Master of Arts in Religion | Pastoral Counseling Degree

Credit Hours

100% online, 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Next Start Dates: January 19, 2026 | February 16, 2026 | March 23, 2026

Promote Spiritual Growth and Healing with a Master of Arts in Religion – Online Pastoral Counseling Degree

Are you a ministry professional seeking graduate-level training in biblical counseling? Do you enjoy learning about the relationship between Christianity and psychology? Are you passionate about ministering to the mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of those around you? If so, conferring Liberty’s online Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) – Pastoral Counseling degree may be the right next step for you!

Throughout this program, you’ll study core topics in theology, biblical studies, and ministry practice. Our goal is to help you explore rewarding ministry opportunities in churches, parachurch settings, and nonprofit settings. Additionally, our MAR in Pastoral Counseling degree online can help you prepare for future academic studies or pursue employment in higher education.

Learn how to provide effective pastoral care and counseling. With Liberty’s religion and pastoral counseling master’s degree, you can prepare to help meet the personal and spiritual needs of people in your ministry team and congregation. Partner with us and gain the tools you need to pursue God’s calling on your life.

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.

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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

Why Choose Liberty University’s Pastoral Counseling MAR Program?

As an accredited university, Liberty seeks to offer online programs that blend flexibility, affordability, and high-quality academics. Our goal is to help equip you with the skills you need to impact the world for Christ. With our 100% online format, you can complete your MAR in Pastoral Counseling at Liberty University without putting your life on hold.

Liberty has been a pioneer in distance education since 1985. A lot has changed since then, but our commitment to Training Champions for Christ has not. Our online courses have no set login times, so you can complete your assignments on your own schedule. You’ll also have the freedom to stay invested in your family and job while achieving your academic goals.

Throughout this degree program, you’ll study under faculty who have years of experience working in ministry and pastoral counseling. Our professors are firmly rooted in the Christian faith and committed to helping you thrive in your career. With their guidance, you can develop the practical skills needed to serve the people in your congregation and community. And, because all of our courses are taught from a biblical perspective, you can be confident that your approach to counseling will be grounded in Scripture.

Get the Tools You Need for Ministry Success – Included with Your Program

As a student at Liberty University, you get access to the Logos Bible app at no extra cost. If you’re in a Rawlings School of Divinity program, you receive a Logos Max subscription – unlocking a robust library of biblical and theological resources while you study.

The majority of our Liberty Theological Seminary master’s programs even integrate Logos into your courses, teaching you how to use it effectively and giving you additional resources and training to help you dig deeper into Scripture and prepare for ministry.

What Will You Study in a Religion and Pastoral Counseling Master’s Degree Online?

Liberty’s master’s degree in pastoral counseling online offers a mix of core religion classes and specialized pastoral counseling courses. You can enrich your understanding of Christian theology while learning how to minister to people’s psychological and spiritual needs from a biblical perspective. With this knowledge, you can prepare for a variety of ministry opportunities both inside and outside the church.

Prepare to conduct effective ministry in a variety of settings. The core of this program covers important topics in apologetics, the history of Christianity, discipleship, hermeneutics, and theology. You can also explore methods for fostering spiritual growth among believers, preparing sermons, and witnessing to non-believers.

Within the pastoral counseling specialization, you’ll explore how psychology and theology relate to each other so you can build a solid theoretical and practical foundation for faith-based counseling. Our program also introduces a solution-based model for short-term counseling that incorporates facilitation skills, cognitive behavioral approaches, and biblical teaching. By studying essential aspects of premarital and marital counseling, you can prepare to help couples work through challenges and grow stronger together.

After earning this pastoral counseling master’s degree, you may want to pursue our online Doctor of Ministry (DMin).

Potential Career Opportunities

Our Master of Arts in Religion – online pastoral counseling degree is designed to help you tackle challenges in active, full-time ministry roles at churches and parachurch organizations. You could also pursue opportunities for college-level and non-licensure K-12 religious studies teaching.

Some of the roles you may qualify for include:

Adjunct religion instructor
Associate pastor
Church education administrator
K-12 religion instructor (non-licensure)
Lay ministry leader
Missionary

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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.

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.

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.

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Admission Requirements for Liberty’s MAR Degree in Pastoral Counseling

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.

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 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.

View Military Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an MDiv and the MAR in Pastoral Counseling degree?

A Master of Divinity (MDiv) and a Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) have much in common, with both degrees providing core training in topics like apologetics, the history of Christianity, and evangelism. However, Liberty’s online MDiv is a longer, more comprehensive program that covers additional subjects, such as Greek and Hebrew language tools.

If you complete your MAR and later want to pursue an MDiv, you can potentially transfer 2/3 of your MAR degree into our online MDiv program, allowing you to save time and money! For instance, you may be interested in our MDiv in Pastoral Counseling.

Should I pursue an MAR or an MA in Pastoral Counseling?

Liberty offers different types of pastoral counseling master’s degrees, so you can pick the program that best meets your personal and professional needs. Our Master of Arts (MA) in Pastoral Counseling is a great option if you primarily want to learn about biblical counseling while specializing in an area like crisis response, addiction recovery, life coaching, military resilience, or marriage and family studies.

Perhaps you’d like to mainly study Scripture, theology, and the Christian faith, but you also want to receive foundational training in pastoral counseling. If so, our MAR in Pastoral Counseling may be right for you. While the MA in Pastoral Counseling focuses entirely on biblical counseling methods, the MAR in Pastoral Counseling provides extensive ministry training as well as 12 credit hours of specialized pastoral counseling study. Both programs can help you develop vital skills — you’ll just need to evaluate which subjects you’re most interested in studying.

What can you do with a master’s in pastoral counseling?

Is Liberty accredited?

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.

Are you ready to change your future?

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*Some restrictions may occur for this promotion to apply. This promotion also excludes active faculty and staff, military, non-degree-seeking, DGIA, Continuing Education, WSB, and certificate students.

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MAR in Pastoral Counseling Degree Online Heal Hearts with Faith

Promote Spiritual Growth and Healing with a Master of Arts in Religion – Online Pastoral Counseling Degree

Accreditation

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty University’s Pastoral Counseling MAR Program?

Get the Tools You Need for Ministry Success – Included with Your Program

What Will You Study in a Religion and Pastoral Counseling Master’s Degree Online?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Requirements for Liberty’s MAR Degree in Pastoral Counseling

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

Ready to Apply?

Military

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an MDiv and the MAR in Pastoral Counseling degree?

Should I pursue an MAR or an MA in Pastoral Counseling?

What can you do with a master’s in pastoral counseling?

Is Liberty accredited?

Are you ready to change your future?

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