to be. I can say this with absoluteness as someone who spent twenty years in corporate sales and also have an MBA. This is hands down one of the best learning institutions I have ever encountered. read more

Don't waist your time!!!! As of April 2017 PGU has received an official warning from the WASC accreditation body that if they do not improve their 1) governance and 2) financial situation, the school will lose its accreditation. This 'Show for Cause' is of 1 year duration and it implies the possibility of the school's closure, however PGU keeps enrolling students while being one million + in debt. The school has only 3 board members, while it should be 12, and one President leaves after another. I don't feel that 3 professors can teach a whole program adequately. They don't have the proper faculty but they do have nepotism and cliques and a lack of diversity and cultural understanding for Middle-Easterners, African American's or Hispanics. They have just been visited by the WASC visiting team about their accreditation and the written report should be out on May 12th. read more

FOR THE COUNSELING CENTER - Went here for a few months and saw amazing students who helped me through a rough time. I went in for my last appointment and the woman I was supposed to meet with called after I had already been waiting for 15 minutes and cancelled. She had a family emergency, it happens, no big deal. Unfortunately, I had already paid (even had my parking pass and everything) and walked out thinking my credit would be used towards my next appointment. She said she would call to reschedule but never did. She then graduated and is no longer there. I called in order to get my money back and they transferred me to accounting. A few days passed and I never heard from accounting so I walked in and the lady at the front was very sweet and told me she would have someone call me to take care of this problem. They called and told me they can not give me my money back because there is no record of my transaction- well of course not I paid cash!!! The woman I was supposed to see always gave me my receipt and since she was not there and she performed NO SERVICE obviously there was no receipt to give!!! I expected much more empathy from a counseling office. read more

Counseling center. Would not recommend. The counselors are hit and miss. And if you get a not so good one they can really not help you at all. Too traumatized to continue review. When I have to drive by that place I look away. read more

Overall I was not that impressed with Phillips. It's very disorganized, which makes it very difficult to plan your life while in school. Initial information sessions promise that you ccould maintain your full-time job while in school; then you hit your second semester, when they start scheduling classes at 3 in the afternoon on weekdays. One professor was so terrible that the entire class went to administration to complain; the professor was removed from the class only to be PROMOTED to the head of Academics! Another professor spent his entire course talking about his own journey as a therapist (rather than the material in the syllabus). Coursework is ridiculously easy, prepare to be bored often. While this made my GPA look wonderful, it also meant that I wasn't challenged and probably learned less than my counterparts at other schools. There is virtually no support in professional development, aside from a single job fair held on a single Thursday (again, not considering the full-time working students) or the handful of openings at their counseling center. Traineeships, which are required to graduate, are impossible to complete if you work. Prepare to work part-time or not at all for the two years you are here. PGI did offer a meaningless $500 essay prize scholarship, but it didn't begin to make a dent in the $60,000 plus in tuition it will cost you to graduate but they will do whatever it takes to keep you in school as they need your money. This is an easy school to get into and to pass through but don't expect to be competitive once you've graduated. PGI is poorly run, academically inadequate and overpriced. read more

This school has been a great experience. The professors have been extremely understanding and helpful with getting through the program. I've never been a big fan of school in general, but Phillips makes learning fun and interactive. My fav course has been case conference with Dan Grinderman. As a Saturday student I've actually enjoyed coming to class. And getting to know my cohort has been a great experience as well. Making new friends. If you already work in the field of any type of social service, this is the school for you. I can get traineeship hours at work! Win/win read more

I attended Phillips in 1997. I wanted a challenge. I attended and graduated from California State Northridge and was decided on a degree in mental health. My experience at Phillips was terrible. Most of the teachers were adjunct faculty and most stunk. The school at that time was nick named the school of second chances which translates no problem graduating. I was so disappointed. I graduated but I have never felt that I truly earned a masters degree. Despite my experience at Phillips I passed my state boards and practice in Sherman Oaks. Do not waste your money. The administrator and I went head to head until they advised me to watch my step. I had my attorney send them a demand letter with the intent to sue the school. Within eight days they wanted to settle the case which they did. I still have the paperwork and can prove this experience actually happened. read more

I am an alum from the Organizational Management & Consulting program. Although PGU was going through some internal changes, I always felt that my professors cared about my success and created meaningful relationships. I am extremely surprised at my educational & professional growth and walked away with a Doctoral paper that I am extremely proud of. No one can take that away from me and I am grateful for everyone who was involved in the process! read more

If I could give a -25 stars for this school, I would. DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THIS SCHOOL IN ANY SHAPE, WAY OR FORM!!! IT'S A TOTAL SCAM!!! I have enrolled in their PsyD program in 2016 -- at that point they were already 1M+ in debt and knew that they were about to lose their accreditation. Never mind, they kept on enrolling students. After one year of course work, we were confronted with a "Show for Cause" letter from the WASC (Accreditation body in CA) and were told that they were at risk for closure. The possibilities there after were twofold: leaving the school and losing 1 year worth in student loans and course work (most of the credits turned out NOT to be transferable) or continue risking to graduate from a soon-to-be-closed school. I chose to transfer to an MBA program and lost that time and money. My peers stayed and graduated from a now bankrupt and nonexistent school. Cool for an Alma Mater, ah? On top, the Dean at that moment, Dr. Ellie Kaucher, recorded my conversation (regarding this matter) secretly on her phone and divulged that conversation to all the faculty and staff. The employees and staff were so shocked that this then was also reported to WASC and she ended up being fired and dragged out of the building by the police. The school is now called Camplesville University. They are the same people, they same board that kept on enrolling innocent students who had no clue what was happening behind the scenes. I have no words for the enrollment counselors, the professors who knew and taught us their classes with a straight up face. I am so disgusted, I have no words. read more

I recently graduated from Philips Graduate University, in 2016, and it was one of the most rewarding, enriched and supportive academic environments that I've ever experienced, and I have and will continue to HIGHLY recommend Phillips to everyone I encounter who has an interest or desire to further their education. I was raised in public schools, with LAUSD my whole life. Following my high school graduation, I immediately entered the UC system, attending and graduating from UC Santa Cruz to obtain my bachelor's degree. Although I enjoyed my time at UCSC, it was not a good fit for me because the enormous class sizes made them extremely competitive to get in to, and if one did succeed in landing a spot in a class, they often became lost in a sea of faces, where we were no more than a number, without any personal connection or relationship with each student. I knew that for Grad School, I wanted the complete opposite experience, and that is exactly what I received at PGU. The faculty and staff at PGU go above and beyond to make every student feel like family. I felt the love, support and commitment from everyone at the school right from the start, and upon graduation, I knew that I had made life long friends and colleagues that will continue to support each other in our budding careers. PGU offers intimate class sizes, where the teachers get to know each student individually, and if they needed any extra help or attention, the instructors were able to make arrangements to accommodate and aid the students to ensure that they became successful. I loved my experience at Phillips, and I will voluntarily promote them to the point where I gladly offer to be the alumni speaker at every info session that I can attend, and I fought to be the graduation speaker to represent my fellow graduates of the Marriage and Family therapy and Pupil Personnel Services program. I can be a very demanding and needy student. I like to ask a million questions and I demand a lot of one-on-one attention, and the Phillips staff were more than willing to accommodate. My graduation day was a shared accomplishment for us all, and I am excited to further my career with the newfound knowledge and experience I've obtained at PGU. read more

Phillips Graduate Institute is a school dedicated to learning, personal growth and integrity. The program provides excellent clinical preparation which enables grads to work with a diverse set of people. Over 40 years of experience, the mission is sound. Phillips has experienced financial challenges in the past due to greediness of a previous administration team which is no longer associated with Phillips. Check out this institution for yourself! read more

I wrote to them, asking for information about enrollment, as a colleague currently attends there. I received an email on February 12, 2015 which stated in part, " With 2015 fast approaching, now is the perfect time for your new start at Phillips Graduate Institute!". Well, 2015 has been around for over a month, fellas. If this is how they "recruit", I'm looking elsewhere. It seems a pretty sloppy way in which to entice potential students to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a school that doesn't proofread their form letter. Claribel Perez, noted as Senior Admissions Advisor - perhaps you should read your form letters before tossing them out as an email. Bad impression. read more

My experience: Excellent curriculum delivered by top-notch faculty, excellent preparation for clinical work, supportive admin staff, great additional learning resources (the library & library staff come to mind here), and overall what can only be described as a personally and professionally transformative experience delivered by a small school that made a huge, positive impact on my ability to make a career change in mid-life (I was a working adult when I went through PGI's Master of Psychology program). Phillips also has an excellent reputation in the community which helped to open doors to professional positions using my new education. While all educational institutions - including Phillips - have some leadership and administrative challenges from time-to-time, these factors did NOT interfere with the quality of my education. Would highly recommend the school as would most of my peers going through the program when I did. read more

Horrible excuse for an education. Faculty is chosen carelessly, almost as if nepotism or personal friendships were a factor. I was in an accelerated Master's program, and the school didn't even have the newly established program READY for our classes and coursework. Thousands of dollars we all paid in tuition, to be listen to monotoned lectures of the most banal sort, by moonlighting therapists posing as teachers........ Instructors would come in tired and irritable, to teach an evening class, already exhausted from working at doing whatever they do during the daytime......... i guess the lure of that extra 89.00 for teaching that class at night was just too irresistible......... There is a lot of unkind and irrational gossip between several of the faculty regarding the students, very unprofessional, very immature. I was disappointed at the lack of quality in faculty and the disorganization of the staff. Donna Emanuel was especially poor in communicating and teaching there. read more

I graduated in 2007 with what I thought would be a rewarding career. It turned out to be anything but that. I'm now close to $100,000 in debt and being 60 years old my student loans will be with me for the rest of my life. Here's the outcome. But, first let's step back on the day of the job fair. You remember that. That's when there were around 20 agencies with pamphlets and business cards and they were all full of handshakes and smiles. This was way before graduation day and you were led to believe that all you needed to do was pick a clientele you wanted to work with and location and they would hire you. After all, this was the world famous Phillips Graduate University respected in the field of psychology. Couldn't be farther from the truth. Once I graduated I called several of these facilities and guess what! There were no internships or jobs available. Not only that, but if you were lucky enough to find a facility to hire you, you had to pay them for the supervision and/or you worked for free! Sounds good huh. If I would have done better research into what it actually took to get the 3000 hours I would have never chosen this profession. If fact, I ran into an old school chum at Wal-Mart and she had the same experience as me and said she knew several other classmates who are not working in the field. Another statistic for the field of psychology. I have to wonder is there a class action lawsuit here? read more