MA in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience Courage, Compassion, Counseling: Serve Those Who Serve
36
Credit Hours
Online,* 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Help Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families Heal by Earning a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience
Liberty University’s 100% online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is designed to train ministry professionals and church leaders to become biblical 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, which informs biblical counseling. The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides balanced training in spiritual and mental health which will equip ministry professionals in the field or students who want to move into a Christian counseling role.
The military resilience area of study for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides ministry professionals and pastors with specialized training and knowledge to assist service members, veterans, and their families. The military resilience specialization of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling gives students the tools they need to help these families heal and grow closer together.
*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.
Accreditation
Liberty Theological Seminary, as part of Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Your seminary degree is approved by ATS and has met rigorous accreditation standards, so you can feel confident that your degree is both academically excellent and well-respected among churches, ministries, and nonprofit organizations.
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience?
If you are already a ministry professional and desire additional training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing an online Christian counseling degree like the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will help fill in the gaps. This program is designed to 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 you are currently in a ministry that serves military families and service members, you already know that these groups have unique needs and deal with stresses that civilians often struggle to understand. If you are not already involved with the military, then you may struggle to find ways to connect and support these families. The pastoral counseling military resilience area of study provides you with tools to help military families and personnel so that you can give them the support and love they need.
What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience Area of Study?
The core content of the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides a broad set of foundational Christian counseling skills and knowledge along with field-specialized topic courses and hands-on skill areas. Students who pursue biblical counseling training in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling 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, and all pastoral counseling students will gain experience in their communities through the pastoral counseling internship.
The military resilience area of study for the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling expands on the psychological and biblical understanding of mental health and helps you apply these skills and knowledge to the unique struggles of military families. To master resilience training for military personnel and their families, you will need a solid understanding of psychological resilience and its part in healthy military family life. The military resilience track will focus on how these struggles impact marriages, leaders, and the difficulty of transitioning from military to civilian life.
*Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is not designed to fulfill all clinical requirements for state-licensed professional counseling and may not fulfill all requirements for military chaplaincy. You can view Liberty University’s licensure-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree for more information about counseling licensure.
Potential Career Opportunities
Students who complete a degree in Christian counseling like the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will be equipped for ministry-based, non-licensure counseling roles in many areas including marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, and counseling women. Graduates of the military resilience area of study will be equipped for military resilience training and military family support ministries.
Career options include:
- Chaplain
- Church counselor
- Family counselor
- Grief services specialist
- Social services caseworker
- Trauma counselor
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under the Liberty Theological Seminary.
- View the Graduate Divinity Course Guides (login required).
Degree Completion Plan
Not sure what to choose?
Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.
Tuition & Aid
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 (1-8.99 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 (1-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) | $275/Credit |
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for Our Online MA in Pastoral Counseling
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Admission to this program also requires:
- The School of Divinity Questionnaire (login required).
- Submission of contact information (login required) for 1 pastoral recommender.
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to [email protected].
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Ready to Apply?
Submit your application online or over the phone.
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 serve 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)
*Credits taken below 9 and above 15 credit hours per semester are charged at the part-time rate.
**Not applicable to certificates.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Liberty University’s online seminary, the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, unique?
- Liberty University’s online seminary, the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, has experienced Christian counselors and ministry professionals who teach practical ministry skills while imparting deep theological teaching.
- Learn from content developed by renowned biblical studies scholars in Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, such as Dr. Elmer L. Towns and Dr. Gary R. Habermas.
Inner Navigation
- Overview
- What Sets Us Apart?
- Why Choose Liberty?
- What Will You Study?
- Tuition & Aid
- Admission Information
- Military
- FAQs
Have questions?