The 36 credit hour Master Of Arts degree in Counseling For Ministry is designed to prepare students to become competent and effective pastoral caregivers in their present and future ministries.
Our contemporary social and cultural contexts reveal strong needs for ministry-based caregiving with competency from within religious traditions and their communities. The long and rich history of counseling within ministry gives witness to that commitment called "ministry of care", or in Jesuit terms, cura personalis.
The Master's in Counseling for Ministry degree program is suited to international students and others who do not require the 60 credit hour MA in Pastoral Counseling that is designed to meet the requirements for Illinois licensure as a clinical counselor.
The MA in Counseling for Ministry mirrors the competency requirements of the Pastoral Counseling program but without the additional licensure requirements, allowing students to serve the therapeutic needs of faith communities in the USA and around the world.
To learn more about the master's degree in counseling for ministry and studying in the USA, please visit our request for information form or attend an online information session.
The Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago (IPS), is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools. The Board of Commissioners of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) granted full accreditation to IPS on June 10, 2019.
The Association of Theological Schools
10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15275-1110
Telephone: 412-788-6505
The following IPS degree programs are approved by the Commission on Accrediting: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Spirituality (Professional MA), Master of Arts in Counseling for Ministry (Professional MA), Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling (Professional MA), and the Master of Arts in Social Justice (Professional MA) were also approved, as were our comprehensive online (distance education) programs.
Curriculum
The Master of Arts in Counseling for Ministry allows international students and those interested in Pastoral Counseling to receive a degree in counseling without the 60 credit hour licensure requirements. This 36 credit hour program continues to build student's understanding of religious culture, values and beliefs in a reflective and articulate form while equipping students to serve the therapeutic needs of their communities in a meaningful way.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| IPS 400 | Introduction to Graduate and Professional Writing 1 | 0 |
| IPS 473 | Family Therapy and Personal Transformation | 3 |
| IPS 501 | Advanced Human Relation Skills | 3 |
| IPS 502 | Theology of the Developing Person | 3 |
| IPS 503 | Fundamentals of Pastoral Counseling | 3 |
| IPS 505 | Group Counseling Approaches | 3 |
| IPS 512 | Ethics, Pastoral Counseling, and Spirituality | 3 |
| IPS 555 | Human Person and Psychological Development | 3 |
| IPS 564 | Foundations of Pastoral Care | 3 |
| 9 |
| Spiritual Paths in World Religions | |
| Theologies of Suffering | |
| Introduction to Spirituality Praxis | |
| Pastoral Counseling in an Intercultural Context | |
| Addictions & Modes of Therapy | |
| Special Topics in Health Care Ethics | |
| IPS 578 | Contextual Education Preparation | 0 |
| IPS 579 | Contextual Education Introduction | 0 |
| IPS 580 | Contextual Education I | 3 |
| IPS 530 | Clinical Pastoral Care Registration | 0 |
| IPS 593 | Integration Project | 0 |
| Total Hours | 36 |
Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations
Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supercede school policies.
Learning Outcomes
By completing the Master of Arts in Counseling for Ministry, students will be able to demonstrate:
- The ability of pastoral caregivers to engage their social and cultural contextual environments in order to expand their pastoral competencies. (Cultural Context)
- The ability to interpret and assess pastoral caregiving in relation to the historical and contemporary pastoral commitments of faith communities (Theology/Spirituality/Religious Heritage)
- The ability to offer competent and meaningful pastorally supportive services within largely faith-based contexts, based on personal, interpersonal, and spiritual maturity (Maturity/Personal Formation)
- The ability to appropriately assess personal and relational life conditions that contribute to human distress and break down, with the skills needed to discern and effectively pastoral engage the identified dilemmas within the range of their defined competencies. (Skills/Ministerial Leadership)
