M.A. in Pastoral Counseling – Discipleship and Ministry Provide Spiritual Guidance

36

Credit Hours

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100% online,* 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Liberty University’s 100% online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is designed to train ministry professionals and church leaders to become counselors in Christian ministries and agency-based, non-licensure settings. Students in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will study psychology and the Christian understanding of human nature and God’s creation that informs biblical counseling. Additionally, this pastoral counseling degree provides a balanced examination of spiritual and mental health, which equips ministry professionals already in the field or students who want to move into a Christian counseling role.

With the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling’s discipleship and church ministry specialization, you will expand on the Christian counseling and pastoral care training at the core of the program to create healthy, effective church and parachurch group ministries. If you want to bring people together to support each other as they grow and heal, the discipleship and church ministry track can equip you to use your biblical counseling training to guide these groups and raise up new leaders.

*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.


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What Sets Us Apart?

  • Private Nonprofit University
  • 600+ Online Degrees
  • No Standardized Testing for Admission
  • Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
  • Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

If you are already a ministry professional and find that you lack the training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, you should consider a degree in pastoral counseling. Liberty’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help fill in the gaps and build on your ministry experience to support your Christian counseling and pastoral care. If you want to branch out into a Christian counseling role, the field-specific training and biblical counseling techniques in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will provide much-needed support for biblical counseling in a variety of settings.

If your church or ministry wants to start small groups or provide Christian counseling services, the discipleship and church ministry area of study will provide you with additional specialized ministry training to ensure that your group members and leaders connect and grow as a part of the body of Christ. If you need help revitalizing a fading church or have the thrilling challenge of an exploding ministry to conquer, this track will give you the tools you need to succeed.

What Are the Benefits of Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling?

  • Unlike many online bible colleges or online seminaries, Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
  • Gain a balanced perspective of the theological principles that underlie psychology, which will help you develop more effective Christian counseling techniques from a firm biblical worldview.
  • If you choose to take advantage of the optional on-campus intensives, you will have additional hands-on training and meet directly with your peers and professors.
  • Gain marketable, real-world experience by helping people in your congregation and community through a pastoral counseling internship.
  • The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling falls within the School of Behavioral Sciences but receives the graduate tuition rate of just $395 per credit hour for part-time students, as well as the online seminary’s block rate. Students attending full time (9-15 credit hours) are eligible for a block rate of $2,750 per semester!*

*Credits taken below 9 and above 15 for the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling are charged at the part-time rate.


The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides foundational Christian counseling training along with field-specialized topic courses. Students who pursue biblical counseling training in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling degree can learn how the science of psychology reflects biblical principles of personhood and human nature, and how mental health treatment benefits from spiritual health.

Students in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will have the opportunity to pursue hands-on training on campus during 2 optional intensives. Additionally, all of Liberty’s pastoral counseling students will gain experience in their own communities through a pastoral counseling internship.

The discipleship and church ministry area of study will help you utilize the Christian counseling and pastoral care training you’ve received to develop small group ministry for families, age or interest groups, and small devotional groups. You can learn how small group ministries work and how best to start or support them, while also gaining important instruction in leading a healthy and growing church. With the Christian counseling skills and knowledge you gain in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you will be able to create opportunities for families and individuals to meet, connect, grow, and heal both spiritually and mentally.

Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is not designed to fulfill clinical counseling requirements. You can view Liberty University’s licensure-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree for more information about counseling licensure.

Degree Completion Plan (PDF)


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Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.

Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.

Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) $2,750
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) $395/Credit
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) $2,475
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) $275/Credit

These rates also apply to the MA in Pastoral Counseling, which falls under the School of Behavioral Sciences.

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Military

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.

Who May Qualify?

  • Active Duty
  • Reserve/National Guard
  • Veterans/Retirees
  • Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
  • Current Department of Defense Employees

Available Benefits:

  • Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for part-time graduate and postgraduate divinity courses
  • Discounted divinity block rate – $2,475 per semester*
  • Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)**
  • 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)

These benefits also apply to the MA in Pastoral Counseling, which falls under the School of Behavioral Sciences.

*Credits taken below 9 and above 15 credit hours per semester are charged at the part-time rate.

**Not applicable to certificates.