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Pastoral Specialized Ministries

Instructional content for this group of programs is defined in codes 39.0701 - 39.0799.

Types of Degrees Pastoral Specialized Ministries Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Pastoral Specialized Ministries may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	66
Associate’s Degree	177
Bachelor’s Degree	1,047
Master’s Degree	1,748
Doctor’s Degree	133

What Pastoral Specialized Ministries Majors Need to Know

Studies in Pastoral Specialized Ministries emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Pastoral Specialized Ministries emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Philosophy and Theology — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Pastoral Specialized Ministries program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Pastoral Specialized Ministries careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Pastoral Specialized Ministries professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates include:

• Religious Educator
• Associate Professor
• Western Philosophy Professor
• Biblical Studies Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Jewish Educator
• Old Testament Professor
• Humanities Professor
• Divinity Teacher
• Metaphysics Teacher
• Church Music Professor
• Pastoral Ministries Professor
• Theology Professor
• Online Philosophy Instructor
• Instructor

What Can You Do With a Pastoral Specialized Ministries Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Pastoral Specialized Ministries commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Directors, Religious Activities and Education	-2.3%	$64,599	$53,067–$76,131
Religious Workers, All Other	-1.4%	$58,956	$47,118–$70,794
Counselors, All Other	4.5%	$81,766	$66,309–$97,222
Clergy	-3.3%	$49,854	$39,497–$60,211
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other	13.1%	$75,358	$58,637–$92,080

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	46.0%
Bachelor’s degree	19.5%
Master’s degree	12.4%
Post-doctoral training	7.8%
Postsecondary certificate	7.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.6%
Some college courses	0.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Pastoral Specialized Ministries?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 47.5% women and 52.5% men among Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,534	47.5%
Men	1,696	52.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,762	54.6%
Asian	148	4.6%
Hispanic or Latino	384	11.9%
Black or African American	524	16.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	13	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	6	0.2%
Two or More Races	55	1.7%
Race Unknown	192	5.9%
International Students	146	4.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Pastoral Specialized Ministries Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,962
4 years	$41,537
5 years	$44,763

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,763 — roughly 18% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Pastoral Specialized Ministries Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Pastoral Specialized Ministries. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	23	7
Bachelor’s	51	26
Master’s	70	34
Doctoral (Research)	5	7

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Pastoral Specialized Ministries Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Pastoral Specialized Ministries graduates earn a median of $41,537 four years after completion — roughly 9% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Theology and Religious Vocations	26,216
Theological and Ministerial Studies	15,135
Bible/Biblical Studies	3,603
Missions/Missionary Studies and Missiology	1,249
Theology and Religious Vocations, Other	1,235
Religious Education	1,230
Religious Music and Worship	477
Religious Institution Administration and Law	57
THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS	—

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.