MA in Pastoral Counseling – Crisis Response & Trauma Addressing Wounds Before They Deepen
36
Credit Hours
100% online,* 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
The Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Crisis Response and Trauma Equips You to Help Rebuild Hurting Communities
Liberty University’s 100% online Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling is designed to train ministry professionals and church leaders to become Christian counselors in ministry and agency-based, non-licensure settings. Students in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will study psychology and the Christian understanding of human nature and God’s creation that informs biblical counseling. The online pastoral counseling master’s degree provides a balanced treatment of spiritual and mental health, which will equip ministry professionals already in the field or students who want to move into a Christian counseling role.
The crisis response and trauma area of study offers training for ministry professionals who want to help communities and individuals recover from life-altering tragedies and emergencies. The skills and knowledge gained through the crisis response and trauma track will equip Christian counselors with the tools needed to identify and address the effects of events such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, abuse, and personal tragedies that damage individuals, families, and whole communities’ ability to have healthy relationships and lead successful lives.
*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.
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Crisis Response and Trauma?
If you are already a ministry professional and find that you need additional training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing an online Christian counseling degree like the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will help fill in the gaps and build on your ministry experience to support your Christian counseling and pastoral care ministry. If you want to branch out into a Christian counseling role, the field-specific training and biblical counseling techniques in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will provide much-needed support for guiding others on a variety of issues.
The crisis response and trauma area of study will show you how to apply Christian counseling principles and pastoral care to help people in times of trouble and disaster. These skills can equip you and your ministry to go into your community and help in times of great need and suffering as you help on-site when disaster strikes at home or abroad.
What Are the Benefits of Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling?
- Unlike many online bible colleges or online seminaries, Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
- Study a balanced perspective on the theological principles that underlie psychology, giving you effective Christian counseling techniques with a firm biblical worldview.
- If you choose to take advantage of the optional on-campus intensives, you will have additional hands-on training and meet directly with your peers and professors.
- Gain marketable real-world experience in crisis response and trauma therapy by helping people in your community with the pastoral counseling internship.
- The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling falls within the School of Behavioral Sciences but receives the graduate tuition rate of just $395 per credit hour for part-time students, as well as the online seminary’s block rate. Students attending full time (9-15 credit hours) are eligible for a block rate of $2,750 per semester!*
*Credits taken above 15 credit hours for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling online are charged at the part-time rate.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling?
The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides a broad set of foundational Christian counseling skills and knowledge along with field-specialized topic courses and hands-on skill areas. If you pursue biblical counseling training, you can learn how the science of psychology reflects biblical principles of personhood and human nature, and how mental health treatment benefits from spiritual health.
You will also have the opportunity to pursue hands-on training on campus during two optional intensives. In addition to this training, you will gain experience in your community through a pastoral counseling internship.
Our crisis response and trauma area of study builds on core Christian counseling and pastoral care skills training in disaster relief efforts and trauma therapy. You will have the opportunity to customize your crisis response and trauma electives in areas that will be most useful to your ministry. You can choose to receive general crisis and first responder training to ensure that you are prepared to help during a disaster or you can receive training in P.T.S.D. and combat-related trauma so that you can assist veterans and their families. Our crisis response and trauma area of study provides a flexible crisis counseling training of assessment and treatment options to help suffering people in their communities.
*Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling 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.
Potential Career Opportunities
Students who complete a degree in Christian counseling like the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will be equipped for ministry-based, non-licensure counseling roles in many areas including marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, and counseling women.
With the crisis response and trauma area of study, students will be equipped for private and public disaster relief and support positions and ministries, as well as individual and group trauma therapy ministry. Students may also be able to pursue additional requirements for state licensure and pursue licensed clinical counseling practice.
- Associate pastor
- Church counselor
- Life coach
- Pastor
- Trauma counselor
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under the Liberty Theological Seminary.
- View the Graduate Divinity Course Guides (login required).
Degree Completion Plan (PDF)
Not sure what to choose?
Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.
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.
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) | $2,750 |
---|---|
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) | $395/Credit |
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) | $2,475 |
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) | $275/Credit |
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for Our MA in Pastoral Counseling 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.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
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
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Ready to Apply?
Submit your application online or over the phone.
Military
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 – $275 per credit hour for part-time graduate and postgraduate divinity courses
- Discounted divinity block rate – $2,475 per semester*
- Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)**
- 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.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the professors have a background in this area?
Liberty University’s online seminary, the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, has experienced pastoral counselors and ministry professionals who teach practical ministry skills while imparting deep theological teaching. You can learn from content developed by renowned biblical studies scholars in Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, such as Dr. Elmer L. Towns and Dr. Gary R. Habermas.
What setting would pastoral counseling be used in?
You will develop broad experience in Christian counseling and pastoral care to address mental and spiritual health issues in your ministry or biblical counseling practice.
Inner Navigation
- Overview
- What Sets Us Apart?
- Why Choose Liberty?
- What Will You Study?
- Tuition & Aid
- Admission Information
- Military
- FAQs
Have questions?