Purpose

As part of its overall mission to educate persons for service in the Christian Church, Erskine
Seminary offers the Master of Arts in Counseling Ministry (M.A.C.M.) degree. The purpose of
this degree is to equip persons for competent leadership in counseling ministries in Christian
congregations and other settings, to the end that God may be glorified. The purpose of
counseling is to enable persons to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Erskine Seminary, then,
is committed to the all-encompassing sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet every human need;
the authority of Scripture over all counseling approaches, techniques, and goals; and, the
central role of the Church in facilitating wholeness.

Goals

1. Graduates will understand the Bible’s message in light of its own literary, historical, and
theological settings.
2. Graduates will be prepared to articulate the relation between the Bible and the
contemporary contexts in which ministry takes place.
3. Graduates will be prepared to utilize the Church’s historical and theological heritage as
an important resource in their personal spiritual development and ministry.
4. Graduates will write and speak using theological language that is clear, well-considered,
disciplined, and meaningful for those to whom they minister.
5. Graduates will possess the capacity for critical and constructive Biblical/theological
evaluation of the major secular and Christian approaches to counseling.
6. Graduates will be prepared to serve the Church with Christian character and integrity in
their personal and professional lives.
7. Graduates will be prepared to view their ministries in light of the Church’s mission to
worship, follow, bear witness to, and serve Jesus Christ.
8. Graduates will be prepared to display self-awareness, wholeness, and ethics in the
context of Christian service to others.
9. Graduates will be prepared to address personal issues that may impede the process of
loving God, others, and oneself.
10. Graduates will be prepared to communicate the Bible’s message, so as to make clear
that its meaning is relevant for today.
11. Graduates will be prepared to foster a sense of community among those they serve in
Christian ministry.
12. Graduates will demonstrate effectiveness in assessment and the application of appropriate
interventions/ skills while working within a clinical or ecclesiastical context with individuals,
couples, and groups across the life span.

Residency and Graduation Requirements

A student must complete 60 semester hours of course work to qualify for the M.A.C.M.
degree. No more than 30 semester hours (1/2 of the degree) may be transferred in from
another institution, and no more than 30 hours in residence (that is, at the Due West
campus, by directed study, or through transfer credit taken in residence at another
institution). No thesis or dissertation is required for this degree. The program is designed
to be completed in two years of full-time study, although students may spread their program
over a longer period by studying part-time, not to exceed four years maximum.

Relation to Other Degrees

Students whose ministry goals warrant doing so may combine the M.A.C.M. with another of
Erskine Seminary’s master’s degrees. Students who combine the M.A.C.M. with the M.Div.
must complete 120 hours of total course work, including all courses required for both
degrees. Students who combine the M.A.C.M. with another two-year degree must complete
the 60 hours of the M.A.C.M., plus half of the hours required for the other degree, and must
take all courses required for both degrees. In such cases, students will ordinarily be conferred
both degrees at the same time, after the requirements for both have been met.

Curriculum

The 60 semester hours required for the M.A.C.M. degree include 15 hours in Bible, nine hours
in theology, three hours in ministry, and 33 hours of counseling courses. The specific require-
ments are as follows:

Bible Department
BI 502 Principles of Exegesis (Mandatory 1st year)
OT 501 Old Testament I
OT 502 Old Testament II
NT 601 New Testament I
NT 602 New Testament II

Theology Department
CH 551 Survey of Church History  
ST 551 Survey of Systematic Theology
Ethics Elective

Ministry Department
PM 609 Pastoral Care Ministry

Counseling Courses
CO 551 Biblical Counseling
CO 560 Techniques and Theories of Counseling
CO 565 Counseling Skill Development
CO 570 Human Growth and Development
CO 575 Premarital Counseling
CO 580 Family and Marriage Counseling
CO 595 and 596 Supervised Counseling Practicum I and II
Two Counseling Electives

All entering M.A.C.M. students are expected to possess a foundational knowledge of the
English Bible upon admission to the program. Students must therefore demonstrate
competence in English Bible by taking the Bible Challenge Exam as early in their studies as
possible. Students who fail the challenge exam are required to take BI 501 (or BI 501Z),
before the end of their first year of study. Students may take this 2-hour course either for
continuing education credit or for full academic credit, but the hours will not count toward
the 60 hours required for the degree.

The M.A.C.M. degree must normally be completed within four years from the time the
student is enrolled in the program. Students should note that most counseling courses are
offered only every other year. Thus, careful attention should be given to the selection and
sequence of courses due to the biennial scheduling of these courses. Students in two
degree programs may take only one practicum in any given semester.

Students should pay close attention to the schedules for each year and the projected long-
term schedule (posted on the website and the bulletin board in Bowie Hall), to make sure
they know when and where their required courses will be offered. In particular, students
should notice that some of the M.A.C.M. required courses are offered only in Greenville,
and only every other year.

All general seminary requirements for graduation must be met, including completion of the
Professional Assessment program. The student must also pass the Comprehensive Counseling
Ministry (CCM) examination that is administered on an as-needed basis. Guidelines regarding
the exam will be made available.

While the M.A.C.M. degree is designed primarily to prepare persons to engage in counseling
ministry within the Church, some of the coursework may be acceptable for fulfillment of
some state licensure requirements. The M.A.C.M. degree is not intended to provide all the
courses and experiences needed for licensure as a counselor in South Carolina or other
states, nor does the program guarantee that a student will be placed in a counseling
position in a church, parachurch, or other organization. It should be noted that current
South Carolina state regulations for licensure as a professional counselor (LAC) require 2000
hours of client contact and 200 hours of clinical supervision, all of which must be completed
after receipt of the qualifying master’s degree.

A Suggested Schedule for the Master of Arts in Counseling Ministry Degree

Junior Class (First Year)
Fall Semester 2009                                                                                           Credit Hours
OT 501..............................................Old Testament I.................................................3
CH 551........................................Survey of Church History...........................................3
PM 609..........................................Pastoral Care Ministry.............................................3
CO 560..............................Techniques and Theories of Counseling.................................3
Credits Earned.....................................................................................................12/12

January Term 2010
CO 715...............................Counseling Children and Adolescents...................................3
Credits Earned......................................................................................................3/15

Spring Semester 2010
BI 502...........................................Principles of Exegesis..............................................3
OT 502.............................................Old Testament II.................................................3
CO 565....................................Counseling Skill Development.........................................3
CO 595................................Supervised Counseling Practicum I.....................................3
Credits Earned....................................................................................................12/27

Summer Term 2010
CO 551...........................................Biblical Counseling................................................3
Credits Earned......................................................................................................3/30

Senior Class (Second Year)
Fall Semester 2010
NT 601.............................................New Testament I.................................................3
ST 551.....................................Survey of Systematic Theology.......................................3
CO 570..................................Human Growth and Development......................................3
CO 720............................................Psychopathology..................................................3
Credits Earned.....................................................................................................12/42

January Term 2011
CO 575.........................................Pre-Marital Counseling.............................................3
Credits Earned......................................................................................................3/45

Spring Semester 2011
NT 602.............................................New Testament II................................................3
Ethics Elective..........................................................................................................3
CO 580....................................Family and Marriage Counseling......................................3
CO 595.................................Supervised Counseling Practicum II....................................3
Credits Earned....................................................................................................12/57

Summer Term 2011
CO 552......................................Applied Biblical Counseling..........................................3
Credits Earned......................................................................................................3/60

Total................................................................................................60 Semester Hours

The M.A.C.M. degree must normally be completed within four years from the time the
student is enrolled in the program. Students should note that most counseling courses are
offered only every other year. Thus, careful attention should be given to the selection and
sequence of courses due to the biennial scheduling of these courses. Students in two-degree
programs may take only one practicum in any given semester.

Students should pay close attention to the scheduling template and schedules for each year
(posted on the web site and the bulletin board in Bowie Hall), to make sure they know when
their required courses will be offered.

All general seminary requirements for graduation must be met, including completion of the
Professional Assessment program. Additionally, the student must complete all course work
with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0. Individual courses passed with a grade below
a “C” will not count toward the degree; in such cases the course must be retaken. While
the grade for all attempted work remains on the student’s transcript, only the highest
grade for a course is used in computing the cumulative grade-point average. The student
must also pass the Comprehensive Counseling Ministry (CCM) examination that is administered
once each term (or on an as-needed basis). Guidelines regarding the exam will be made
available.

While the M.A.C.M. degree is designed primarily to prepare persons to engage in counseling
ministry within the Church, some of the coursework may be acceptable for fulfillment of
some state licensure requirements. The M.A.C.M. degree is not intended to provide all the
courses and experiences needed for licensure as a counselor in South Carolina or other
states, nor does the program guarantee that a student will be placed in a counseling
position in a church, parachurch, or other organization. It should be noted that current
South Carolina state regulations for licensure as a professional counselor (LAC) require 2000
hours of client contact and 200 hours of clinical supervision, all of which must be completed
after receipt of the qualifying master’s degree.