2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in San Antonio

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $59,350 national median annual wage in May 2025 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, the occupational category relevant to many clinical mental health counseling roles. This is a wage for employed workers across career stages, not a starting salary, an LPC-only figure, or a San Antonio wage.

To judge an offer, compare pay for its exact job title and required license stage. An associate-level position with supervision may have a different compensation structure from an independently licensed role; benefits, paid supervision, caseload expectations, and time spent on documentation also affect its value.

The three local options call for different follow-up questions. Published degree titles and program homes identify a starting point, but students should confirm current credits, placement arrangements, accreditation status, and outcomes directly with each program rather than assuming similarly named degrees are interchangeable.

• The University of Texas at San Antonio: UTSA advertises a master's specifically in clinical mental health counseling, rather than a general counseling degree. Students focused on the LPC pathway should request its current degree plan and ask how the program supports local clinical placements (The University of Texas at San Antonio).
• St. Mary's University: St. Mary's presents its option as a master's in counseling, a broader degree title than the two explicitly clinical mental health counseling titles in this group. Confirm the track on your admission offer and its exact Texas LPC coursework before comparing its price or timeline with those of the other schools (St. Mary's University).
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio: Its Master of Arts is explicitly titled clinical mental health counseling and sits within the university's counseling, health, and kinesiology academic area. For students comparing local public-university options, the useful next step is to request its course sequence and placement policies alongside UTSA's, rather than infer that the shared clinical title means identical training (Texas A&M University-San Antonio).

Plan on roughly two to three years of graduate study for a full-time counseling master's, with longer timelines possible when studying part time or waiting for required clinical placements. This is a planning range, not a promised completion time. Texas's LPC educational rules call for a qualifying graduate degree of at least 60 semester credit hours, so a short certificate is not a substitute for the degree (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Ask each school for a term-by-term plan showing when practicums and internships occur. An accelerated classroom schedule helps only if required courses, placement capacity, and your available work hours allow you to finish the whole sequence.

Online study can reduce commuting to class; campus study can make scheduled meetings with faculty and peers easier to attend. Either format can still require synchronous meetings and supervised, in-person work at an approved clinical site. Texas licensure decisions turn on whether the education and supervised experience satisfy board rules, not simply on whether lectures were delivered online (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

For a working San Antonio applicant, the most useful comparison is the required weekly schedule, not the delivery label. Ask where clinical hours can be completed, whether the school approves sites near you, who secures the placement, and which activities must occur on campus. Students who need geographic flexibility should also check rules in any other state where they may seek a license.

There is no single trustworthy citywide average that captures what every San Antonio counseling student will pay: published institutional tuition can mix undergraduate and graduate study, while actual bills depend on residency, credits, fees, and aid. NCES IPEDS is useful for comparing institutional charges, but a program-specific estimate from each school is the better basis for a decision.

Request an itemized estimate through graduation that includes tuition, mandatory fees, books, travel to clinical sites, and any placement-related expenses. Public-university resident and nonresident rates may differ; a private university's aid offer can also change the comparison. The most affordable clinical mental health counseling programs are a useful shortlist, but compare your net total cost, not a headline rate.

Start with the FAFSA and ask each graduate program about institutional scholarships, assistantships, and any aid tied to clinical training. Eligible graduate students may use Direct Unsubsidized Loans, subject to federal limits. Under rules effective July 1, 2026, Graduate PLUS is generally unavailable to new graduate borrowers; certain students with earlier borrowing in the same program may qualify under transition provisions. Confirm your individual eligibility with the school's financial aid office (Federal Student Aid).

Compare aid offers by separating grants from loans and checking whether funding continues during internship terms. A lower tuition quote is not necessarily the lower-debt option if one school offers more nonrepayable aid or lets you retain more paid work.

Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and must meet the chosen school's graduate admissions rules. Programs may also request transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, an interview, or prerequisite coursework; verify the current requirements with UTSA, St. Mary's, or Texas A&M-San Antonio rather than assuming they are the same.

Before accepting an offer, compare the degree plan with Texas LPC educational requirements and ask how the school documents them. Institutional accreditation, programmatic accreditation such as CACREP, admission to a degree, and eventual state licensure are separate questions. Ask about transfer-credit limits before paying a deposit - previous graduate classes may not replace a program's required clinical sequence (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Expect training in counseling theory, assessment, diagnosis, ethics, multicultural counseling, research, group counseling, and supervised practicum and internship work. Texas's LPC rules specify educational content and supervised experience, so an appealing elective catalog cannot make up for missing required preparation (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Compare course sequence as well as titles. If an assessment class or prerequisite is offered infrequently, it may delay clinical placement. Ask for a current sample schedule and identify which courses require daytime attendance before deciding whether part-time study is workable.

Students may pursue interests such as trauma, addiction, children and adolescents, or couples and families through electives and approved placements. Availability varies by school; an interest area on a website is not necessarily a formal concentration or a separate credential. Request the exact elective list and ask whether a relevant placement is realistically available in the term you need it.

Match the training to the role, not just the client population. School counseling and marriage and family therapy can involve different degrees, credentials, or licensing requirements. If either is your primary goal, check its specific Texas credential pathway before choosing an LPC-oriented clinical mental health counseling program (Texas Education Agency; Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

The best choice is the program you can complete, afford, and use for your intended credential. A ranking can narrow the field; it cannot establish your eligibility for Texas licensure or predict your personal return on investment. Use the most valuable clinical mental health counseling programs as another comparison point, then test the following questions with each school.

1. Ask for written confirmation of how the current degree plan addresses Texas LPC educational requirements and who verifies that alignment.
2. Request the full cost through graduation and a realistic term-by-term schedule, including clinical hours and any lost earnings.
3. Ask who finds placements, what happens if a site falls through, and what recent program-level completion or licensure-exam results are available.
4. Compare likely borrowing and post-degree supervision needs with your current earnings, expected career path, completion probability, and the time it may take for higher earnings to offset costs.

Two common mistakes are treating CACREP status as automatic licensure and choosing the lowest tuition without pricing clinical-site travel or reduced work hours. Verify the credential pathway with the Texas board and calculate net cost over the entire program. Someone seeking a quick, low-cost entry into helping work may find a nonlicensed support role or a different credential a better near-term fit than a counseling master's.

A graduate may pursue supervised associate-level counseling work on the route toward independent LPC practice, subject to Texas board requirements. With appropriate credentials and experience, paths can include outpatient counseling, community behavioral health, integrated care, and clinical supervision. Employers may distinguish sharply between a graduate awaiting licensure, an LPC Associate under supervision, and a fully licensed LPC (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

The comparison below separates related occupations that prospective students sometimes group together. National medians describe occupations, not what a particular San Antonio degree qualifies you to do.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 national occupational wages; Texas Education Agency; Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. The occupational categories and credential pathways differ, so the wage differences are not estimates of the payoff from switching specialties.

National employment for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections). That signals expanding demand for the occupation nationally; it does not measure San Antonio openings or guarantee that employers will hire new graduates without the license stage or experience they require.

Local job searches should include community agencies, health systems, and outpatient providers, then filter postings by credential, supervision availability, language skills, and schedule. The most popular clinical mental health counseling programs can show another way to explore local options, but popularity is not evidence of placement or hiring outcomes. Ask schools for recent, program-specific employment information where available.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com designed this ranking to give prospective counselors a more consistent way to compare programs, using multiple sources and checking outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than relying on reputation alone.

The Best ranking first combines program completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable licensure-exam pass rates (20%), CACREP programmatic accreditation (16%), and institutional Title IV eligibility (4%). Weights are adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Program cost then contributes a smaller share - about 7% of the final score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs; rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension. A score is a comparison aid, not proof that a particular degree meets your licensing needs.

The ranking draws on these data sources:

• IPEDS database: institutional enrollment, completion, and cost information.
• Peterson's database: program and institutional information used in comparisons.
• College Scorecard database: federal institutional data and student outcomes.
• National Center for Education Statistics: federal education data and definitions.

Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then confirm current curriculum, clinical placements, accreditation, and your own net cost with each school. Research.com explains its approach further on its methodology page.

• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Austin
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Houston
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Dallas
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Denton
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in New Orleans
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Jackson
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Springfield
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Saint Louis
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nashville
• 2027 Best Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Atlanta

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Counselors
  Used to verify salary, employment outlook, and typical education requirements.
  https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/
• CACREP - Directory of Accredited Programs
  Used to verify CACREP accreditation status of specific programs.
  https://www.cacrep.org/directory/
• O*NET OnLine - Clinical Mental Health Counseling (21-1014)
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00
• The University of Texas at San Antonio - Master of Science (MS) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://future.utsa.edu/programs/master/clinical-mental-health-counseling/
• St. Mary's University - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.stmarytx.edu/academics/programs/master-counseling/
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.tamusa.edu/academics/College-of-Education-and-Human-Development/counseling-health-and-kinesiology/counseling/master-of-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling.html