Spiritual Care Association
he Spiritual Care Association (SCA) is the first multidisciplinary, international professional membership association for spiritual care providers that established evidence-based quality indicators, scope of practice, and a knowledge base for spiritual care.
SCA is leading the way to educate, certify, credential and advocate so that more people in need, regardless of religion, beliefs or cultural identification, receive effective spiritual care in all types of institutional and community settings in the U.S. and internationally. SCA UTS now proudly provides online degrees in chaplaincy, ministry, religious education, spiritual direction, and many others.
SCA Leads the Chaplaincy Profession with the Only Certification Standards Backed by Knowledge Testing and Competency Examination.

University Partners

HealthCare Chaplaincy Network
Spiritual Care Association
SCA Alumni Tuition Discount
SCA UTS would like to recognize graduates from SCA training and promote the advancement of their higher education goals.
Students, who receive a certificate from SCA’s course offerings and enroll in the University will receive a 10% tuition discount off the next enrollment in a program.
The following eligibility criteria and steps must be met:
- Student must be a completer in an SCA course within one year of enrollment in SCA UTS.
- Tuition discounts apply to program charges only and will not result in any cash payment to the student.
- If the recipient petitions for a change in program, the tuition discount will adjust to a percentage of new total tuition charges.
- Student may receive more than one tuition discount as the SCA Alumni Tuition Discount is per program.
Using this groundbreaking and transforming evidence-based model, SCA offers three types of certification:
Chaplain Credentialing (CC):
For Chaplains who earn the title of Credentialed Chaplain (CC) this attests to their level of competence in the profession.
Board Certified Chaplain (BCC):
For Chaplains who have earned or will earn the title of Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) this attests that they have demonstrated competence to perform all of the normal tasks within the scope of practice of chaplains.
Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplain (APBCC): For Chaplains who have demonstrated advanced skills in the provision of and leadership in spiritual and chaplaincy care by successfully completing a standardized test of core knowledge derived from evidence-based quality indicators for spiritual care as well as a simulated patient exam that evaluates competency in direct patient care. Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplains (APBCC) have been trained and tested in standardized curriculum based on the latest evidence in areas including department management, HIPAA regulations, the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of spiritual distress, cultural competency, advance care directives, patient clinical care, staff support, grief, and bereavement among other essential topics.
In addition to the three certifications, SCA also offers the Spiritual Care Generalist Certificate for those professionals interested in becoming Spiritual Care Generalists.