Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Online Degree Program

Degree Options

100% online, 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Take the Final Step in Your Ministry Education with Liberty’s Online Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Degree

Are you a current ministry professional looking to enhance your ability to help people grow in their walk with Christ? Do you want to retool and equip yourself to enter an exciting new field of service? Liberty’s online seminary can help you build on your experience and skills to serve God in new and powerful ways.

Conferring an online Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree from Liberty University can help advance and sharpen your ministry skills by providing you with a deeper understanding of biblical principles and outreach strategies so you can serve in a variety of pastoral roles. With many specialized tracks for different fields of ministry, you can customize your studies to get the training you need and step out into the field with confidence.

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.

What does DMin stand for? What is a DMin degree?

A Doctor of Ministry, or DMin, is a terminal doctoral degree designed to provide practical ministry training for pastors and other ministry professionals. Liberty’s Doctor of Ministry degree online (DMin) offers many different specializations to choose from – but the core of every DMin degree focuses on providing advanced ministry practice, theology, and biblical studies training so that you can build on your master’s-level studies.

What Will You Study in Our DMin Online Degree Program?

Our Doctor of Ministry degree offers an in-depth study of spiritual formation and ministry in your core classes, so you can better understand the advanced material in your specific area of study. Our online DMin core classes were specifically chosen to help you gain the essential knowledge and skills needed for your final project. Half of your degree will be made up of core courses and specialization courses, and the other half will include the process for completing your portfolio or thesis project report.

This program was designed to help you gain the biblical foundation needed to meet the challenges and opportunities facing ministry leaders today with clarity and confidence. Regardless of which specialization you choose, you will study the following core topics:

Distinguishing marks of a mature disciple
Methods for creating a spiritual assessment to measure spiritual health
Standard doctoral research practices
Techniques for creating a plan to foster spiritual growth
Theological basis for ministry evaluation

When selecting your specialization, you’ll want to evaluate your interests and long-term goals. Are you passionate about youth ministry? If so, the next generation ministry track may be right for you. Do you want to grow in your understanding of homiletics and learn to better preach the Gospel? Check out our expository preaching and teaching specialization. If you’re passionate about ministering to the mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of your congregation, the pastoral counseling track can help equip you for non-licensure biblical counseling roles.

These are just a few of the DMin specializations offered here at Liberty – we have a wide range of options so you can get the specific skills you need!

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Why Choose Liberty’s Online Degree?

At Liberty, our online DMin degree is a practice-focused program. That means your studies can equip you with the hands-on training you need to find creative solutions to the challenges you’ll face in a variety of ministry settings.

Throughout the DMin degree program, you will be taught by faculty members who are ministry professionals with years of real-world experience. We also offer many different specializations, so you can choose an area of study that focuses on the research methods and practical skills you need for your career. By selecting a specialization, you can personalize your online Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin) and prepare to pursue your unique goals.

Additionally, our doctorate degree in ministry (DMin) is offered 100% online, so you can get the advanced training and studies you need from the comfort of your home. You’ll have the freedom and flexibility to stay invested in your job, family, church, and community while earning a degree that can help you answer God’s calling on your life.

Backed by a brick-and-mortar campus ranked among Niche.com’s Top 5 College Campuses in America

Private Nonprofit University
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

Potential Careers with a Doctor of Ministry Degree

Christian scholar
Evangelist
Seminary professor

Senior church administrator
Senior pastor
University professor

Degree Options for the Doctor of Ministry Degree Program

If you are considering our Doctor of Ministry degree, you have the opportunity to choose a specialization. This will allow you to personalize your degree to your unique career goals and interests. Take a look at all of your options below!

Biblical Studies

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Studies degree provides you with an in-depth, well-rounded exploration of foundational biblical principles that can enhance your understanding and application of the Gospel. You will have the opportunity to integrate apologetics, theology, and biblical principles into a degree that can also strengthen your communication skills.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Chaplaincy

Church Revitalization

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Church Revitalization degree provides training in biblical leadership and how it impacts your church or ministry. You can develop skills that are integral to addressing prominent issues in the church and develop a framework with which to communicate a biblical/Christian worldview.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Discipleship

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Discipleship degree is designed to help provide you with the tools and skills you need to be a more effective leader in ministry by offering advanced training in theology, evangelism, and leadership. You can explore discipleship and outreach techniques and determine how they will best apply to your ministry.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Educational Ministries

Evangelism and Church Planting

Expository Preaching and Teaching

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Expository Preaching and Teaching degree can train you to effectively teach and preach the Gospel across a variety of mediums and platforms. Through this program, you can learn how to use homiletics in the traditional church setting as well as in small groups through instructional videos and online media.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Ministry Leadership

Next Generation Ministry

Pastoral Counseling

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling degree can help equip you with the knowledge needed to address the mental, emotional, and spiritual struggles of the heart and mind. While this program does not lead to counseling licensure, it can provide you with the tools and skills you need to successfully identify and navigate counseling best practices in a church, ministry, or other non-licensure settings.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Spiritual Formation

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation provides the opportunity to study innovative strategies for facilitating the spiritual growth of small groups and individuals under your leadership. Through this program, you can explore how spiritual formation has changed from the early days of the church to the present day through the lens of discipline, theology, and practice.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Strategic Christian Ministry

Theology and Apologetics

Urban Ministry

Worship

Liberty University’s 100% online Doctor of Ministry in Worship degree can help equip you to effectively apply biblical principles to all aspects of worship. You will explore how to help prepare people’s hearts to enter the presence of God through a variety of studies that can equip you to identify and address specific church needs as they relate to worship.

View the Degree Completion Plan.

Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.

Request Information

Tuition & Aid

Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.

To continue our mission of providing affordable education, electronic textbooks are provided for many divinity courses* all for one convenient fee.

*Electronic textbooks are not provided for PACO courses or courses that fall under departments outside the School of Divinity.

Doctoral Divinity Block Rate (7-15 credit hours)	$2,750
Doctoral Divinity Part Time (0-6.99 or over 15 credit hours)	$395/Credit
Military Doctoral Divinity Block Rate (7-15 credit hours)	$2,700
Military Doctoral Divinity Part Time (0-6.99 or over 15 credit hours)*	$395/Credit

*Eligible current and former military service members and their spouses may qualify for a special rate of $300/credit hour (learn more).

Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

Excludes the Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling which has its own military tuition rates.

All Tuition & Fees

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Financial Aid Forms & Eligibility

Scholarship Opportunities

Admission Information for Our Online DMin 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).
Official transcripts showing a regionally or nationally accredited master’s degree related to the student’s ministry setting or vocational calling.
- Student must have at least 18 graduate hours total of Bible (includes NBST, OBST, OTCL, and NGRK courses), Theology, or Ministry-related classes (apologetics, church history, discipleship, evangelism, global studies, homiletics, ministry leadership). Beginning in Fall 2021, these 18 graduate hours are still required but are no longer required to be a part of the Master’s degree.
- The 18 graduate Bible hours for the Doctor of Ministry do not need a certain grade to count towards the admission requirement; rather, a passing grade will suffice as long as the overall Masters GPA is high enough to meet the program’s requirement.
- Applicable Graduate level ICE Exams can also fulfill some or all of these hours
The John W. Rawlings School of Divinity requires you to submit a Professional Vita showing:
- At least 2 years of ministerial experience
- Experience must be pastoral in nature (pastor, assistant pastor, youth pastor, missionary, etc.) and must be connected to a church body
Statement of Purpose Please submit a 300-word minimum Statement of Purpose detailing the following:
- Your vocational or ministry calling
- Your vocational or ministry goals
- A key ministry problem you feel needs to be addressed in today’s culture, which is appropriate to an advanced professional study
An Ecclesiastical endorsement indicating the agreement of the church (or employing organization) with your participation in the Doctor of Ministry program.
- This is not a recommendation letter from a pastor telling us that they personally recommend the student. This is an endorsement from the church body for someone who will likely do an internship with them at the end of their program.
- Some examples of language within the Ecclesiastical Endorsement that would be acceptable include:
  - We Endorse/We Support/We recommend
  - This is an Ecclesiastical Endorsement
  - I recommend on behalf of the church/board of deacons/church staff
- The endorsement letter must be signed with pen (no typed signatures allowed) and can be faxed, mailed, or scanned and emailed as an attachment.
Submit the School of Divinity Questionnaire (login required).
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

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:

Discounted divinity block rate – $2,700 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 7 and above 15 credit hours per semester are charged at the part-time rate of $395/credit hour.

Eligible current and former service members and their spouses may qualify for a special rate of $300/credit hour (learn more), but the $300/credit hour doctoral military rate cannot be combined with the First Responder Discount.

Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

View Military Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Benefits of Earning a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Liberty University?

Doctoral degrees can help open doors to new opportunities and enhance your credibility. By earning your DMin degree online through Liberty University, you can join expert ministry professionals who have been trained to research and implement practical ministry skills grounded in firm biblical principles.

Our DMin program can equip you to synthesize the theological foundation established in your master’s program with the current climate of ministry within your field to address a specific ministry problem.

Our Doctor of Ministry online degree can also help you:

Meet the requirements to teach at the college level (depending on the institution)
Obtain the highest and most prestigious ministry-based credential that you can earn from Liberty Theological Seminary
Prepare for church leadership roles such as head pastor or executive pastor
Pursue more job opportunities in the ministry field and stand out as a top applicant

What is a Doctor of Divinity? Is it the same as a DMin?

A Doctor of Divinity is a research-focused degree. Although a Doctor of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry online (DMin) may cover some of the same topics of study, the Doctor of Ministry is more oriented to ministry practice while a Doctor of Divinity focuses more on research and scholarship (much like a PhD). If you are interested in earning an advanced, research-focused divinity degree that can help equip you for scholarly pursuits, check out Liberty’s PhD in Bible Exposition program.

How can I earn a Doctor of Ministry online?

As a practice-focused ministry degree, the Doctor of Ministry program online offers a way for current ministry professionals to gain new skills and techniques to use in the field. While the course content is available 100% online, this program requires that you have a current place of ministry to apply what you learn. This allows you to use your experience in the ministry field in a local church during your studies to bring theory and practice together, all under the mentorship of our faculty of ministry professionals.

Does Liberty offer an accredited online DMin program?

While many Bible colleges lack regional accreditation, Liberty University is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This means our DMin divinity degree has met the same rigorous academic standards as all other degrees offered here at Liberty University.

Liberty Theological Seminary, as part of the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, is also accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) – further demonstrating our program’s quality. We can help you meet ministry requirements for training while also ensuring that your DMin degree is recognized as coming from an accredited institution.

Does Liberty’s doctorate in ministry program (DMin) require an MDiv for admission?

While many Doctor of Ministry programs require that students have earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv) for admission, Liberty University offers an alternate pathway for students. We know that just as many find faith in Jesus Christ in different times of life, so also do many students enter ministry with diverse and unexpected academic backgrounds.

To help you move forward and get the training you need, we’ve designed our DMin degree to not only allow admission for students with an MDiv degree, but also for those who have at least 18 hours of Bible, theology, or ministry-related classes and an acceptable GPA.

Should I choose a DMin or a PhD?

Liberty offers both practice-focused and research-focused tracks in our doctoral religion degrees. Compared to other online seminary doctoral degrees, the DMin is more focused on honing practical skills for direct application to ministry – while PhD programs offer preparation for roles in research and academia. That being said, you can still learn many practical ministry skills and leadership techniques in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program, and you will still receive in-depth biblical training in the Doctor of Ministry program online (DMin)!

Here are some of the main things to consider when choosing between a DMin and a PhD:

The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is designed to give you a fast track to specialized ministry skills and hands-on application in your current ministry. This program has 30 credit hours and requires either a thesis project or a portfolio – giving you a practical way to gain new skills that you can apply directly to your ministry.
PhD programs such as the PhD in Bible Exposition are typically longer degrees with more research-focused academic studies in special topics. If you want to become an expert in biblical scholarship, a PhD can help equip you with the in-depth study you need. This type of degree typically takes longer to complete as it is 60 credit hours and requires a full dissertation and defense.

How long does it take to complete the online Doctor of Ministry degree program (DMin)?

What can you do with a doctorate of ministry?

Our Doctor of Ministry program is designed to build on your experience as a practicing ministry professional. You can strengthen your critical thinking, leadership, and communication abilities while learning how to navigate various challenges within today’s church. The skills you gain can help you serve in a variety of settings – from local churches to nonprofit organizations.

While the online DMin degree primarily focuses on developing practical ministry skills, you may also be able to pursue teaching positions at universities or seminaries upon graduation (depending on the requirements set by each individual institution).

A Doctor of Ministry degree can help you thrive in the following roles:

Chaplain
Evangelist
Missionary
Nonprofit leader

Seminary professor
Senior church administrator
Senior pastor
University professor

Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Degree Deepen Your Knowledge of Scripture

Take the Final Step in Your Ministry Education with Liberty’s Online Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Degree

Accreditation

What does DMin stand for? What is a DMin degree?

What Will You Study in Our DMin Online Degree Program?

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Why Choose Liberty’s Online Degree?

What Sets Us Apart?

Potential Careers with a Doctor of Ministry Degree

Degree Options for the Doctor of Ministry Degree Program

Biblical Studies

Chaplaincy

Church Revitalization

Discipleship

Educational Ministries

Evangelism and Church Planting

Expository Preaching and Teaching

Ministry Leadership

Next Generation Ministry

Pastoral Counseling

Spiritual Formation

Strategic Christian Ministry

Theology and Apologetics

Urban Ministry

Worship

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Information for Our Online DMin Program

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

Military

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Benefits of Earning a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Liberty University?

What is a Doctor of Divinity? Is it the same as a DMin?

How can I earn a Doctor of Ministry online?

Does Liberty offer an accredited online DMin program?

Does Liberty’s doctorate in ministry program (DMin) require an MDiv for admission?

Should I choose a DMin or a PhD?

How long does it take to complete the online Doctor of Ministry degree program (DMin)?

What can you do with a doctorate of ministry?

Are you ready to change your future?

Request Information About a Program

Request Info About Liberty University Online

Choose a Program Level

Select a Field of Study

Select a Program

Next: Contact Info

Legal First Name

Legal Last Name

Email

Phone

Full Address

Country

Street Address

City

State

ZIP/Postal Code

Request Information