Emmaus University, formerly Emmaus Bible College, offers a Bachelor of Science in Counseling Psychology, completed alongside the school’s required Bible/Theology core. Emmaus is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission, and is located in Dubuque, Iowa, with the counseling psychology major available on campus and online.
Emmaus University, known as Emmaus Bible College until its 2025 rebrand, was founded in 1941 by the Open Brethren Church and has operated from its Dubuque, Iowa, campus since 1984. Every program at Emmaus pairs a Bible and Theology core with a professional major, and roughly half the student body comes from an Open Brethren background. Emmaus is one of many Christian-affiliated psychology programs in the U.S.
Emmaus University Accreditation Details
- Association for Biblical Higher Education (national accreditation)
- Higher Learning Commission (regional accreditation)
Emmaus University Application Requirements
Applications to Emmaus are submitted through the school’s online application. You’ll need to have your official high school transcript sent directly to the Admissions Office (homeschool transcripts must be signed and dated), along with transcripts from any colleges or universities you’ve attended. You’ll also need a reference form completed by a leader at your local church, such as a pastor, elder, or youth leader; family members cannot complete this reference, and it can be submitted electronically.
ACT, SAT, or CLT scores aren’t required for admission, but Emmaus asks for them if you want to be considered for a freshman academic scholarship. The test score requirement can be waived if you’ve been out of high school for two or more years and didn’t test at the time.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition for full-time students (12 to 18 credits per semester) is $10,675 per semester, or $21,350 per year. Room and board run $4,950 per semester ($9,900 per year), bringing the total cost of attendance to $15,625 per semester, or $31,250 per year. Part-time students (fewer than 12 credits) pay $890 per credit, and non-degree-seeking students pay $445 per credit. Textbooks typically run $250 to $400 per semester. Emmaus Global Campus online courses are billed separately; current per-credit online rates are available through the admissions office.
To help cover these costs, students file a FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal aid, including the Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and Stafford loans. Emmaus also awards its own institutional aid: every incoming full-time student automatically receives the $6,000-per-year Founders Grant (renewable for up to five years, no application required) as long as they maintain a 2.0 GPA, and the competitive Presidential Scholarship covers full tuition for up to four years for two incoming students each year. Additional need-based aid and church-matching scholarship programs are available through the financial aid office.
Psychology Programs at Emmaus University
Bachelor of Science in Counseling Psychology
Emmaus has offered distance education since its early years, originally through correspondence courses for military students and now through fully online Global Campus coursework. The counseling psychology major, completed alongside Emmaus’s required Bible/Theology core, integrates Bible teaching with counseling theory and practice, and is intended for students who want to use counseling skills in a ministry context.
Students apply for admission to the program at the start of their sophomore year and must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. The degree requires a minimum of 122.5 semester credit hours, with at least 60 of those credits earned at Emmaus. The Bible/Theology core includes courses such as Old Testament Survey I and II, New Testament Survey, and Hermeneutics and Theology I-IV. The counseling component covers Counseling Foundations, Multicultural Counseling Techniques, Crisis Intervention Counseling, and Abnormal Psychology.
Graduates of the program are prepared for counseling ministry roles within churches, para-church organizations, and social service settings, and the coursework provides preparation for graduate study that may lead to professional counseling licensure.
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