Purpose

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is a non-licensure professional degree program designed to equip students for counseling support in a variety of ministry-based contexts from a biblical-theological perspective on human behavior. The program will emphasize the values of ethical care, spiritual formation, experiential learning, cultural insight, theological integration, and leadership application. 

Program Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:

• Formulate a philosophy of pastoral counseling that rests on solid theological, psychological, and spiritual principles.
• Apply critical thinking and theological alignment for a holistic approach to pastoral care, exhibiting knowledge of the literature appropriate to the field.
• Practice biblically-based and clinically-informed counseling in a variety of ministry-based contexts.

Program Specific Admission Requirements

In addition to the general admission procedures, applicants to the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling must meet the following requirements:

1. Earned baccalaureate degree or its equivalent (in any field) from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S., Department of Education (e.g., SACSCOC, TRACS, ABHE, etc.). Applicants who hold a prior degree from an unaccredited institution may be considered for admission on Academic Caution.
2. First-time applicants are asked to submit contact information for one pastoral recommender.
3. Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.00 scale).
4. School of Divinity Questionnaire

Transfer of Credit

Students may transfer up to 18 hours of coursework into the Pastoral Counseling program. For a transferred course to replace a Liberty University course, the following requirements must be met:

1. The school at which the course was taken must be appropriately accredited.
2. The course credit must be at least three semester hours or five quarter hours.
3. The student must have earned a grade of C- or better in the course.
4. The course must overlap one of Liberty’s courses by at least 80%.

Courses related to counseling that meet all but the last criterion may be transferred in as elective courses. Course work must have been completed within the previous 10 years. Transfer credits will not be accepted for the following courses:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
PACO 500	Introduction to Pastoral Counseling	3
PACO 501	Foundational Doctrines for Pastoral Counselors	3
PACO 509	Spiritual Formation in Pastoral Counseling	3
PACO 617	Theories and Techniques in Pastoral Counseling	3
PACO 699	Pastoral Counseling Internship	3

Credit will not be awarded for life experience or continuing education workshops.

Scheduling Intensive Courses

Please note that MAPC courses are offered only if enrollment is sufficient.

Optional Intensives

Currently, there are only two (2) PACO courses that are offered as optional intensives: PACO 509 Spiritual Formation in Pastoral Counseling (3 c.h.) and PACO 617 Theories and Techniques in Pastoral Counseling (3 c.h.). Please note that these are offered only if enrollment is sufficient.

Students in online programs are encouraged to take residential format courses found in the core courses section of the program of study.

Delivery Format: Online Only

Delivery Format: Residential and Online

• Associate pastor
• Counselor
• Lay leader
• Missionary
• Youth pastor