ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care
D.Min. credential
Carry the long pastoral care of a congregation well, through a professional doctorate in the cure of souls.
Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care: Your Grant Price
Applications are free. Eligible applicants receive their admission and Grant decision before any one-time program fee is requested.
Published tuition
$24,900.00
$649.00 Registry & Assessment Fee
$149
Doctoral Degree
2026 Life in Christ Grant is active
Ministry Experience, Evaluated Against Academic Standards.
Documented prior learning may be considered when it aligns with program outcomes; every credit decision follows academic review.
Program Overview
About this program
The Doctor of Ministry in pastoral care is for pastors recovering the classical cure of souls in present practice. The cure of souls is older than the therapeutic professions and was largely handed over to them. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway recovers it: the historical practice, visiting the sick and dying, grief and funerals, care systems across a whole congregation, confidentiality and its limits, care for the carers, and building lay teams that can be trusted.
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Recognition of demonstrated learning in theology and ministry
Experienced ministry practitioners demonstrate competencies developed through years of service, theological study, and continuing learning. The assessment connects that learning with the published outcomes of the Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care through biblical understanding, theological reflection, research, and ministry judgment.
70
Audited questions in this pathway bank
30
Questions drawn for each sitting
60 minutes
Time available for the knowledge component
24 hours
Interval before reassessment
Theological knowledge and degree outcomes
- Published bank title
- Doctor of Ministry: Pastoral Care - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Pastoral Care
- Question construction
- 14 pathway subject-bank sources contribute 5 questions each, producing the complete 70-question bank.
How completion is reported
- The knowledge component contributes 40% and assessed ministry experience contributes 60% to one weighted result.
- The reported result is no lower than 80%, matching the 80% degree pass mark.
- Reassessment draws a fresh question set and is included in program access, with no additional fee or limit on sittings.
- The integrated assessment covers the published degree plan; separate course assessments, a capstone paper, and a dissertation defense are not required.
Program Objectives
What you will achieve
Integrate advanced theological inquiry and ministry judgment in service to the church and its mission
Locate present practice within the classical tradition of the cure of souls
Maintain care across a whole congregation through systems, not memory
Hold confidentiality and safeguarding duties together correctly
Build and supervise lay care teams
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Design a congregational care system that identifies need reliably
Lead a funeral and a bereavement follow-up plan across a year
Recruit, train, and supervise a lay care team with clear boundaries
Complete a doctoral project evidencing improved congregational care
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Pastor of congregational care
Senior pastor
Pastoral care trainer
Hospice or bereavement minister
Major Subject Areas
The fourteen subjects you study, and the ones the ministry assessment draws on
Foundational and Major-Core Subjects
Four foundations every pathway shares, then four that belong to this field.
Doctoral Seminar: Biblical Interpretation
Scripture at a bedside, in a crisis, and at a graveside, where the wrong text does damage that is not quickly repaired.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's lament tradition, which is the church's given language for suffering that does not resolve.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament on endurance, consolation and the body that bears one another's burdens.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
Doctrine under pressure: providence, evil and resurrection, and what may honestly be said to a dying person.
Doctoral Seminar: History of the Cure of Souls
The classical cure of souls, covering its history from the patristic period through the Reformation manuals to its modern displacement by therapy.
Doctoral Seminar: Visiting the Sick and the Dying
Visiting the sick and the dying, covering the visit itself, prognosis conversations, sacramental practice, and care for the family.
Doctoral Seminar: Grief, Funerals, and Bereavement
Grief, funerals, and bereavement, covering the service, the family conversation, and congregational practice through the following year.
Doctoral Seminar: Care Across a Whole Congregation
Care across a whole congregation, covering systems for knowing who needs what, and the realistic limits of one minister's knowledge.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Confidentiality and Pastoral Boundaries
Confidentiality and pastoral boundaries, covering the limits of confidentiality, safeguarding duties, dual relationships, and record keeping.
Doctoral Seminar: Caring for the Carers
Caring for the carers, covering vicarious trauma, supervision, sabbath, and the distinction between compassion and compulsive rescue.
Doctoral Seminar: Building Lay Care Teams
Building lay care teams, covering recruitment, training, supervision, boundaries, and what may and may not be delegated.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Pastoral Care Project
The doctoral pastoral care project, covering design, intervention, evaluation, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Caring for the carers, including yourself, and the supervision and sabbath that make long pastoral work survivable.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral pastoral care project: a congregational care system designed, implemented and evaluated.
Admission Requirements
What you need to apply
- Master's degree in theology, ministry, or a relevant field from an accredited or recognized institution
- Official graduate transcripts demonstrating advanced academic preparation
- Research statement identifying a proposed area of theological or ministry inquiry
- Scholarly or ministry-focused writing sample
- Current curriculum vitae documenting relevant research, church, or ministry leadership experience
- Three ministry or academic recommendations and a faculty interview
Degree Completion Requirements
Requirements for the Doctor of Ministry
Graduation Requirements
- Complete at least 60 doctoral semester credits in the approved degree plan
- Pass the Competency-Based Ministry Assessment for the degree
- Satisfy every doctoral-core, research-methods, specialization, elective, and Competency-Based Ministry Assessment requirement group
- Integrate theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience under the published result-weighting policy
- Recognize demonstrated learning against every published degree-plan requirement
Culminating Experience
Demonstrate doctoral-level theological synthesis, research judgment, and ministry leadership through Competency-Based Ministry Assessment, combining theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience.
Credit Distribution
| Requirement Area | Credits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Doctoral Core | 24 | 8 courses. Doctoral theory, disciplinary foundations, and scholarly leadership. |
| Research Design and Methods | 12 | 4 courses. University-wide doctoral preparation in quantitative, qualitative, measurement, and research-ethics competencies. |
| Area of Specialization | 15 | 5 courses. Focused doctoral inquiry supporting the learner's research agenda. |
| Doctoral Elective | 6 | 2 courses. Any doctoral-level major course from any school that is not already part of this degree plan. |
| Competency-Based Ministry Assessment | 3 | 1 course. Integrated doctoral theological knowledge and assessed ministry experience, recognizing demonstrated learning across the published degree plan. |
| Total Degree Credits | 60 | All requirements must be completed within the approved degree plan. |
Program Details
Program Length
Self-Paced
Self-Paced Learning
Total Credits
60 credit hours
Up to 30 Transfer Credits
Published Degree Plan
20 courses
Across 5 required curriculum groups
Format
Flexible Study
Assessment Format
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Selected Degree
Doctorate
School
School of Theology and Ministry
Institutional Status
ICAS Accredited
Ready to Begin Your Accredited Pastoral Care Degree?
Applying costs nothing, and the work you have already done may count. Have a look at what this pathway asks for before you decide.