EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling Online

Credit Hours

100% 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

Enhance Your Counseling Ministry with Our EdD in Community Care and Counseling – Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree

Pastoral counselors play a vital role in fostering mental and emotional health. They combine biblical principles with effective counseling techniques to help people work through some of life’s greatest challenges. As trained experts in biblical guidance and counseling, they provide a valuable service to those in their congregations and communities.

Conferring Liberty’s 100% online Doctor of Education (EdD) in Community Care and Counseling – Pastoral Care and Counseling degree can help equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to provide professional counseling services in a ministry setting. Our pastoral care and counseling doctoral degree provides you with practical training that can help you counsel diverse individuals, groups, and family populations. You have a passion for reaching hurting individuals with the wisdom and love of Christ, and our EdD in pastoral counseling can provide you with the education you need to make your counseling ministry more effective.

This online EdD in counseling degree is ideal for pastors, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and clinical social workers who want to further their education and enhance their careers. This doctorate of pastoral counseling degree provides advanced biblical counseling skills that can help prepare you for counseling ministry, allow you to expand your human services experience, and help you to effectively address current issues and crises facing your community.

Please note: This EdD degree is not designed to meet state counseling licensure requirements. If you are interested in a state counseling license, please see our Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, or Master of Education in School Counseling.

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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 EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling for Your Doctorate?

At Liberty University, we’re dedicated to providing an online pastoral care and counseling doctorate degree program that supports your success with the ethical, evidence-based, and biblically grounded skills you need to minister in today’s increasingly complex and diverse society. Delivered through our online learning environment, this online doctoral counseling program provides a quality education taught by professors who are content experts with real-world experience in the field.

If you want to pursue a ministry-focused online doctoral degree in counseling from one of the largest Christian universities in the country, our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling program offers a path to completing a doctoral degree with practical, real-world applications.

Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Our programs have met rigorous academic standards and accreditation requirements, so you can pursue your degree with confidence. Additionally, our courses are designed to integrate ethical principles with industry knowledge — so you can become equipped to lead with integrity in your field.

What Will You Study in Our Online EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree Program?

The core of our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling degree provides a robust research foundation as well as careful preparation for the integrated dissertation project. Within the program, you will study applied counseling theories as well as teaching and learning techniques. This diverse set of skills can help you apply advanced counseling theories and techniques to real-world human services problems in your community and beyond.

Throughout our pastoral care and counseling EdD degree, you will study advanced biblical counseling approaches to individual, family, premarital, and marital issues as well as crisis response. Your online counseling doctoral courses will teach you a diverse set of practical skills that you can apply to your counseling ministry, allowing you to address many different modern-day problems.

Potential Career Opportunities

Graduates of our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling degree program will have a terminal doctoral credential that may provide opportunities for publishing academic research, teaching at the college level, and pursuing advanced counselor roles. The practical skills and knowledge taught in our online pastoral care and counseling doctorate can help equip students for many roles in counseling and human services, such as Christian counseling, nonprofit counseling, or other ministry-focused counseling.

Some of the roles that may benefit from this doctoral degree include:

Church counselor
Marriage and family counselor
Outpatient care therapist
Social worker
University professor

Please note: Many clinical counseling roles will require individual state licensure, which this degree does not provide.

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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.

EdS and EdD Full Time	$610/Credit
EdS and EdD Part Time	$675/Credit
Military EdS and EdD	$375/Credit

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

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Admission Requirements for Our Online EdD in Community Care and Counseling Degree Program

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 master’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing.
Applicants lacking a graduate-level statistics course will be required to complete MMFT 515 Research Methods and Evidence Based Practice in MFT (3 c.h.), or EDUC 518 Educational Research and Assessment (3 c.h.), or its equivalent prior to EDCO 735 in the EdD
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 doctoral degree after the last day of class for your master’s degree.
Complete a Master’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 transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show that you are within 6 credit hours of completion for a 30-48 credit hour master’s degree or within 9 credit hours of completion for a 49+ credit hour master’s degree.
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 doctoral degree.

Transcript Policies

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.

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 – $375 per credit hour for EdS and EdD courses
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 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

What are the benefits of our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling degree?

Completing our online Doctor of Education (EdD) in pastoral care and counseling program can give you a practice-focused degree that focuses on solving real-world problems with advanced research — in contrast to most Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Counseling programs, which emphasize more theoretical research.
Our EdD in Community Care and Counseling online degree program does not require you to have current state licensure for clinical counseling. However, if you are a licensed counselor or social worker, our doctorate in pastoral care and counseling can help advance your skills and knowledge so you can bolster your effectiveness.
Our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling degree’s integrated dissertation allows you to work toward significant parts of your dissertation research while you complete your online course content, giving you a clear, step-by-step path to finishing your doctoral studies in as little as 57 credit hours.
Completing our EdD in Community Care and Counseling online degree’s integrated dissertation allows you to focus your research on a real-world human services issue, giving you the opportunity to put your academic work into motion to help real communities.
Our pastoral care studies degree is offered 100% online, so you won’t have to relocate or take time off from work to attend on-campus classes. We’re committed to offering high-quality programs that let you continue your education without giving up your other priorities.

What is pastoral care and counseling? What is the difference between pastoral counseling vs. clinical counseling?

Pastoral counselors offer a unique, well-rounded approach to counseling and human suffering. While clinical counselors focus primarily on people’s mental and emotional needs, pastoral counselors also recognize the importance of spiritual matters. They help people find lasting healing by offering biblical guidance that addresses spiritual, mental, and emotional issues.

Maybe you are a current pastoral counselor seeking additional credentials — or perhaps you’re a licensed clinical counselor or pastor looking to pursue Christian counseling roles for the first time. Either way, Liberty University’s community care and counseling EdD can help you provide effective care to those in your congregation and community.

Is the EdD in pastoral counseling the same as an online PhD program in pastoral counseling?

Typically, a PhD in Pastoral Counseling online focuses on the theoretical aspects of counseling to help equip you for top-level roles in teaching, research, and academia. Liberty’s EdD in Community Care and Counseling – Pastoral Counseling also provides opportunities for you to conduct original research and possibly teach at the college level. However, our doctorate in pastoral care and counseling is a more practical, vocational degree that is designed to help you gain critical skills for real-world application.

How long does it take to earn a doctorate in pastoral care and counseling?

Which doctorate in pastoral counseling is right for me?

Our EdD in pastoral counseling focuses primarily on effective counseling methods and theories. If you want a more ministry-focused degree that also provides training in biblical counseling, our DMin in Pastoral Counseling may be a better fit for you. Both degrees can help you provide valuable care to those around you — you’ll just need to evaluate which one better fits your interests and career goals!

Do I need a counseling license to pursue a doctorate in pastoral counseling at Liberty University?

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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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EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling Impact the Mental and Emotional Health Field

Enhance Your Counseling Ministry with Our EdD in Community Care and Counseling – Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty’s EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling for Your Doctorate?

What Will You Study in Our Online EdD in Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree Program?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Requirements for Our Online EdD in Community Care and Counseling Degree Program

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

Ready to Apply?

Military

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of our online EdD in Community Care and Counseling degree?

What is pastoral care and counseling? What is the difference between pastoral counseling vs. clinical counseling?

Is the EdD in pastoral counseling the same as an online PhD program in pastoral counseling?

How long does it take to earn a doctorate in pastoral care and counseling?

Which doctorate in pastoral counseling is right for me?

Do I need a counseling license to pursue a doctorate in pastoral counseling at Liberty University?

Are you ready to change your future?

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