M.A. in Christian Counseling

General Description and Program Goals

The Master of Arts in Christian Counseling degree is a two year program that provides in-depth course work for those who wish to be equipped with counseling competence needed to assist Christian individuals and families, both in clinical and non-clinical settings, both in and out of the local church context. The degree program requires 54 semester credits. As many as 27 semester credits of graduate work may be transferred from another institution.

The goals of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling program are to:

- To prepare students for professional counseling ministry; and
- To prepare students for counseling related services in church and community.

Learning Outcome:

Upon completing this degree, students will be able to:

- Integrate Bible/theology and counseling;
- Demonstrate personal and spiritual maturity as a care giving professional;
- Demonstrate leadership and professional skills for counseling related services;
- Demonstrate critical thinking ability for academic research; and
- Demonstrate cultural competency in counseling.

Prerequisites

Students who do not have a BA in psychology or (Christian) counseling must take 9 credits of BA-level prerequisite courses. The following courses are required:

LA102 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
CE210 Life-span Development (3 credits)
CC115 Essential Qualities of a Christian Counselor (3 credits)

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling program the student is required to have completed a minimum of 54 semester credits with a 2.5 GPA or above. At least 27 credits must be completed at World Mission University. Students must demonstrate competence in at least seven of ten ministry skills listed on the Ministry Skills Assessment Form (see Supervised Ministry Handbook).

To complete the program, a thesis will be submitted and approved by the graduation committee. The student will register for the course PT606 Thesis Project during the final year of the program and submit a prospectus and outline of the thesis for faculty approval. The school will assign an academic supervisor according to the topic of the thesis. The length of the thesis will be approximately 50 pages of the text, double-spaced. The thesis must meet the writing standards of WMU.

Course Titles and Level

Degree Requirements: 54 Credits

The Master of Arts in Christian Counseling requires 54 semester credits of course work comprised of 18 credits of Biblical/Theological studies, 3 credits of Practical Ministry Studies, 27 credits of Professional studies, and 6 credits of field education.