MA in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience Courage, Compassion, Counseling: Serve Those Who Serve

36

Credit Hours

View Courses

Online,* 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Liberty University’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience is designed to help you prepare for pastoral counseling roles in Christian ministries and agency-based, non-licensure settings. In this program, you can explore psychology alongside a Christian understanding of human nature and God’s creation – a combination that can deepen your approach to pastoral care. This degree offers balanced training in spiritual and mental health, helping you strengthen your ministry skill set or take steps toward a future in pastoral counseling.

By choosing the military resilience area of study, you can develop specialized knowledge for supporting service members, veterans, and their families. Your coursework can equip you with tools to address the unique emotional, relational, and spiritual challenges faced by military communities, empowering you to guide them toward healing and stronger family connections.

*Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling program 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.

Your officially conferred degree name will be Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling – Military Resilience.

*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.

ATS Accreditation

Niche Best Colleges

Backed by a brick-and-mortar campus ranked as Niche.com’s #2 Best College Campus in America for 2026

What Sets Us Apart?

  • 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

If you are already a ministry professional and desire additional training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help fill in the gaps. This program is designed to build on your ministry experience to support your pastoral counseling and care. If you want to branch out into a Christian counseling role, the field-specific training and pastoral counseling techniques in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling program will provide the necessary support for pastoral counseling in various settings.

If you are currently in a ministry that serves military families and service members, you are likely aware that these groups have unique needs and face stresses that civilians often struggle to comprehend. If you are not already involved with the military, then you may struggle to find ways to connect and support these families. The military resilience area of study can help you develop the tools to support military families and personnel, providing them with the love and care they need.


In the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you can build a strong foundation in pastoral counseling skills while exploring field-specific topics and practical methods for helping others. Throughout your coursework, you can examine how psychological principles reflect biblical truths about personhood and human nature – and how spiritual health can support mental health treatment.

You will also have opportunities to strengthen your practical skills. The program offers optional on-campus intensives where you can receive hands-on training, and every student completes a pastoral counseling internship to gain experience serving within their community.

In the military resilience area of study, you’ll take this foundation deeper by learning how to support the unique needs of service members, veterans, and their families. You can explore the role of psychological resilience in healthy military family life and examine the challenges that arise in marriages, leadership roles, and the transition from military to civilian life.

These studies are designed to help you understand the emotional, relational, and spiritual factors that shape military resilience – and equip you to apply that knowledge in meaningful, service-oriented ways.

Degree Completion Plan


Top 1% For Online Programs

Not sure what to choose?

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


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.

Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) $2,850
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (1-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) $410/Credit
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) $2,575
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (1-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) $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.


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 – $290 per credit hour for part-time graduate and postgraduate divinity courses
  • Discounted divinity block rate – $2,575 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 9 and above 15 credit hours per semester are charged at the part-time rate.

**Not applicable to certificates, postgraduate, or doctoral programs.

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.