MA Pastoral Counseling | Dobson Family Advocacy

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

Learn to Help Families in Need with a Master’s in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy

Do you want to help families grow closer to God as they grow closer together? Liberty University’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future can help you develop practical tools to help children, educate families, and empower parents. The skills you can develop are essential foundations for advocating for the rights of children and families, as well as for assisting families who face emotional and spiritual challenges. Liberty’s online pastoral counseling program can help you develop the skills to be a Champion for Christ for families in your community.

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 Marriage and Family Therapy degree for more information about counseling licensure.

Your officially conferred degree name will be Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future.

*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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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

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Liberty

Why Choose Liberty’s Online MA in Pastoral Counseling – Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future?

Liberty University collaborated with world-renowned psychologist, author, radio show host, and family expert, the late Dr. James C. Dobson, to create Liberty University’s James C. Dobson Center for Child Development, Marriage, and Family Studies. Through this partnership, Liberty University offers a family advocacy, public policy, and future track for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling that is designed to give ministry professionals and pastors the tools to help parents and their children grow together.

We value your time at Liberty, and that is why we created a master’s degree in pastoral counseling that is offered primarily online. Study online while remaining active in your job, with your family, and in your community, without the worry of having to take courses on a college campus. Our flexible and affordable online format can also give you the training you need to further your career in less time than attending classes on a traditional college campus.

Your program includes an optional internship, providing an opportunity to supplement your online courses and gain relevant, hands-on experience. As an alternative to the internship, you could complete a capstone project. This could potentially be used to demonstrate mastery of subject material to future employers.

What Will You Study with Our MA in Pastoral Counseling

The core content of the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling allows you to develop a broad set of foundational pastoral counseling skills, along with completing field-specialized topic courses. Graduates of this program can be equipped to provide godly counsel and assist in conflict resolution. If you are passionate about making a positive impact for Christ in the lives of families, Liberty’s MA in Pastoral Counseling can help you get the training you need!

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help provide you with a biblical worldview of human behavior and application of helping skills for a non-licensure pastoral counseling role. Through our courses, you can master essential pastoral counseling skills and apply evidence-based practices in addictions and recovery, pastoral counseling, family therapy, pastoral leadership, and life coaching. With the specialized family advocacy content created in partnership with the James C. Dobson Center, you can be better equipped to apply these skills to help struggling families.

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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 Liberty’s MA Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy Degree

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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*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 – Dobson Family Advocacy Help Families Grow Closer to God

Learn to Help Families in Need with a Master’s in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy

Accreditation

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty’s Online MA in Pastoral Counseling – Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future?

What Will You Study with Our MA in Pastoral Counseling

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Information for Liberty’s MA Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy Degree

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

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