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Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program in Austin

Ascension Seton offers ACPE-accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Austin, Texas, including residency, internship, and educator training programs.
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Thank you for your interest in our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program in Austin, Texas.

Located in the heart of Central Texas, Ascension Seton offers ACPE-accredited Clinical Pastoral Education for seminarians, clergy, chaplains, spiritual care professionals and individuals seeking advanced training in spiritual care and pastoral ministry.

Since 2002, Ascension Seton has prepared spiritual care leaders through hands-on clinical experience, professional reflection and supervised education in healthcare settings. Our program supports the development of compassionate, culturally responsive chaplains and spiritual care providers who serve patients, families, caregivers, and communities with excellence.

What is Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)?

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is experience-based theological education for seminarians, clergy and lay persons of diverse cultures, ethnic groups and faith traditions. As the program’s name implies, CPE is:

  • Clinical 
  • Pastoral
  • Education

Clinical learning in healthcare settings

At Ascension Seton through a “hands-on” approach, CPE students gain practical experience providing spiritual care in diverse healthcare environments throughout our hospital system . 

Participants meet with:

  • Patients and families
  • Residents
  • Clients

and from their interaction develop their awareness and skills for pastoral care. Ascension Seton provides a variety of clinical possibilities and a number of board certified chaplain staff who serve as clinical preceptors. Learning is experiential, 'at the bedside' and 'in the clinic.'

Pastoral education for diverse faith traditions

CPE is pastoral, in that it focuses on putting an individual’s spiritual beliefs and values into practice. Some describe CPE as “doing” theology/spiritual beliefs versus “learning” theology/spiritual beliefs. Depending on the particular CPE program, participants bring to their work a graduate degree in theology, work toward such a degree, or sufficient experience and educational background to do spiritual care ministry.

The term 'pastoral' is rooted in Christian language, yet pastoral and spiritual care is provided by persons of a wide variety of spiritual and religious perspectives and honors diversity among patients, families and associates.

Education

Above all CPE is adult learning. Students write their own learning goals based on their self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses in ministry and consultation with their group and educator. The curriculum is based on the Standards of ACPE and tailored to the personal and professional interests of the group.

A unit of CPE is “400 hours combining a minimum of 100 hours of structured group and individual education with a minimum of 250 hours of supervised clinical practice in spiritual care.” (ACPE standards).

  • Types of CPE we offer

    CPE Residency:

    Description
    Full-time, twelve-month, three unit CPE program from September to August, intended for persons aiming at a level of competence that helps prepare them to attain professional board certification as chaplains and/or admission into Certified Educator Training.
    Pre-requisites:
    Education: Preferably candidates will have a graduate theological degree (Master of Divinity; may be theology, religious studies, pastoral ministry, pastoral studies, spirituality if accepted by a certifying body). If a person has not yet completed such a degree when beginning a residency, they must have some theological education or experience in addition to a Bachelor’s degree.

    Experience: Successful completion of one previous CPE unit is strongly preferred.
    Skills and knowledge: appropriate to, and sufficient for, expectations and realities of the program. Evidenced in application materials, interview, and references.
    Stipend and benefits:
    CPE Residents receive a stipend and benefits. They are Ascension Seton associates for the time that they are in the program.
    Tuition:
    $350 per CPE unit, payable at the beginning of the respective unit, unless a financial payment plan is worked out in advance with their ACPE Certified Educator.
    Applications:
    Accepted after October 1 of the previous year. Application deadline: when the program is full. Application fee is $50.
    Certification:
    Consult www.nacc.org or www.apchaplains.org/bcci-site/ for chaplain board certification requirements. Consult www.acpe.edu for Certified Educator certification process and requirements.

    Extended Units:

    1. Hospital- Based
    Description
    Part-time, one unit of CPE. Intended for qualified persons—lay and ordained—who wish to discern their future ministry options, hone their ministry skills, or prepare to do a CPE residency. The program seeks to accommodate persons with commitments (e.g. job or personal) that do not permit fulltime CPE.
    Pre-requisites:
    Education: High school diploma. 
    Experience: Ministry or lay experience sufficient for the program.
    Skills and knowledge: Appropriate to, and sufficient for, expectations and realities of the program. Evidence in application materials, interview and references.
    Stipend and benefits:
    No stipend or benefits.

    2. Community-Based
    Description
    Part-time, one unit of CPE for lay or ordained students serving in faith communities, institutions, hospices, or other community ministries outside of the hospital.
    Pre-requisites
    Education: High school diploma. 
    Experience: Ministry or lay experience sufficient for the program.
    Skills and knowledge: Appropriate to, and sufficient for, expectations and realities of the program. Evidence in application materials, interview and references.
    Stipend and benefits:
    No stipend or benefits.

    Applications:
    Accepted year-round. Application deadline: when the program is full. $50 application fee.
    Certification:
    Consult www.nacc.org or www.professionalchaplains.org for chaplain board certification requirements. 

    Summer Unit

    Full time, intensive summer program, June to mid-August. One unit of CPE. The summer unit is intended for seminarians as part of their ordination process and for other qualified persons—lay and ordained—who wish to discern their future ministry options, hone their ministry skills, or prepare to do a CPE residency.
    Pre-requisites:
    Education: Bachelor’s degree is preferred, with sufficient theological background for the program.
    Experience: Pastoral experience sufficient for the program.
    Skills and knowledge: Appropriate to, and sufficient for, expectations and realities of the program. Evidence in application materials, interview and references.
    Stipend and benefits: 
    No stipend or benefits.
    Tuition:
    $750 per CPE unit, payable at the beginning of the unit, unless financial payment is worked out in advance with their ACPE Certified Educator.
    Applications:
    Accepted beginning in October of the year before. Applications will be reviewed beginning in December.
    Certified Educator Training 
    At this time we do not have any openings for Certified Educator Training, and do not anticipate such an opening until later in 2026. Should a position become available an update will be made to our website as well as a posting on the Ascension Careers website. 
    Consult https://acpe.edu/programs/cpe-educator-certification for more details about the ACPE process.
    For more information, please contact Rachel Smith, Administrative Assistant, at rbsmith@ascension.org or 512-324-2120.

  • Program dates

    We conduct interviews and offer acceptances on a rolling basis until the program is full, generally 2-3 months in advance. See under each program listed for the calendar month when applications will begin to be reviewed. There is a $50 application fee for all programs.

    Levels of CPE Offered
    All new students will begin CPE at Level IA according to the ACPE Outcomes and Indicators. Students who have completed CPE units previously may begin at a different level based on the ACPE Certified Educator's assessment. Ascension Seton is accredited to offer Levels IA, IB, IIA, IIB and Certified Educator CPE by ACPE. 

    ACPE Outcomes and Indicators

    Summer Intern Program (1 unit)
    2026 - Monday, June 1 to August 14, 2026
    2027 - Tuesday, June 1 to August 13, 2027

    This is a full time, 40 hour a week commitment for 11 weeks.
    It is primarily intended for seminarians, rabbinical students and others who are completing CPE as part of ordination requirement and preparation for ministry.

    Applications will be accepted in the Fall and interviews will begin in December for the following Summer.

    CPE Residency Program (3 units)

    September 1, 2026 to August 20, 2027 

    Residents are paid a stipend of $44,288 and are overtime-exempt, benefit eligible associates for 50 weeks. Residents are full-time associates and work four eight-hour shifts and one overnight or 12-hour weekend shift each week. 

    One completed unit of CPE (ACPE Accredited Preferred) is preferred. A Bachelor’s degree is required and a graduate theological degree which meets requirements for Board Certification either complete or in process to be completed is also preferred. 

    Tuition of $350.00 per unit ($1050 for the year)

    Applications are being received and interviews will begin January 2026.

    Extended CPE Program (1 unit)

    Fall 2026 Unit:
    July 20 to December 17, 2026

    Spring 2027 Unit:
    January 11 to May 27, 2027

    The Ascension Seton Extended CPE program is a part-time program offering a comprehensive and integrated training experience by combining the best of community-based and hospital-based programs. This structure is designed to provide students with a broad and flexible approach to spiritual care and clinical formation, preparing them for diverse ministry settings.

    Students in the Extended Unit can elect one of three specialized tracks to tailor their learning experience:

    • Community Track: Students focus their clinical hours and learning within their local ministry setting. This track emphasizes in-depth engagement with community-based spiritual care needs and models.
    • Hybrid Track: This option provides a balanced experience, allowing students to engage in a hybrid of ministry in an approved community or parish context and also in an Ascension Seton hospital. It is ideal for students seeking exposure to both community and institutional settings.
    • Hospital-Only Track: This intensive track focuses entirely on the acute care environment, requiring students to complete all clinical hours within an Ascension Seton hospital. This program involves on-call responsibilities to ensure full exposure to the demands of hospital chaplaincy.

    Group education will be in person at the Ascension Texas Administrative Offices on Thursdays 1:00-6:00pm with an additional full day orientation. Approximately 12-15 hours of clinical ministry in addition to the class time is expected each week of the program in order to receive credit for the unit. If a student is pursuing the Community or Hybrid tracks, a clinical placement agreement will be required for the local ministry context in which the student is serving. Tuition scholarships are available for students in the Community or Hybrid tracks.

    Applications are currently being accepted and reviewed.

 

Why Choose Ascension Seton for clinical pastoral education in Austin, TX?

Our program offers a number of distinctive features:

  • We are rooted in the mission and vision of Ascension Seton. Ascension Seton CPE cultivates and supports the emotional and spiritual health of people in the community through nurturing the development and transformation of spiritual care leaders. We envision our graduates as healthier spiritual care leaders contributing to healthier communities. Healthier communities welcome diversity, practice inclusion at every level and have a holistic understanding of wellness. For this reason, we will offer relational, evidence-based educational programs through reflection on real-world caregiving experiences.
  • In-person education — we value personal engagement and interaction included as a component in all our programs, and the primary modality for the residency and intern programs.
  • We have a faculty of three CPE Educators and Certified Educator CPE students who work collaboratively as a team.
  • Each student based in the hospital is assigned a staff chaplain as a preceptor who can provide skilled mentoring and support. For those doing CPE in their community context, they will have a clinical preceptor from their context.
  • We offer a variety of clinical experiences for our students through the many medical specialties offered throughout the hospitals in our system.
  • We value diversity and inclusion in our recruitment and education, as well as in the provision of spiritual care.

CPE Application

Download application

Plan to submit your application well in advance, near or before the time that the rolling application review begins, to have the strongest opportunity to be successful.
Please do not use Generative Artificial Intelligence to create any part of your application materials. 

Applications can be submitted electronically to rbsmith@ascension.org or mailed to

Ascension Seton Clinical Pastoral Education
1345 Philomena St. Suite 305
Austin, TX 78723

Chaplain certification

Most national certifying bodies require a minimum of four accredited units of CPE prior to application for chaplain certification. For certification information consider the following:

CPE units taken at Ascension Seton are recognized by all of these certifying bodies.

Program accreditation

Ascension Seton has offered Clinical Pastoral Education since 2002 through accreditation by:

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education
1 Concourse Parkway, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30328

Phone: 404-320-1472
Fax: 404-320-0849
Web: www.acpe.edu.

Meet our faculty

  • Rev. Shawn Seguin, MTS - A Certified Educator Candidate at Ascension Seton in Austin. Shawn’s supervisory style is shaped by Charismatic Process Theology and Relational-Cultural Theory, with a focus on cultivating connection, creativity, and mutuality in learning. He loves writing and creating music, and he integrates the imagination and play of songwriting into his work with his students.
  • Rev. Stephen Saunders, M.Div., BCC - An ACPE Certified Educator at Ascension Seton in Austin, TX. An ordained Baptist minister endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, Steve joined Ascension Seton in 2020. His supervisory style is influenced by Narrative Theology, Kegan’s Constructive-Developmental theory, and Mezirow’s Transformative Learning theory.
  • Rev. Jae-Hee Lee, M.Div., MTS, BCC - An ACPE Certified Educator at Ascension Seton in Austin, TX. She is ordained by the Korean Methodist Church and endorsed by the United Methodist Endorsing Agency. Jae-Hee's supervisory style is influenced by Postcolonial and Feminist theology, Rogerian psychology, Transformative Learning theory, Family Systems theory, Systems-Centered theory, and Enneagram. Empowering a student's own agency brings joy to her profession as an educator.
  • Rev. Lee Ann Rathbun, DMin, BCC - An ordained ACPE Certified Educator and Manager of CPE at Ascension Texas.  She is endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Lee Ann joined the team at Ascension Texas in 2012. Lee Ann’s supervisory style is influenced by feminist, systems and developmental theories. She is so grateful for the opportunity to journey with students in the learning process and to work with the excellent team of educators at Ascension Texas.

Contact the Ascension Seton CPE Program

To learn more about our Clinical Pastoral Education programs in Austin application requirements, program dates, or admissions process, please contact:

Rachel Smith
Administrative Assistant, Ascension Seton CPE Program
rbsmith@ascension.org

Lee Ann Rathbun
CPE Manager
512-324-2120

Looking for our other Ascension CPE programs?

Our CPE Program is committed to practicing the Ascension Core Value of Reverence: Honoring the Dignity and Diversity of Life.

We see diversity of all kinds as a strength and central to our vision that spiritual care leaders contribute to healthier communities, defining healthier communities as ones that "welcome diversity, practice inclusion at every level and have a holistic understanding of wellness.