MA in Human Services Counseling | Life Coaching

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Credit Hours

Online,* 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Next Start Dates: March 23, 2026 | May 18, 2026 | June 29, 2026

Explore Counseling Foundations and Coaching Practice in Liberty University’s Online Master’s in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching

When you confer Liberty University’s Master of Arts (MA) in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching degree, you can explore human behavior, interpersonal communication, and helping skills. Liberty’s online program is structured for individuals entering the human services field as well as those seeking additional academic preparation for coaching-focused roles. Our human services counseling degree is offered primarily online, with opportunities to gain hands-on experience in your local community.

The MA in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching is a non-licensure degree. The curriculum emphasizes the study of human behavior, group dynamics, multicultural awareness, and the integration of spirituality and counseling within a biblical worldview. Through this academic framework, you can examine social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of human experience while exploring applications within coaching contexts.

The life coaching specialization allows you to focus on areas such as health and wellness coaching, marriage coaching, financial life coaching, and leadership professional life coaching. Coursework will cover coaching practice alongside counseling foundations, including communication strategies and community-based group experience. This approach provides structured graduate study for those interested in coaching within nonprofit, ministry, community, or organizational settings.

Please note that the online MA in Human Services Counseling is not designed to fulfill clinical counseling licensure requirements. You can view Liberty University’s licensure-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling for more information about pursuing a career as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.

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Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
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Top 10 Reasons to Choose Liberty

Why Choose a Master’s in Life Coaching?

Liberty’s Master of Arts (MA) in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching is designed in an online format that allows you to pursue graduate study while maintaining your current professional and personal commitments. Courses are offered in 8-week terms with 8 start dates throughout the year, providing multiple entry points and a structured academic schedule. Most courses do not require set login times, allowing you to engage with course materials and assignments within established deadlines while maintaining flexibility from anywhere with an internet connection.

The life coaching specialization is designed to help you study many areas of professional life coaching. Rather than concentrating on a single coaching niche, the curriculum will cover coaching applications across multiple personal and organizational contexts. This structure provides flexibility in how you may later apply your graduate study within ministry, nonprofit, community, or professional environments.

Additionally, Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Our programs are committed to excellence for our online students. Through our mission of Training Champions for Christ, Liberty emphasizes ethical leadership, values-driven practice, and spiritual integration alongside behavioral science concepts.

What Will You Study in an Online Life Coaching Master’s Degree?

If you are interested in studying human behavior and coaching within a structured academic framework, the MA in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching offers 30 credit hours of graduate-level preparation grounded in theory, communication, and applied group experience. Core coursework will examine social and emotional development across the lifespan, multicultural issues in human services, interpersonal communication strategies, group dynamics, and the integration of spirituality and counseling. Within this academic framework, you can explore how social, cultural, and spiritual factors shape human experience in both individual and group settings.

The life coaching specialization builds on these counseling foundations by focusing on coaching practice within professional, relational, financial, and wellness contexts. You can choose from courses in topics such as health and wellness coaching, marriage coaching, financial life coaching, and leadership professional life coaching. Within these areas, you can examine coaching models, interpersonal interactions, and ethical considerations relevant to non-clinical helping roles. The curriculum is designed to emphasize structured guidance, goal-focused conversations, and values-driven decision-making within coaching environments.

In addition to foundational and specialization coursework, you can complete a group dynamics course that includes participation in open support or self-help groups within your local community. As part of this requirement, you can develop and lead a structured group session. This applied component provides an opportunity for you to examine group processes, communication patterns, and leadership dynamics in a real-world setting while remaining within a non-clinical framework. Through this experience, you can observe how theory and coaching principles function within community-based environments.

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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.

Graduate Full Time	$580/Credit
Graduate Part Time	$645/Credit
Military Graduate	$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 Requirements for Our Online Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching

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.
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 graduate courses
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)

*Not applicable to certificates.

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 Online Life Coach Master’s Programs

What is human services counseling?

Human services counseling is a field focused on supporting individuals and communities through non-clinical helping roles grounded in human behavior, communication, and social systems. It emphasizes understanding how social, cultural, developmental, and relational factors influence personal challenges and decision-making. Unlike licensed clinical counseling, human services counseling may occur in community, nonprofit, ministry, or organizational settings without involving diagnosis or therapeutic treatment.

In Liberty’s Master of Arts (MA) in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching, you can study these foundations within a flexible, accredited academic framework. You can also examine human development, multicultural awareness, group dynamics, and ethical practice as you explore how these concepts inform coaching contexts. An online life coach degree can allow you to pursue graduate-level study in human services counseling while focusing on life coaching applications within non-licensure parameters.

What is life coaching?

Life coaching is a professional practice focused on clarifying goals, providing structured support, and fostering forward-oriented development in areas such as relationships, leadership, wellness, and finances. Unlike clinical counseling or therapy, life coaching does not involve mental health diagnosis or treatment. Instead, it centers on guided conversations, accountability structures, and intentional planning within non-clinical contexts.

In the online Master of Arts (MA) in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching, you can examine life coaching strategies within a flexible, graduate-level format.

What is the difference between life coaching and counseling?

Life coaching and counseling differ in scope and professional expectations. Counseling often addresses emotional or psychological concerns and may require state licensure, clinical assessment, and supervised practice. Life coaching is non-clinical and typically focuses on goal formation, decision-making processes, and structured personal or professional development.

In an MA in life coaching degree program, you can study counseling foundations while focusing on coaching applications. Additionally, Liberty’s MA in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching aims to help you examine how coaching functions in leadership, relational, wellness, and financial contexts without engaging in clinical assessment or treatment. This distinction may be important if you are seeking graduate education in coaching rather than pursuing licensure as a professional counselor.

How is life coaching different from therapy?

Therapy is a licensed profession that involves the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders. Therapists operate within state regulatory frameworks and complete required clinical supervision hours. Life coaching does not include diagnosis or therapeutic intervention and is not regulated in the same way. It emphasizes structured guidance and forward-focused conversations rather than clinical care.

Liberty’s Master of Arts (MA) in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching online does not prepare you for therapy licensure. Instead, you can explore coaching practice within a broader study of human services, interpersonal communication skills, group dynamics, and ethical decision-making. The online format can support academic preparation for non-clinical coaching environments.

Does a human services degree lead to LPC licensure?

The MA in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching is a non-licensure online program. This online master’s program is not intended to meet LPC or clinical counseling requirements. If you are considering a graduate degree focused on coaching, leadership, or community-based helping roles rather than clinical practice, this distinction is important to understand before selecting a program.

If your goals require a program that can lead to counseling licensure, please view Liberty University’s licensure-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling for more information.

Online MA in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching Human Behavior. Intentional Conversations. Meaningful Coaching.

Explore Counseling Foundations and Coaching Practice in Liberty University’s Online Master’s in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose a Master’s in Life Coaching?

What Will You Study in an Online Life Coaching Master’s Degree?

Potential Life Coach Career Opportunities

Featured Life Coaching Courses

Life Coaching Online Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Requirements for Our Online Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling – Life Coaching

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 Online Life Coach Master’s Programs

What is human services counseling?

What is life coaching?

What is the difference between life coaching and counseling?

How is life coaching different from therapy?

Does a human services degree lead to LPC licensure?

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