JTS’s MA in Spiritual Care and Counseling welcomes people who feel called upon to bring healing to a troubled world by becoming a spiritual care professional. Inspired by Judaism’s rich tradition of caring for others during significant and challenging times, JTS’s program offers both a traditional in-person and a flexible online pathway for developing the skills and capacity to support, comfort, and accompany people through difficulty.
The Master’s in Spiritual Care and Counseling is available as a full-time or part-time, online, or in-person program. The program offers flexibility for students to move through their requirements at their own pace.
Innovative Curriculum and Experiential Learning
JTS’s innovative Masters in Spiritual Care and Counseling provides students with both theoretical academic knowledge and practical experiential learning in the field of spiritual care and counseling. While newly launched, the MA builds on seventy years of academic teaching and fifteen years as an accredited center for supervised chaplaincy internships.
Focus Areas
- Death
- Trauma
- Illness
- Hospitalization
- Incarceration
Students will focus on providing care to people during difficult times, including death, trauma, illness, hospitalization, and incarceration, and in settings such as hospitals, congregations, schools, camps, or prisons.
Learn about the role of Spiritual Care in healthcare
Program Structure and Requirements
The program consists of 30 credit hours, with 18 credits of academic, theoretical work, 6 credits of experiential learning through an internship, and 6 elective credits. The program will conclude with a culminating project, The Capstone, which can be an academic research paper, the development of a professional tool, an artistic expression, or a relevant alternative that is pre-approved by the Program Director.
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Discover the vast range of avenues for spiritual care, including language, text, objects, and rituals from an array of religious, spiritual, and cultural sources.
Internship Requirements
Students must complete at least one CPE internship, referred to as a “unit” of CPE, totaling 400 hours of clinical and educational work. The internship must be accredited by ACPE: The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) or the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC/ACSS). While we encourage participation in our own internship program, admission to the master’s program does not guarantee a placement in it due to limited availability.
Our faculty and staff are available for guidance in exploring the over 400 accredited ACPE programs around the country. A directory can be found here.
Transfer Credits
Students may transfer credit for up to 2 units of CPE internship (accredited by either ACPE or CASC), totaling up to or 12 credits. Students may transfer up to 6 credits, or 2 courses, of approved academic coursework in Spiritual or Pastoral Care and Counseling. Courses in Pastoral or Spiritual Care and Counseling previously taken at JTS are automatically approved.
Board Certification and Faith Group Endorsement
Board certification is a process by which a chaplain or spiritual care giver demonstrates a mastery of advanced knowledge and skill and capacity for providing spiritual care. Though it is not a government issued and legally required licensure, it is the credential issued by the professional chaplaincy associations and is required by some institutions for employment.
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Faith group (or ecclesiastical) endorsement is required by some, but not all, certifying associations.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Length | Full-time or Part-time |
| Program Delivery | Online or In-person |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 |
| Academic Credits | 18 |
| Experiential Learning Credits | 6 (via internship) |
| Elective Credits | 6 |
| Internship Accreditation | ACPE or CASC/ACSS |
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