Admission Process

STEP 1: Meet All Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet all eligibility requirements listed on the page following Check Your Eligibility page to be admitted into the Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling program.

Check Your Eligibility

In addition, consider the following factors for special case students…

International Students

If you are an international student, in addition to completing the steps in the Admission Process, please don’t forget to complete the Additional Steps for International Students Only.

Current/Former TMS Student

If you are applying as a current/former TMS student, you will not have to provide us a personal reference, official transcripts, or ESL exam (if you are an international student). You also will not need to obtain your transcripts from TMS, as we will have access to them already.

Former DMinBC Student (Readmit)

If you are applying as a former DMinBC student (readmit), you will not have to provide us a writing sample, ministry peer reference, personal reference, transcripts, or ESL exam (if you are an international student). You also will not have to answer as many questions on the application. For your transcripts, please send us only official transcripts of any schools you have attended since the last time you were enrolled as a student in our DMinBC program.

Audit Students

Auditing biblical counseling classes in the Doctor of Ministry program is not available right now.

STEP 2: Fill out an Application

At the present moment, you can only start the D.Min. program in spring semester. In the application you will need to do the following…

Answer Questions

The application will ask standard questions, including the following categories: Personal, Contact, Family, Education History, Employment History, Church, etc. The application will also ask you to write your personal testimony and require you to answer several short answer questions about some key theological positions as well as your involvement with your local church and your reason to pursue Graduate Studies with us.

Upload a 15-20 Page Writing Sample

In the application, you will be prompted to upload a 15-20 page writing sample of previous academic work, demonstrating doctoral level proficiency. A paper from your master degree in theological education is preferred. Be advised that in reviewing this writing sample, the DMinBC Admissions Committee will look not only for content, but also for acceptable formatting, syntax, grammar, and citation. Instructions and exceptions are described in the application.

If you are unable to find a paper like this from your undergraduate study, you are welcome to write a paper instead. The paper should be on a topic related to Scripture, theology, or counseling, and it must following these guidelines…

• At least 10 pages in length
• Double-spaced
• 12 pt. size font
• Times New Roman font
• Footnotes (not endnotes) that are also Times New Roman but 10 pt. font
• A bibliography at the end
• Try to follow basic Turabian guidelines: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/citation-guide.html

Provide 3 References

In the application, you will be prompted to provide the names and email addresses of three different references—Pastor or Elder, Ministry Peer, Personal. Each reference should not be related to you. Once you provide the name and the email address of the reference in the application, our system will automatically send the reference the appropriate electronic form and your reference can complete that form without having to confer with you. If the reference delays in filling out the form, there will be an option when you sign in to the application again to remind the reference with another email or change the reference altogether.

Pay an Application Fee

Upon application submission, you will be prompted to pay the application fee through our electronic portal via PayPal (a PayPal account is not required). If you cannot complete the payment using our electronic portal, you may mail in your application fee to this address (all checks can be made out to The Master’s University):

THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY
Office of Graduate Studies, Box #50
21726 Placerita Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91321
UNITED STATES

Submit by the Deadline

Your application needs to be completed by a certain date depending on the semester you have chosen to start the program. See the chart below to see when you need to have your application completed by…

Start an Application

STEP 3: Reach out to Your Institution(s) for Official Transcripts

Before the application is finished, you will have been instructed to include the names of the institutions you went to for master degree, bachelor’s degree, and any other relevant degrees you may have pursued. Upon submission of the application, the application will create a list of these institutions. Please use this list to reach out to these institutions and obtain official transcripts from them.

Official transcripts refer to transcripts originally produced by the institution (not photo-copies) that are sent directly from one institution to another using a secure method, and have been unopened by you or anyone else.

Most institutions can send secure official transcripts using one of two methods…

A secure online portal

Some institutions upload transcripts into a third-party cloud storage service that password protects the transcript. Once you, the student, orders these transcripts, they will upload your transcript to this system and send our institution a link to it with a special temporary passcode to unlock and retrieve it.

A sealed envelope through the mail

Other institutions prefer to send hard-copies of transcripts through the mail. The envelope should not be sent to you. It must be sent directly from your institution to ours and be unopened when it arrives. If your institution prefers this method of transfer, please have them send your transcripts to the address below.

THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY
Office of Graduate Studies, Box #50
21726 Placerita Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91321
UNITED STATES

What’s Next?

We Will Review Your Application

After completing the application process and submitting all the necessary items, such as transcripts and recommendations, then your application will be ready for review by our Admissions Committee. The committee might take up to 3–4 weeks to review incoming files for admission. We appreciate your understanding and patience.

We Will Make a Decision about Admission

Once the application is reviewed by every member of the Admissions Committee, a final decision will be made and you will be notified via email.

You Can Start the Enrollment Process

Once you have been admitted into the Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling program, you can start the enrollment process. The enrollment process marks all the steps you need to take to get yourself ready to take classes in our program. When you’re admitted, you’ll be able to find out the steps of enrollment you need to take in your application portal under the Next Steps tab. Please refer to that tab in your application portal when attempting to walk through enrollment.

Registration Start Dates

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Additional Steps for International Students

STEP 4: Have Your Transcripts Evaluated

If your institution is located outside of the United States, you will need to have your transcripts evaluated to see if they meet our accreditation standards. The evaluation that is produced by the third-party evaluation service will suffice once it is delivered. For more information about how to have your international transcripts evaluated, see Transcript Evaluation under International Student Requirements (a link is provided below). This step is mandatory for all international students.

Transcript Evaluation

STEP 5: Take an English Proficiency Exam

All international students are required to demonstrate proficiency in English by taking an English proficiency exam. This step is mandatory for all international students unless one of the two scenarios applies to you:

(1) You have taken an English proficiency exam and received a high enough score according to our standards (TOEFL = 100 of higher / IELTS = 7 or higher). 

(2) You have taken your undergraduate degree from an English-speaking institution.

If either of those two situations applies to you, you are exempt from taking an English proficiency exam. Please contact the admissions counselor you are working with to get the English proficiency exam requirement waived. Otherwise, please follow the instructions for the English proficiency exam below.

English Proficiency Exam Instructions

STEP 6: Apply for Financial Aid

Once you have been accepted into the program, you can make a deposit and obtain your TMU student account. With this new account, you will have the information you need to interact with our financial aid department to apply for any aid, should you desire. Please read more information at the link below.

Financial Aid Information

STEP 7: Fill out an I-20 Form to Apply for an F-1 Visa

All international students will need to apply for an F-1 student visa in order to come to campus twice each year for classes, assuming there is no other visa the student already has that can be used for study in the States. Students need to apply by filling out an I-20 request form.

Once the form is completed, your admissions counselor will take the information and send it to the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) associated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Approval of your I-20 can take up to 2 weeks.

Once you apply for admission in the program, you will be receiving emails that explains the F-1 visa process in greater detail.

STEP 8: Pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee

You must pay the I-901 SEVIS fee at least once a year to study in the DMinBC program. Paying the I-901 SEVIS fee is an important step in the process of applying for a student visa.

To pay the I-901 SEVIS fee, click the button below. Once you pay your fee, you must print your receipt. You will use it as proof of payment and you should take it with you to your visa appointment and when you travel to the United States.

STEP 9: Schedule an Appointment with Your Consulate

Once you’ve applied for an F-1 visa and obtained all the necessary paperwork, you will need to schedule an appointment with your consulate to have an interview, so you can be approved to take classes on-campus in our DMinBC program.

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