The 36-credit hour Master of Arts in Counseling For Ministry (MACM) degree prepares 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 MACM is suited especially 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. While MACM graduates are prepared to integrate some foundational practices of counseling, this degree does not prepare students for state licensure as professional counselors. If you are interested in acquiring a licensed professional counseling credential or a career as a licensed professional counselor in a clinical mental health setting, look to the MA in Pastoral Counseling.
The MACM 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.
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 curriculum consists of a 12 course, 36 credit hour program comprising 9 core required courses:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| IPS 545 | The Foundations of Christian Spirituality | 3 |
| IPS 416 | Introduction to New Testament | 3 |
| IPS 417 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| IPS 531 | Christian Doctrine | 3 |
| IPS 555 | Human Person and Psychological Development | 3 |
| IPS 428 | Introduction to Spirituality Praxis | 3 |
| IPS 403 | Spiritual Paths in World Religions | 3 |
| IPS 512 | Ethics, Pastoral Counseling, and Spirituality | 3 |
| IPS 572 | Ignatian Spirituality | 3 |
| IPS 578 | Contextual Education Preparation | 0 |
| IPS 579 | Contextual Education Introduction | 0 |
| IPS 580 | Contextual Education I | 3 |
| IPS 593 | Integration Project | 0 |
| Total Hours | 36 |
Contextual Education
MA in Christian Spirituality students acquire and enhance their spiritual leadership and skills in a structured contextual education program that combines onsite mentoring and supervision, skill-based workshops, as well as peer and faculty weekly reflection sessions. Students typically minister 8-10 hours per week for a period of 20-22 weeks, for a total of at least 200 hours of onsite experience and formation. The field learning settings can be directly related to the student's present work situation or can be selected from placements IPS has cultivated in the resource rich area of Chicago or other settings around the nation or the world.
Students fulfill the Contextual Education requirement of the MA in Christian Spirituality by successfully completing the following 3 courses:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| IPS 578 | Contextual Education Preparation | 0 |
| IPS 579 | Contextual Education Introduction | 0 |
| IPS 580 | Contextual Education I | 3 |
Integration Project
MA in Christian Spirituality students complete the program with IPS 593 Integration Project, the zero-credit Integration Project, in their final year.
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 supersede 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)
