MA in Pastoral Counseling | Military Resilience

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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 Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families Heal by Earning a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience

Liberty University’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience is designed to help you prepare for pastoral counseling roles in Christian ministries and agency-based, non-licensure settings. In this program, you can explore psychology alongside a Christian understanding of human nature and God’s creation – a combination that can deepen your approach to pastoral care. This degree offers balanced training in spiritual and mental health, helping you strengthen your ministry skill set or take steps toward a future in pastoral counseling.

By choosing the military resilience area of study, you can develop specialized knowledge for supporting service members, veterans, and their families. Your coursework can equip you with tools to address the unique emotional, relational, and spiritual challenges faced by military communities, empowering you to guide them toward healing and stronger family connections.

*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-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree for more information about counseling licensure.

Your officially conferred degree name will be Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience.

*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 – Military Resilience?

If you are already a ministry professional and desire additional training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help fill in the gaps. This program is designed to build on your ministry experience to support your pastoral counseling and care. If you want to branch out into a Christian counseling role, the field-specific training and pastoral counseling techniques in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling program will provide the necessary support for pastoral counseling in various settings.

If you are currently in a ministry that serves military families and service members, you are likely aware that these groups have unique needs and face stresses that civilians often struggle to comprehend. If you are not already involved with the military, then you may struggle to find ways to connect and support these families. The military resilience area of study can help you develop the tools to support military families and personnel, providing them with the love and care they need.

What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience Area of Study?

In the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you can build a strong foundation in pastoral counseling skills while exploring field-specific topics and practical methods for helping others. Throughout your coursework, you can examine how psychological principles reflect biblical truths about personhood and human nature – and how spiritual health can support mental health treatment.

You will also have opportunities to strengthen your practical skills. The program offers optional on-campus intensives where you can receive hands-on training, and every student completes a pastoral counseling internship to gain experience serving within their community.

In the military resilience area of study, you’ll take this foundation deeper by learning how to support the unique needs of service members, veterans, and their families. You can explore the role of psychological resilience in healthy military family life and examine the challenges that arise in marriages, leadership roles, and the transition from military to civilian life.

These studies are designed to help you understand the emotional, relational, and spiritual factors that shape military resilience – and equip you to apply that knowledge in meaningful, service-oriented ways.

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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.

View Military Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions About Our MA in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience

What makes Liberty University’s online seminary, the Liberty Theological Seminary, unique?

The Liberty Theological Seminary, part of 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 scholars from the Liberty Theological Seminary, such as Dr. Elmer L. Towns and Dr. Gary R. Habermas.

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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 – Military Resilience Courage, Compassion, Counseling: Serve Those Who Serve

Help Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families Heal by Earning a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience

Accreditation

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience?

What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience Area of Study?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

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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Frequently Asked Questions About Our MA in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience

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