Master of Divinity and Master of Science, Mental Health Counseling Dual Degrees (M.Div.+MSMHC)

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Purpose and Outcomes

The Master of Divinity/Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling is awarded jointly by the School of Ministry and the School of Education and Behavioral Studies. The goal of the M.Div./M.S. Dual Degree is to educate students to assume responsibilities as pastors or counselors for churches or para-church organizations. The program is directed toward providing didactic and experiential education to students that will allow them to:

develop the biblical, theological and historical knowledge to assist leading and shepherding a church or para-church organization; and,
develop the biblical, historical, theoretical, and practical knowledge to offer professional counseling services in a church or para-church setting.

Course Schedule/Structure

There are a variety of scheduling options for successfully completing the M.Div./M.S. Dual Degree coursework. The time required will depend upon the student’s initiative in scheduling counseling courses while still completing M.Div. courses, either during summer sessions or during a fall or spring semester.

To increase the likelihood of success and preventing students from overextending themselves academically, each student will be required to design a complete course sequence for both M.Div. and counseling courses by the end of his/her first semester. This plan must be formulated in consultation with and authorized by the student’s M.Div. and M.S. advisors.

Degree Requirements

A total of 114 credit hours are required. As part of the Dual Degree, students must successfully complete 54 credit hours of M.Div. coursework and 60 credit hours of graduate counseling coursework. When completed separately, the traditional M.Div. program at PBA requires 72 credit hours and the M.S. in Mental Health Counseling 60 credit hours.

Students who intend to enroll in the dual degree must be accepted into both programs separately. Upon admission to the dual degree program students are able to enroll in both M.Div. and counseling courses during the same semester as time and schedules permit. No degree is awarded until the student completes the entire program and meets all degree requirements for both degrees.

Students with a bachelor’s degree in a non-ministry major are required to complete up to 24 hours of specific foundational coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level. These courses must be successfully completed prior to attempting the graduate courses. Students’ foundational courses in which grades below “C-” have been earned are not acceptable.

A grade of at least “C-” and a GPA of at least 2.5 on a four-point scale is required for “successful” completion of all M.Div. coursework. A grade of at least “C” and a GPA of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale is required for “successful” completion of all graduate counseling coursework. Students must complete all degree requirements within 10 years from the start of the program.