How to Become a Chaplain: Education, Requirements and Career Paths

Chaplains bring spiritual care into places a church can’t always reach, such as hospital rooms, military units, prisons, schools and corporate offices. Some chaplains are ordained ministers, while others are lay leaders with the right training and endorsement.

What connects them is a consistent path. A bachelor’s degree comes first, followed by a graduate theological degree, hands-on clinical training and professional certification. The core path stays the same, even though the job itself looks different in every setting.

The online Master of Divinity (MDiv) program at Campbellsville University (CU) prepares students for that path. It offers three tracks centered on real ministry outcomes, including one for pastoral care and chaplaincy work. This guide covers how to become a chaplain, including the education, clinical training and certification each pathway requires, as well as what changes when you serve in a hospital, the military or another setting.

What Is a Chaplain?

A chaplain is a spiritual care provider who serves outside a traditional congregation, offering religious and emotional support inside hospitals, the military, prisons, schools and workplaces. A chaplain’s “congregation” is whoever needs care in a given moment. That might be a patient facing surgery, a soldier processing loss or an employee navigating a crisis.

The work draws on the same core skills across every setting: active listening, crisis response and comfort with grief and uncertainty. The ability to offer spiritual support without pushing a specific belief system on someone. What changes from setting to setting is the pace and the population. A hospital chaplain might see a dozen patients in one shift. A corporate chaplain might spend an entire afternoon with a single employee.

Demand for this work is steady rather than explosive. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), clergy earned a median annual wage of $58,920 as of May 2023. That figure covers the broader occupational category that includes chaplains. The middle half of the field earned between $45,540 and $74,620.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Chaplain-SalaryPayScale lists the average chaplain salary at $60,970 a year, with most chaplains earning between $43,000 and $82,000. Pay still varies widely by setting, employer and region. Chaplains in hospitals and government roles tend to land toward the higher end. Part-time or volunteer-adjacent roles often pay less.

What Education Do You Need to Become a Chaplain?

If you’re mapping out how to become a chaplain, the path starts the same way for nearly everyone: a bachelor’s degree. Theology, religious studies and counseling are common choices. Employers rarely require a specific major at this stage. Coursework in world religions, psychology or crisis counseling gives students a head start on skills chaplaincy uses. Many aspiring chaplains also volunteer during their undergraduate years, often at a hospital, police department or campus ministry, which helps confirm the calling early.

The graduate step is where requirements tighten. The Board of Chaplaincy Certification, Inc. (BCCI) certifies chaplains on behalf of the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Board-certified applicants need 72 graduate semester hours from a school accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Those hours must include coursework in a religious tradition, spiritual practices, sacred texts and world religions. An MDiv usually satisfies this requirement in a single program, which is why most hospitals, military branches and correctional systems expect one.

Associate-level certification has a lower bar. It requires 48 graduate semester hours instead of 72. That opens the door for students who complete a shorter graduate program or transfer in prior coursework.

Timelines vary by student. A full-time bachelor’s degree plus a full-time graduate program often takes six to eight years before a candidate holds both the degree and the required clinical hours. Part-time, flexible programs, such as CU’s online MDiv, let working ministers stretch that graduate timeline without pausing their current job.

What Is Clinical Pastoral Education?

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is supervised, hands-on training. It turns theological knowledge into pastoral skill. The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) describes it as interfaith professional education.

Students enter direct, supervised encounters with people in crisis, then get feedback from peers and instructors. Programs usually run in 10-to-12-week units in hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities or military settings. A single unit combines several hundred hours of supervised ministry with group seminars and case presentations.

Chaplain certification always requires CPE before a credential is granted. Board certification needs four units. Associate-level certification needs two. Some MDiv programs, including CU’s online Master of Divinity, build one or more CPE units directly into the curriculum. That shortens the gap between graduation and full certification, since students don’t have to seek out CPE separately after finishing school.

CPE is also where many students discover which setting fits them best. A unit completed in a hospital exposes students to grief, trauma and end-of-life care. A unit completed in a correctional facility or military setting builds a different kind of resilience. Choosing where to complete CPE deserves as much thought as choosing a graduate program.

How Do You Get Certified as a Chaplain?

APC is a multifaith chaplaincy organization whose BCCI affiliate issues two main credentials: Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) and Associate Certified Chaplain (ACC). Beyond the graduate hours and CPE units already covered, BCCI requires a faith group endorsement renewed within the past 12 months. Candidates also need 2,000 hours of paid or volunteer chaplaincy experience. A portfolio-and-interview process then evaluates competence across 29 chaplaincy skills.

Catholic chaplains often pursue certification through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) instead. NACC evaluates candidates on theory and practice, professional identity and conduct, practice skills and organizational leadership. The process runs through a written portfolio and a panel interview. NACC accepts applications each January and August. It also recommends working with a board-certified mentor while preparing materials.

Which pathway makes sense depends more on faith tradition than program quality. A candidate applying to a Catholic health system will usually need NACC certification. Most secular hospitals, the military and corporate chaplaincy programs accept BCCI credentials from any faith background. Some chaplains hold both, especially those who move between Catholic and secular institutions over the course of their careers.

Certification isn’t a one-time event, either. Both BCCI and NACC require ongoing continuing education. Both also require periodic peer review to remain active.

How Do You Become a Military Chaplain?

Military chaplaincy adds officer requirements to the standard education and certification path. According to the U.S. Army, chaplain candidates must be U.S. citizens by the time they commission. They also can’t be older than 42 at the time of commissioning.

Candidates need theological education for their faith tradition. Active-duty roles also require two years of post-theological ministry experience. Each branch requires endorsement from a faith group recognized by the Department of Defense’s Armed Forces Chaplains Board.

Once commissioned, chaplains attend branch-specific training instead of standard basic training. In the Army, that’s the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course. It builds the professional, physical and spiritual skills the role requires.

Chaplains are noncombatants; they don’t carry weapons and aren’t assigned combat roles. They still deploy alongside the units they serve, including into combat zones, to provide worship services and crisis support.

Chaplains in the Army Reserve or National Guard can serve while keeping a civilian church role. That makes military chaplaincy realistic even for students who don’t want a full-time active-duty career.

The officer commissioning process, branch comparisons and deployment considerations go well beyond degree requirements. Military chaplaincy has its own dedicated guide covering the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course and what day-to-day service looks like.

How Do You Become a Hospital Chaplain?

Hospital chaplaincy is where CPE requirements matter most in practice. Most health systems expect the full four CPE units BCCI requires for board certification before hiring a full-time chaplain. Hospitals often build that experience through a CPE residency. Most residencies last about a year and award three to four units, giving new chaplains a structured way to build clinical judgment before they work independently on high-acuity units.

A hospital chaplain’s day rarely follows a fixed script. Rounds might include a patient facing a difficult diagnosis, a family making end-of-life decisions or a staff debrief after a traumatic case, sometimes in the same shift. Chaplains often carry a pager for overnight emergencies, since hospital crises don’t wait for business hours.

These residencies exist to build comfort with that unpredictability. New graduates present cases for supervision and gradually take on more complex situations as their judgment develops. Most hospital systems treat this as standard preparation, not an optional add-on. By the end, a chaplain should be ready to handle a code or a difficult family meeting without direct oversight.

Hospital settings also involve on-call rotations and interdisciplinary rounding that go beyond the general requirements above. CU’s hospital chaplain guide breaks down what a typical shift entails and what residency programs expect of new graduates.

What Other Chaplaincy Settings Should You Consider?

Hospitals and the military employ the largest share of chaplains, but they’re far from the only settings hiring. Three other paths are worth knowing about as you plan your timeline. Each draws on the same degree and certification, just applied to a different environment.

Which setting fits best often comes down to personality and pacing more than credentials. Someone drawn to a single, ongoing relationship might prefer campus or corporate work, while someone comfortable moving between crises in quick succession might fit better in hospital or correctional settings. The good news is that there is one graduate degree that keeps all these doors open.

Correctional Chaplains

Correctional chaplains lead worship services and provide one-on-one counseling. They also support incarcerated individuals through disciplinary hearings, family loss and reentry planning. The setting brings its own emotional weight.

Chaplains often work with people who caused serious harm while also supporting victims’ families. The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires ordination and a current ecclesiastical endorsement for its chaplains, and most state systems apply similar credentialing plus facility-specific background clearance.

School and Campus Chaplains

School and campus chaplains split their time between counseling, religious education and worship leadership. This work happens most often at religious K-12 schools or private colleges. A handful of secular universities also employ multifaith campus chaplains. These chaplains help students process questions about identity, academic stress and the transition to adult life.

Corporate and Workplace Chaplains

Corporate chaplaincy is a fast-growing setting for this work. Marketplace Chaplains, one of the largest providers, has grown to more than 16,000 chaplains making thousands of visits to companies each week. Employer interest in mental health and burnout support is driving that growth.

These chaplains often work through third-party services contracted by a company. They provide confidential, nondenominational support during employee crises, layoffs and workplace conflict. Because the role sits outside traditional ministry structures, it often appeals to chaplains who want a more flexible schedule.

Campbellsville University’s MDiv: Your Path to Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy work spans a wide range of settings, so how to become a chaplain in practice often comes down to which graduate track you choose. The degree that prepares you for it should offer some flexibility in focus. Campbellsville University’s online Master of Divinity program does this through three distinct tracks.

Each builds toward a different ministry outcome, and all three share the same core biblical and theological foundation. Every track runs 100% online with flexible, eight-week terms. The program also accepts up to 25 transfer credits for students who already started graduate coursework elsewhere.

Missions & Ministry Leadership Track

This track balances biblical and theological foundations with practical ministry courses. Pastoral Ministries, Ministry of Proclamation & Worship and Leadership Development anchor the curriculum. It also includes Introduction to Chaplaincy as an elective. The track suits students planning to pastor a church, plant a congregation or lead a ministry organization, while keeping a chaplaincy path open.

Biblical Studies Track

This track places greater emphasis on Old and New Testament interpretation and hermeneutics. It carries a lighter practical ministry load than the other two tracks. The fit is best for students who want a strong biblical foundation first, then plan to specialize in chaplaincy through CPE and certification after graduation.

Pastoral Care & Chaplaincy Track

This track is built directly around chaplaincy preparation. It includes 39 hours of pastoral care and chaplaincy coursework, covering Introduction to Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care in Human Crisis. Students can also apply elective CPE coursework, Clinical Pastoral Education I and II, toward BCCI’s four-unit CPE requirement. Elective options also include counseling courses such as Trauma Counseling, Addictions Counseling and Group Counseling, all directly relevant to hospital, military and correctional settings. A handful of these courses run live over Zoom, adding direct faculty contact to an otherwise flexible format.

Whichever track you choose, admission requires a bachelor’s degree, a philosophy-of-ministry essay and two reference letters. An interview with the program director completes the review, the same foundational process most graduate theology programs use.

Explore CU’s online Master of Divinity program and start building the theological foundation chaplaincy certification requires.

About Campbellsville University’s Online Master of Divinity

Campbellsville University is a Christian institution in Kentucky. Its online Master of Divinity is a 75-hour program built for students balancing ministry work with graduate study, with no GRE or GMAT required.

Graduates leave prepared to pastor a church, serve on a church staff, lead a nonprofit ministry or pursue chaplaincy in a hospital, the military or another setting. CU is also a military-friendly school and a Yellow Ribbon Program participant, supporting service members and veterans through their degree. https://online.campbellsville.edu/online-degrees/master-of-divinity/For students called to this work, that foundation carries into whatever setting they serve.