2025 Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Master's Degree Schools in Minnesota

If you plan on getting your master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #100 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Master's Degree Schools in Minnesota ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 45 master's degrees in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to pastoral counseling & specialized ministries students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other pastoral counseling & specialized ministries students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for pastoral counseling & specialized ministries to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized pastoral counseling & specialized ministries related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for pastoral counseling & specialized ministries students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Master's Degree Schools in Minnesota ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries in Minnesota

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries.

Top Minnesota Schools for a Master's in Pastoral Counseling

1

University of Northwestern - St Paul
Saint Paul, MN

10 Annual Graduates

University of Northwestern - St Paul is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries. Northwestern is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Paul.More information about a master’s in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries from University of Northwestern - St Paul

2

Bethel University Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN

18 Annual Graduates

$45,641 Median Starting Salary

Bethel University Minnesota is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries. Located in the suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

After graduation, pastoral counseling master's recipients usually make an average of $45,641 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries from Bethel University Minnesota

Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	193	27
Iowa	154	0
Kansas	149	0
Nebraska	123	4
South Dakota	89	6

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Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Related Rankings by Major

One of 7 majors within the Theology & Religious Vocations area of study, Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries has other similar majors worth exploring.

Pastoral Counseling Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Pastoral Studies/Counseling	26
Lay Ministry	19

Majors Similar to Pastoral Counseling

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Theological & Ministerial Studies	275
Religious Education	26
Missionary Studies	15
Theology & Religious Vocations (Other)	12

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.