2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a $59,350 national median annual wage in May 2025 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, the occupational group relevant to many clinical mental health counseling roles. This is a U.S. occupational median, not a Kansas starting salary or a guaranteed return on a master's degree. Pay can vary by employer, experience, location, and license.

For a personal investment decision, compare actual Kansas job postings for the credential you expect to hold immediately after graduation with postings for independently licensed counselors. Then weigh the potential earnings difference against tuition, borrowing, time spent in supervised practice, and earnings you would forgo while studying. Do not use independently licensed pay as an assumed first-year outcome.

The two programs below illustrate a useful distinction: one offers a clinical mental health track within a counseling education degree, while the other centers its named graduate offering on clinical mental health counseling. Compare their current degree plans and placement arrangements rather than treating either description as proof of licensing eligibility.

• Wichita State University: Its MEd in Counseling offers a clinical mental health track (Wichita State University). The track structure is useful to applicants comparing counseling pathways within an education-focused program; request the clinical track's specific course sequence and fieldwork requirements, rather than assuming every counseling track leads toward the same license.
• MidAmerica Nazarene University: Its graduate counseling offering identifies clinical mental health counseling as the program focus (MidAmerica Nazarene University). For applicants seeking that particular practice direction, the more directly named pathway may simplify an initial curriculum comparison; confirm current clinical placement support, total charges, and Kansas licensing alignment before deciding.

These descriptions do not establish a difference in graduate outcomes or total cost. Ask both schools for current program-level information, including completion and exam results if available, so that the comparison rests on the same measures.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time study can take longer. The decisive variable is not just classroom credits. Programs must also sequence prerequisites, practicum, and internship, and students need an approved site and supervisor to finish clinical training.

If you plan to keep working, ask each school for a term-by-term part-time plan showing when daytime clinical hours begin. An accelerated schedule makes sense only if you can meet fieldwork obligations without repeatedly reducing your course load. Also ask how many prior graduate credits, if any, can transfer: accepting a course for elective credit does not necessarily satisfy a required counseling or clinical component.

Online delivery changes where you attend classes; it does not eliminate supervised, in-person clinical training. A campus program may offer easier access to classmates, faculty, and nearby placement networks, while an online option may reduce classroom travel for a student living far from Wichita or the Kansas City area. Neither format is automatically better for licensure.

Use the same three checks for either format: whether the curriculum meets the applicable BSRB education rules, who secures and approves the clinical site, and whether required meetings or skills training involve travel. For an online program based outside Kansas, obtain written confirmation of how its curriculum and fieldwork are designed to meet Kansas requirements. A statement that a school offers an online degree is not a state licensing determination.

There is no single Kansas program-specific average that reliably describes what every clinical mental health counseling student will pay. Institutional tuition figures in NCES/IPEDS do not, by themselves, capture each master's program's required credits, graduate fees, fieldwork expenses, or aid. A useful comparison therefore starts with a written, program-specific total-cost estimate rather than an undergraduate tuition figure.

Request the per-credit graduate rate, required credit total, recurring fees, and expected costs for clinical training and travel. Check residency rules when comparing public universities, and compare the net price after confirmed grants or scholarships with a private nonprofit offer - not public versus private labels alone. The most affordable clinical mental health counseling programs can provide a shortlist, but confirm current prices directly with each school.

Graduate students can explore institutional scholarships or assistantships, employer tuition support, and federal aid for which they qualify. Submit the FAFSA and ask each financial aid office whether its stated award applies to this specific counseling program and whether it continues during internship terms. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are an option for eligible graduate students, subject to federal rules and limits (Federal Student Aid).

Do not assume a new graduate student can cover a remaining balance with a Graduate PLUS Loan. Federal Student Aid's graduate PLUS guidance distinguishes students eligible under transition rules from new borrowers affected by the changes beginning July 2026; verify your own eligibility with the school's aid office before committing to a funding plan. Borrow only after comparing the full program cost and a realistic repayment amount with the kind of position you expect to seek first.

Programs generally require a bachelor's degree and an application that may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Specific GPA thresholds, prerequisite courses, and testing policies are set by each institution; check its current admissions page rather than assuming a psychology major is mandatory.

Admissions eligibility and licensing eligibility are separate. Before applying, send the program your intended licensing state and ask for its current curriculum-to-license disclosure. This is especially important if you plan to study in Kansas but move after graduation - or enroll online with a school in another state. The Kansas BSRB, not an admissions office, has authority over Kansas licensing decisions.

Expect graduate study in counseling theories, assessment, diagnosis, ethics, research, multicultural counseling, group work, and career development, followed by supervised practicum and internship. Course titles differ, so compare catalog descriptions and clinical requirements rather than matching titles alone. CACREP's counseling standards provide one reference point for reviewing a program's training structure; the Kansas BSRB's rules remain essential for a Kansas licensing plan.

Ask whether courses in diagnosis and clinical treatment occur before internship and how the school prepares students to document supervised work. That sequence matters if you need to retain a job while arranging clinical hours. If addiction treatment is your specific goal, look for relevant coursework and placements rather than assuming that every general mental health track provides the same depth in substance-use counseling.

Depending on the school, students may shape their training through electives or placements involving addiction, trauma, children and adolescents, couples and families, or community mental health. An elective emphasis is not necessarily a separate credential or license. Confirm what appears on the transcript and whether an intended placement is consistently available.

Choose a specialization for the work you want to perform, not for its label. For example, someone seeking a dedicated school counseling credential should compare school counseling programs and Kansas education requirements separately; a clinical mental health track should not be assumed to substitute for them. Likewise, focused work with families does not automatically qualify a graduate for a different professional license (Kansas BSRB).

Start with the license and setting you want, then compare programs on requirements that could change your ability to finish or practice. The best clinical mental health counseling programs offer a starting shortlist, not a substitute for checking individual fit.

Ask each school for answers to these questions before accepting an offer:

1. How does the current degree plan address Kansas BSRB education requirements, and who can provide that information in writing?
2. What is the program's current CACREP status, and how does its institutional accreditation affect federal aid eligibility?
3. Who finds and approves practicum and internship sites, particularly in the Kansas community where I live?
4. What will required credits, fees, travel, and any delayed completion cost after confirmed aid?
5. What program-level completion, licensing-exam, and employment information can the school document?

A common mistake is to select the lowest advertised tuition while overlooking an extra term of study or a difficult placement commute. Another is to treat accreditation, graduation, examination, supervised experience, and state licensure as the same milestone. They are distinct checks; resolve any uncertainty with the program and the BSRB before enrolling.

A graduate may pursue supervised counseling work while progressing through the applicable Kansas licensing stages, then seek roles with greater clinical independence if they meet the BSRB's additional requirements. Possible directions include community mental health, outpatient care, substance-use services, and eventually private practice when the license and practice setting permit it. Employers may set requirements beyond the state minimum.

This degree is most worthwhile when you want to provide counseling and are prepared for graduate clinical training and post-degree licensing steps. If your goal is to enter the behavioral health workforce sooner without practicing as a licensed counselor, compare roles with different education requirements before taking on master's-level debt. To judge longer-term value, consider aid, debt, completion likelihood, foregone earnings, expected earnings at each career stage, and how long you expect to work in the field. The most valuable clinical mental health counseling programs can help frame that comparison, but your own costs and career timeline remain decisive.

BLS projects 18% U.S. employment growth from 2025 to 2035 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors. That national projection signals demand across the occupation; it does not measure openings near a particular Kansas campus or guarantee that new graduates will qualify for every posted role.

For a local check, search current openings separately for supervised or provisionally licensed candidates and independently licensed counselors. Note employers' required credentials, schedules, and service areas. This is especially important if you intend to remain in a rural community: a program is a stronger practical fit when its placement support and your likely first jobs are available within a workable travel area.

Investing in a graduate degree is a consequential decision. Research.com's team uses multiple education datasets and checks program outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost to make its counseling rankings more useful and credible than a simple list of schools. The ranking can help you identify programs to investigate, but it should not replace a review of current program and licensing requirements.

Research.com's counseling methodology assesses program completion, employment or doctoral admission, licensure exam pass rates where applicable, CACREP programmatic accreditation, Title IV institutional eligibility, and program cost. Its Best ranking first combines completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable exam pass rates (20%), CACREP recognition (16%), and Title IV eligibility (4%); inapplicable criteria are renormalized. Cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. Online and campus programs use the same approach, while other rankings order programs by the dimension named in the ranking.

The ranking draws on these data sources:

• IPEDS database - institutional reporting on enrollment, completions, and costs.
• Peterson's database - program and institution information.
• College Scorecard database - federal information on institutions and student outcomes.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

Read more about how Research.com builds its rankings in its methodology. Because popularity and professional suitability answer different questions, use the ranking as a starting point, then verify a program's current curriculum, total price, clinical placements, and fit with Kansas licensure rules.

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• 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/
• NBCC - NCE / NCMHCE
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.nbcc.org/exams
• Wichita State University - M. Ed. in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.wichita.edu/academics/education/cles/med_counseling-clinical-mental-health-track.php
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - M.A. in Counseling - Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.mnu.edu/pgs/mac-clinical-mental-health/