2025 Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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 the Southeast Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 239 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 colleges for pastoral counseling & specialized ministries students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The pastoral counseling school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries in the Southeast Region

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

Top Southeast Region Schools for a Master's in Pastoral Counseling

1

Southeastern University
Lakeland, FL

27 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Southeastern University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries. SEU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Lakeland.More information about a master’s in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries from Southeastern University

2

Luther Rice College & Seminary
Lithonia, GA

27 Annual Graduates

$38,760 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Luther Rice College & Seminary if you wish to pursue a master's degree in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries. Located in the suburb of Lithonia, Luther Rice is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the pastoral counseling program earn about $38,760 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in pastoral counseling & specialized ministries from Luther Rice College & Seminary

Best Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries Colleges by State

Explore the best pastoral counseling & specialized ministries colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	21
Georgia	190	32
Virginia	182	1
North Carolina	178	29
Tennessee	166	36
Alabama	151	18
Kentucky	147	37
Louisiana	147	70
South Carolina	146	4
Mississippi	145	0
Arkansas	121	1

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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	159
Other Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	68
Women’s Ministry	6
Youth Ministry	4
Urban Ministry	2

Majors Similar to Pastoral Counseling

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Theological & Ministerial Studies	3,606
Biblical Studies	321
Missionary Studies	161
Religious Education	79
Sacred Music	60
Theology & Religious Vocations (Other)	59

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.