Program Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Counseling is an advanced religious education program designed for individuals seeking doctoral-level study of Christian counseling, psychology, human behavior, biblical interpretation, and the complex factors that influence emotional, cognitive, relational, and spiritual well-being. The program integrates advanced counseling and psychological study with biblical and theological foundations, preparing students to examine significant counseling concerns through rigorous scholarly inquiry and a distinctly Christian worldview. Students engage advanced counseling, counseling ethics and disorders, the psychology of learning, intelligence and language, counseling principles, leadership and reconciliation, biblical interpretation, and the relationship between Christ, culture, eternity, and time. Through these areas of study, students critically examine how cognition, learning, behavior, relationships, culture, spiritual beliefs, and ethical considerations intersect within Christian counseling and faith-based helping environments. The program emphasizes doctoral-level analysis, scholarly inquiry, ethical judgment, biblical and theological integration, critical evaluation of counseling principles, and the development of defensible approaches to complex issues within Christian counseling. The program culminates in doctoral research and a dissertation, through which students demonstrate their ability to conduct substantive scholarly inquiry, synthesize biblical and academic knowledge, evaluate significant issues within the discipline, and contribute meaningfully to Christian counseling scholarship and ministry practice.