Program Outline

The D.Min. in Biblical Counseling is a professional terminal degree designed to encourage excellence in the practice of counseling and training others to counsel using the Word of God. It is predicated upon both the superiority and sufficiency of Scripture in dealing with serious turmoil of the soul and is in keeping with the Mission Statement of The Master’s University & Seminary. The curriculum is designed to advance the doctoral student to be a qualified trainer of others in the practice of biblical counseling with the context of counseling and counseling training being primarily the local church. It is intended that graduates of this degree from TMU would assume leadership roles in biblical counseling throughout the world.

The D.Min. in Biblical Counseling intends to equip both pastoral men and lay men/women who desire to pursue a terminal degree in biblical counseling. This degree is designed for the highest level of student who is serious about biblical counseling and aspires to implement his/her studies into his/her current or future ministry daily.

Program Requirements

The D.Min. in Biblical Counseling degree is awarded to students who successfully fulfill the requirements of 12 core courses and one capstone thesis project (13 classes and 36 units in total).

Courses

• BC700 Biblical Counseling Foundations Seminar (0)*
• BC701 Theology of Discipleship & Soul Care (4)
• BC702 Character Dynamics & Soul Care (4)
• BC711 Applied Ministry Experience I (2)
• BC712 Applied Ministry Experience II (2)
• BC721 Writing & Research in Counseling I (2)
• BC722 Writing & Research in Counseling II (2)
• BC801 Marriage & Family Counseling (4)
• BC802 Difficult Issues in Counseling (4)
• BC811 Applied Ministry Experience III (2)
• BC812 Applied Ministry Experience IV (2)
• BC821 Writing & Research in Counseling III (2)
• BC822 Writing & Research in Counseling IV (2)
• BC899 Counseling Thesis Project Culmination (4)

*BC700 BC Foundations Seminar is a first-year course taken alongside the first module or two of courses in the program to help those not certified with ACBC to get fully certified and those who are deficient in particular theological or counseling-related areas get further training.

ACBC Fellow Status

Every student graduating from the D.Min. in Biblical Counseling program will have completed most or all ACBC requirements to reach fellows status (men) or to become supervising assistants to fellows (women) by undergoing at least 500 hours of supervised counseling through the program.

Program Format

The D.Min. in Biblical Counseling is a full-time, two-year program only. The program is constructed around four modules, one in the fall and one in the spring each year. Each module spans a typical 16-week semester. Coursework for each class will be conducted over 16-weeks and culminate in 10-day on-campus lectures each semester. The 10-day on-campus lectures will occur sometime before the 16 weeks are finished in the fall (beginning of December), and will occur immediately following the 16 weeks are finished in the spring (beginning of May). Attendance will be required during the in-class sessions conducted in the fall and spring. Failure to attend the in-class sessions will result in the student having to re-take the class. D.Min. classes are only offered in an on-campus format. Please examine the Modular Schedule below to see how courses are divided among each module.

Program Length

The D.Min. in Biblical Counseling is a 2-year, 4-semester program, and is only offered in a full-time capacity, where students must take all the classes offered in a given module. There is no part-time option available. That being the case, students will be allowed to take semesters off from the program for extenuating circumstances. In such cases, the student will be subject to a $500 continuing education fee in order to keep his/her active status in the program and avoid having to reapply and take modules over again. In addition, students must complete their studies in no more than 8 academic semesters (approximately 4 years). A semester is included in the total even if students do not take a class in a semester. For re-admit students, the 8-semester limit resets to zero when they become inactive and return to the program. Failure to complete the program in 8 semesters will result in students being charged a $1,500 program extension fee for each semester they exceed this limit up to 2 semesters. In cases where students exceed the limit of 8 semesters, or exceed the three-additional semester limit, the Graduate Studies administration may require them to retake any or all courses to graduate and continue to pay the program extension fee per semester.

Modular Schedule

The courses in the D.Min. in Biblical Counseling have been predetermined for the student for each module and are arranged as follows. Students will sign up for these classes before each semester begins, and are not allowed to take any more or less classes than what is listed below in each module.

Module 1

• BC700 Biblical Counseling Foundations Seminar (only for certain students; no class time)
• BC711 Applied Ministry Experience I (remote supervised counseling; no class time)
• BC721 Writing & Research in Counseling I (class time: 2-3 total days)
• BC701 Theology of Discipleship & Soul Care (class time: 6 total days)

Module 2

• BC712 Applied Ministry Experience II (remote supervised counseling; no class time)
• BC722 Writing & Research in Counseling II (class time: 2-3 total days)
• BC702 Character Dynamics & Soul Care (class time: 6 total days)

Module 3

• BC811 Applied Ministry Experience III (remote supervised counseling; no class time)
• BC821 Writing & Research in Counseling III (class time: 2-3 total days)
• BC801 Marriage & Family Counseling (class time: 6 total days)

Module 4

• BC812 Applied Ministry Experience IV (remote supervised counseling; no class time)
• BC822 Writing & Research in Counseling IV (class time: 2-3 total days)
• BC802 Difficult Issues in Counseling (class time: 6 total days)
• BC899 Biblical Counseling Thesis Project Culmination (finalized after module 4 is finished)