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MA in Counseling Ministries with a Chaplaincy concentration

A chaplain is a spiritual leader who performs the same types of rites, services and ceremonies as a pastor or priest but in environments outside of the church. Chaplains often serve a group of people who are not organized as a church or mission or who are otherwise unable to attend a church for various reasons such as health, confinement or military or civil duties.

The Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries with a Chaplaincy Concentration prepares students for work in most informal chaplaincy settings where ordination is not required for employment or where more counseling skills are necessary. (Be sure to check with your church or denominational Chaplain Endorsing Agent to be sure this degree meets their particular endorsement requirements.)

Watch a video from the Division of Counseling 

The MA in Counseling Ministries with a Chaplaincy concentration is excellent preparation for chaplaincy settings not requiring ordination, such as:

  • Business/workplace/industrial organizations

  • Crisis and disaster teams and first-provider units (police/fire/EMT)

  • Crisis counseling centers

  • High school/graduate school educational institutions

  • Hospice, eldercare and teen residential centers

  • Rescue missions and other parachurch organizations

  • Sports and leisure organizations and teams

NOTE: With 10 more credit hours, this program qualifies for application for Military chaplaincy

Structure

In addition to the MA core, the MA in Counseling Ministries with a concentration in Chaplaincy involves 20 hours of required Counseling courses plus 12 hours of Chaplaincy specific courses:

  • Required counseling courses (20 hrs): Counseling Theories, Human Development and Counseling, Psychopathology and Diagnosis, Therapeutic Communication, Group Experience, Professional Orientation, Social and Cultural Foundations in Counseling, Integration of Counseling and Theology and Community-based CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education)

  • Chaplaincy Courses (12 hrs): Brief Counseling, Brief Counseling Practicum, The Many Faces of Chaplaincy, Plan and Lead Worship and Religious Services, and Religious Pluralism or Defending the Faith

Read an article in Christianity Today about chaplaincy

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