The Arkansas Board of Examiners in Counseling shall issue a license as a marriage and family therapist to each applicant who files an application after January 1, 1998, upon a form and in a manner as the board prescribes accompanied by a fee as set by the board if he or she meets the qualifications set forth in § 17-27-303(1)-(3) and if the applicant provides satisfactory evidence to the board that he or she:
(1) Meets educational experience qualifications as follows:
(A) Educational Requirements. A master's degree or a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited educational institution or a graduate degree in the allied fields referred to in § 17-27-303(4) from a regionally accredited educational institution and graduate level course work which is equivalent to a master's degree in marriage and family therapy as determined by the board; and
(B) Experience Requirements. The applicant has three thousand (3,000) client contact hours of supervised full-time experience in marriage and family therapy acceptable to the board. Two thousand (2,000) client contact hours may be gained for each sixty (60) graduate semester hours earned beyond the master's degree, provided that the hours are clearly related to the field of marriage and family therapy and are acceptable to the board. The applicant may not have less than one thousand (1,000) client contact hours of professional supervised experience; and
(2) Passes an examination or examinations administered by the board.