Clinical Pastoral Counseling

Types of Degrees Clinical Pastoral Counseling Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	233
Graduate Certificate	81
Doctor’s Degree	10
Bachelor’s Degree	4

What Clinical Pastoral Counseling Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling Majors

When studying clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling Majors

A major in clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Clinical Pastoral Counseling Major?

People with a clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clergy	8.2%	$48,990
Counselors	14.2%	$42,130
Marriage and Family Therapists	23.4%	$50,090
Mental Health Counselors	23.1%	NA
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors	23.2%	NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Pastoral Counseling?

The major attracts more women than men. About 75% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	2
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Clinical Pastoral Counseling Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $47,740 to $54,150 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Clinical Pastoral Counseling

Some degrees associated with clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.6%
Some College Courses	2.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	21.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.0%
Master’s Degree	52.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	7.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	5.7%
Doctoral Degree	1.1%

Online Clinical Pastoral Counseling Programs

In 2020-2021, 28 schools offered a clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	10	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	20	4
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Clinical Pastoral Counseling Worth It?

The median salary for a clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling grad is $53,290 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 34% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $267,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Clinical Pastoral Counseling

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to clinical pastoral counseling/patient counseling.

Major	Number of Grads
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor	7,609
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	5,433
Other Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	4,069
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	3,405
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	2,779
Clinical/Medical Social Work	2,534
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling	2,526
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	288
Trauma Counseling	56
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy	13
Medical Family Therapy/Therapist	12

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.