MA in Pastoral Counseling | Dobson Marriage and Family Studies

Credit Hours

Online,* 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Next Start Dates: January 19, 2026 | February 16, 2026 | March 23, 2026

Help Families Grow Together with the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling Degree – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies

Liberty University’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies is designed to equip ministry professionals and church leaders with the skills they need to become pastoral counselors in Christian ministries and agency-based, non-licensure settings.

Students in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling degree will study psychology, the Christian understanding of human nature, and how God’s creation informs pastoral counseling. This degree program provides a balanced treatment of spiritual and mental health studies – which can help equip ministry professionals already in the field or students who want to move into a non-licensure pastoral counseling role.

The marriage and family specialization section of this degree in pastoral counseling is designed to broaden your understanding of challenges commonly posed to married couples and their families. Our pastoral counseling degree in marriage and family studies was created in conjunction with the late Dr. James C. Dobson, a world-renowned Christian psychologist, author, radio host, and family expert who provided faith-based counseling to families for decades. By choosing Liberty’s pastoral counseling program in marriage and family studies, you are choosing a degree that was created with your success in mind.

Your officially conferred degree name will be Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies.

Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling program is not designed to fulfill clinical counseling requirements. You can view Liberty University’s licensure-Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy degree for more information about counseling licensure.

*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.

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Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

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Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage and Family Studies Degree?

If you are already a ministry professional and would like to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing an online degree program, such as the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, can help you achieve this goal. This non-licensure program is designed to build on your ministry experience, supporting your role in pastoral counseling and care.

If you want to branch out into a pastoral counseling role, the field-specific training and pastoral counseling techniques in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help provide much-needed support for pastoral counseling in a variety of settings.

The marriage and family studies area of focus for the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling offers you marital counseling and family studies training to help you start a new ministry or expand your current ministry scope. Liberty’s James C. Dobson Center for Child Development, Marriage, and Family Studies can help ensure that your ministry training is recognized and field-tested.

What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies?

The core content of the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Counseling degree provides a broad set of foundational pastoral counseling skills and knowledge along with field-specialized topic courses and hands-on skill areas. If you choose to earn a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you can learn how the science of psychology reflects biblical principles of personhood and human nature. You will also study how mental health treatment benefits from spiritual health.

In the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you will gain experience in your own communities through the pastoral counseling internship.

The marriage and family studies track features lectures and material from world-renowned psychologist, author, radio host, and family expert, the late Dr. James C. Dobson. Courses in the marriage and family studies track will guide you through exploring issues and strategies for counseling children and adolescents, healthy and biblical models for families and marriages, and discipline strategies for raising healthy kids that can be shared with parents.

Our MA in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage and Family Studies is divided into 2 sections: core pastoral counseling courses and family-focused courses. The core pastoral counseling courses feature subjects such as foundational doctrines of pastoral counseling, multicultural issues, spiritual formation, and crisis intervention. This section of the degree program also covers marriage and family counseling techniques, theories of pastoral counseling, and a pastoral counseling internship that allows you to gain valuable, real-world experience in an approved setting near you.

The marriage and family studies specialization offers an overview of issues and strategies for counseling and disciplining children, effective disciplinary strategies for families, and foundations of marriage and family systems. In this section of our pastoral counseling degree online, you will also study the biblical factors that inform healthy sexuality.

Potential Career Opportunities

Students who complete a degree in pastoral 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 marriage and family studies track can pursue specialized marital counseling and family pastoral counseling ministry.

Associate pastor
Church counselor
Outpatient care counselor

Additional requirements may be necessary for licensure or practice in these roles. Liberty University does not guarantee employment.

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Tuition & Aid

At Liberty University, a private Christian education is less expensive than you think. Over the last 10 years, Liberty University’s Online Program has only raised its standard tuition costs by less than 5% – and most of our online tuition rates rank in the top 35% for affordability for 2025 when compared to our leading online competitors.

Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours)	$2,850
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (1-8.99 or over 15 credit hours)	$410/Credit
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours)	$2,575
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (1-8.99 or over 15 credit hours)	$290/Credit

These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

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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.

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

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 luoverify@liberty.edu.

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

Submit your application online or over the phone.

Start Online Application

Apply by phone: (800) 424-9595

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 – $290 per credit hour for part-time graduate and postgraduate divinity courses
Discounted divinity block rate – $2,575 per semester*
Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder **
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, postgraduate, or doctoral programs.

These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Our MA in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage and Family Studies

What distinguishes the training at Liberty University’s James C. Dobson Center for Child Development, Marriage, and Family Studies?

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).
Study a balanced perspective on the theological principles that underlie psychology and successful family pastoral counseling to receive effective pastoral counseling techniques with a firm biblical worldview.
Gain marketable real-world experience in pastoral counseling by helping people in your community with the pastoral counseling internship.
The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling falls within the Liberty Theological Seminary but receives the divinity graduate tuition rate of just $410 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 $2,850 per semester!*

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

These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

What makes Liberty University’s online seminary, the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, unique?

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*Some restrictions may occur for this promotion to apply. This promotion also excludes active faculty and staff, military, non-degree-seeking, DGIA, Continuing Education, WSB, and certificate students.

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MA in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage & Family Studies Nurture Stronger Bonds

Help Families Grow Together with the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling Degree – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies

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Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage and Family Studies Degree?

What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Marriage and Family Studies?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

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Admission Information for Our Online MA in Pastoral Counseling

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

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Military

Frequently Asked Questions About Our MA in Pastoral Counseling – Marriage and Family Studies

What distinguishes the training at Liberty University’s James C. Dobson Center for Child Development, Marriage, and Family Studies?

What are the benefits of Liberty’s online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling?

What makes Liberty University’s online seminary, the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, unique?

Are you ready to change your future?

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