The people who are doing the most are capable of doing the most.
Blake Willard
Homeschool Mastery Group
Read the Story →An ACU Student Experience
Master of Arts
Master of Arts in
Biblical Counseling.
Deepen your approach to ministry care through an online master’s degree in biblical counseling. Evaluate counseling approaches using Scripture and research, and develop a supported philosophy of care with clear boundaries.
What you'll develop
More than knowledge.
Capability you can show.
Develop practical capabilities for the people and places you serve.
Care from a biblical foundation.
Develop an approach to counsel rooted in Scripture and a Christian understanding of people and growth.
Understand people more deeply.
Explore human development, suffering, and personal calling as you learn to respond with wisdom and care.
Build healthier conversations.
Strengthen communication skills that support relationships, pastoral care, and discipleship.
Serve in ministry care settings.
Prepare for biblical counseling in church and ministry contexts. This path does not lead to state licensure.
How you learn
Your real-world context
becomes part of the course.
Online coursework connects with a relevant role in a church, camp, nonprofit, or other ministry setting. A volunteer or professional role can work. Admissions can help you confirm a context that fits your program.
Plan Your Course Load
Graduate students typically take 3–6 credits per 8-week term. Taking courses in all five terms offers a pace of 15–30 credits per year. Partner schedules may use 8- or 16-week terms. Your completion time depends on your program, approved prior credits, and course plan.
01
Explore
Engage Scripture, research, and ideas relevant to your studies.
02
Reflect
Examine how those ideas relate to the challenges you encounter.
03
Apply
Create work that demonstrates what you are learning.
2026-27 Academic Catalog
Your curriculum.
30 credits, clearly mapped.
Explore the required courses and choices that shape your program. An advisor can help you connect these requirements with your goals and previous learning.
View official degree requirements ↗Requirements from the published 2026-27 catalog.
Biblical Counseling Core (12 Credits)
The MA Biblical Counseling degree program is designed with a powerful core block that builds a foundational toolbox for Christ-centered compassionate care.
COU506 · Introduction to Biblical Counseling — 3 credits
COU509 · Spiritual Formation & Identity — 3 credits
COU505 · Methods of Biblical Change — 3 credits
COU544 · Helping Relationships — 3 credits
Biblical Counseling Electives (18 Credits)
Select 6 of the following options.
COU514 · Counseling Children — 3 credits
COU515 · Counseling Grief and Loss — 3 credits
COU532 · Career Counseling — 3 credits
COU535 · Group Counseling — 3 credits
COU539 · Marriage and Family Counseling — 3 credits
COU540 · Trauma & Abuse — 3 credits
COU546 · Psychological Disorders — 3 credits
COU555 · Starting a Biblical Counseling Ministry — 3 credits
COU557 · Counseling Skills & Processes — 3 credits
COU617 · Understanding & Treating Addictions — 3 credits
Total degree credits30
Understand your investment
Your pace.
Your annual investment.
Explore a tuition estimate based on your expected credits and study pace. A credit review helps turn your estimate into a personal degree plan.
Estimated annual tuition
$7,500
$7,500 estimated remaining degree tuition
30 credits remaining · 1 years at this pace
Your graduate comparison
Selected Christian online ministry/theology master’s programs
$460/credit benchmark · 30 credits this year$13,800
$460/credit benchmark · 30 credits this year$13,800
$6,300projected annual tuition savings
$6,300 lower tuition over your remaining 30 credits.
Comparison Sources & Assumptions
Graduate benchmark: equally weighted mean of seven selected schools’ 2026–27 online ministry/theology master’s tuition rates ($457.24, rounded to $460/credit). Full-time rates where available; Liberty’s $2,850 semester block is normalized to 9 credits. This is a selected-school reference, not a national average or a program-by-program equivalence.
- Liberty — Divinity master’s; $2,850 semester block at 9 credits: $317/credit
- Southeastern — MA Global Ministry Design: $545/credit
- Lancaster Bible College — Seminary master’s, full-time: $478/credit
- Cedarville — Master of Theological Studies: $436/credit
- Moody — Online graduate: $555/credit
- Cairn — MA Executive Ministry Leadership, full-time: $455/credit
- Grand Canyon — MA Theology: $415/credit
For counseling and other specializations, use this as ministry/theology context rather than a discipline-specific comparison. Sources reviewed October 30, 2026.
Savings compare tuition for the same modeled credits at ACU and the online benchmark. Transfer credit and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) acceptance vary by school; equal remaining credits are an assumption, not a promise. Actual part-time and block tuition may differ. Fees, books, financial aid, additional ministry subsidies, and future price changes are excluded.
Most ministry partners subsidize $100/credit or more in addition to the partner rate; not included above.
Tuition estimate only; credit approval required. See the catalog for details.
Make an informed decision
Your questions.
Clear answers.
What will set me apart when I take my next step?
Anchor's integrated approach helps you move forward with financial freedom, demonstrated ability, and relationships that matter.
A path toward a debt-free launch. Accessible tuition, partner discounts, and additional ministry subsidies can help you prepare for ministry or further study without carrying education debt into your next chapter.
A portfolio that shows what you can do. Real projects completed throughout your degree give you concrete evidence of your competencies—work you can put on your résumé, discuss in interviews, and share with future ministry leaders.
People who can champion your next step. Learning and serving alongside organizational leaders builds a network of people who know your name, have seen your work, and can offer references, introductions, and encouragement as you move forward.
Do I need to be serving in ministry already?
The program connects learning to a real organizational context. Talk with admissions about your current role or opportunities to establish an appropriate context.
Can previous study or experience count?
A transfer and prior-learning review can evaluate eligible learning against program requirements. Credit is determined through that review.
How do I take the next step?
Start with an admissions conversation about your goals, background, learning context, and degree plan.
Talk with admissions ↗Your next chapter
in biblical counseling.
Let's explore how this degree can equip you to care for people with biblical wisdom and compassion.