Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

MA in CM

Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries

The lay counseling preparation you need to deepen your interpersonal skills in ministry.

The Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries (MA in CM) is designed to cultivate counseling skills in those who desire to work as lay counselors in churches, in parachurch organizations, or in an international setting where formal certification is not required (since this is a non-licensure track program).

Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries

Where can this degree take me?

Any ministry involvement in which a knowledge of persons is crucial – but which would not require professional counseling licensure – would benefit from our MA in CM. There are more and more ministries (both in the U.S. and abroad) that would benefit from training in counseling skills and in deeper knowledge of the integration of psychology & the human sciences with Scripture and theology. Additionally, many MDiv students or longtime pastors and church leaders find that our MA in CM gives them a much broader base from which to understand and work with people in various counseling situations that don’t require professional licensure.

If you’re looking to become a licensed counselor, you may be interested in our MA in Mental Health Counseling.

What will I study?

Courses you’ll take include the following:

  • Biblical and Theological Studies - 12 hours

    ID 5000 Biblical Theology and Interpretation 3 hours
    ID 5010 Foundations in Biblical Studies 3 hours
    ST 5000 Survey of Doctrine 3 hours
    CO 6710 Psychology and Theology 3 hours

  • Counseling Courses - 13 hours

    Required:

    CM 5110 Survey of Counseling Ministries 2 hours
    CM 6572 Pastoral Counseling for Marriage and Family 3 hours
    CO 5210 Counseling Skills Training 3 hours
    CO 6130 Group Counseling 3 hours
    CO 7140 Crisis Counseling 2 hours

  • Electives - 14-16 hours

    Suggested Non-Counseling Electives (5-6 hours)

    ST 5200 Christian Ethics 3 hours
    PR 5500 Apologetics 2 hours
    EM 5510 Christian Formation and Journey –or–
    Bioethics courses (BE) –or–
    Contemporary Culture courses (CC) 2 hours

    Suggested Counseling Electives (9-10 hours)

    CM 6000 Issues in Counseling Ministry 1-3 hour
    CO 6120 Addiction Counseling 3 hour
    CO 6530 Child and Adolescent Counseling 2-3 hour
    CO 6610 Human Sexuality –or–
    Other applied Counseling courses 3 hours

  • Formation Group and Counseling Capstone - 2 hours

    Formation Group

    ID 5080 Formation Group (two semesters) 0 hours

    Counseling Capstone (2 hours)

    CM 7950 Christian Counseling Practicum –or–
    CO 7478 Counseling Ministries Project 2 hours

Counseling Faculty

You’ll take some biblical and theological studies courses in other departments, but most of your coursework will take place with our Counseling department:

View All Faculty

What are the prerequisites for admission to this program?

In addition to the requirements for general admission, you’ll need the following:

  • An undergraduate major that prepares you for the program (including coursework in psychology).
  • An undergrad GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; if lower, we’ll need scores from either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).