MA Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy Help Families Grow Closer to God
36
Credit Hours
100% online,* 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
MA Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Family Advocacy
Do you want to help families grow closer to God as they grow closer together? Liberty University’s 100% online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Dobson Center Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future will provide you with practical tools to help children, educate families, and empower parents. The skills you will develop are foundations to advocate for the rights of children and families as well as to assist families who are facing emotional and spiritual challenges. Liberty’s online pastoral counseling program will help you develop the skills you need to be a champion for Christ for families in your community.
Please note: While this degree may assist students seeking professional licensure, it does not meet all licensure requirements.
*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 MA in Pastoral Counseling – Family Advocacy, Public Policy, and the Future?
Liberty University has collaborated with world-renowned psychologist, author, radio show host, and family expert 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 the 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 completely 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.
What Will You Study with Our MA in Pastoral Counseling
The core content of the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides a broad set of foundational Christian counseling skills along with field-specialized topic courses and hands-on skill areas. Graduates of this program are 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 will provide you with a biblical worldview of human behavior and application of helping skills for a non-licensure counseling role. Through our courses, you can master essential biblical counseling skills and apply evidence-based practices in addictions and recovery, pastoral counseling, marriage and family therapy, pastoral leadership, and life coaching. With the specialized family advocacy content created in partnership with the James C. Dobson Center, you will be better equipped to apply these skills to help struggling families.
Potential Career Opportunities
- Caseworker
- Child advocate
- Family advocate
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under Liberty’s Liberty Theological Seminary.
- View the Graduate Divinity Course Guides (login required).
Degree Completion Plan
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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 |
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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 |
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
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.
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 service 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.
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