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

The national median annual wage was $59,350 in May 2025 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook). This is an occupation-wide midpoint - not a starting salary, a Mankato wage, or a prediction for a particular program's graduates.

When assessing a local offer, compare its pay alongside supervision, benefits, caseload expectations, and the license it requires. A position that includes suitable clinical supervision may be valuable early in your career even if its salary is lower than another offer. For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare likely pay after the degree with what you could earn without it; using the national median as your expected first salary would overstate what the figure can tell you.

The two Mankato programs offer different starting points for comparison. Their degree titles and institutional settings are verifiable, but neither should be treated as a substitute for checking the current catalog, placement policies, and the state board's requirements.

• Minnesota State University, Mankato: Its Counseling and Student Personnel department offers a mental health counseling M.S., giving applicants a program situated within a broader counseling-focused academic department (Minnesota State University, Mankato). It is a sensible option to examine if you want to compare coursework and field training within a public university; request the current degree plan and a written explanation of how it aligns with your intended Minnesota license.
• Bethany Lutheran College: Bethany identifies its graduate degree specifically as clinical mental health counseling and offers it within a Lutheran college setting (Bethany Lutheran College). Applicants for whom that educational environment matters have a distinct alternative to compare with the public university program; ask Bethany for its current clinical-training plan, attendance requirements, and full graduate cost before deciding.

Do not infer that either degree title establishes CACREP accreditation or automatic licensure eligibility. Verify the program's current accreditation status directly with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and confirm education questions with the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy.

A counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years of full-time study; part-time study can take longer. That is a planning range, not a published completion promise from either Mankato program. Clinical course sequencing, placement availability, and whether a school offers required classes each term can matter more than the number of credits alone.

Ask each program for a term-by-term plan covering classroom work, practicum, and internship. If you intend to keep a full-time job, ask whether field hours can actually be completed outside your workday. Also plan for the supervised experience and examinations associated with the Minnesota license you want; finishing the degree and becoming independently licensed are different milestones (Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy).

Delivery format changes how you attend classes, not whether clinical skills must be learned and assessed. This comparison helps working adults test a program's advertised flexibility against the demands of its supervised training; confirm each school's current delivery arrangements rather than assuming a whole degree is online or campus-based.

For either format, ask where placements are permitted and which state's licensure rules the curriculum is designed to address. An online label alone does not establish eligibility for Minnesota licensure (Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy).

There is no reliable single "average Mankato program cost" that substitutes for the current graduate charges of the programs you are considering. Published tuition can exclude mandatory fees, books, travel to placement sites, and living expenses; the number of terms you enroll also changes the total. NCES/IPEDS institutional tuition figures are useful context but may not represent the bill for a specific counseling master's student.

Request a program-length cost estimate from each school using your expected enrollment pace and residency status. Then subtract confirmed grants or employer support and add any income you expect to forgo during clinical training. Compare the resulting amount - not just a per-credit price - with the most affordable clinical mental health counseling programs. A faster schedule can reduce terms of fees while making paid work harder to maintain.

Graduate students can investigate federal student aid, institutional scholarships or assistantships, employer tuition benefits, and relevant Minnesota funding opportunities. Eligibility differs by award and student; a scholarship advertised by a college is not necessarily open to every counseling student. Submit the FAFSA and review each school's graduate aid offer, including whether support continues during internship terms (Federal Student Aid; U.S. Department of Education).

Borrowing should be evaluated against the full program budget. Ask the aid office which charges are covered, when funds are disbursed, and what happens if your placement reduces your paid working hours. Federal loans must be repaid with interest; an aid offer that covers tuition but not clinical-placement travel or living expenses can still leave a substantial funding gap (Federal Student Aid).

Expect to need a bachelor's degree and to submit the materials specified by the individual graduate program. Schools may assess academic preparation, a statement of purpose, references, and readiness for supervised work with clients, but requirements and deadlines are program-specific. A bachelor's major outside psychology or counseling does not automatically rule out graduate study; check whether a school requires particular prior courses (Minnesota State University, Mankato; Bethany Lutheran College).

Admission and licensure are separate checks. Before accepting a place, send your intended Minnesota license and the program's proposed degree plan to the school's licensure contact, and verify any unresolved education questions with the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy. If you already hold graduate credits, request a written transfer-credit evaluation: accepted credits may not replace required clinical courses or supervised fieldwork.

Expect coursework in counseling skills and theories, ethics, assessment, human development, group counseling, and research or program evaluation, alongside supervised practicum and internship. Clinical preparation also calls for attention to diagnosis, treatment planning, crisis response, and counseling across different client backgrounds. Exact course titles and requirements belong to each school's current catalog, not to a universal Mankato curriculum.

Read the sequence as well as the course list. If a required assessment or clinical course precedes internship, missing its scheduled term could delay field training. Compare syllabi and fieldwork handbooks with the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy's education requirements for the license you intend to pursue; a course that sounds relevant may not meet a particular board requirement without the necessary content or documentation.

Students can shape clinical experience through electives and approved placements in areas such as substance-use treatment, work with children and families, or community mental health - if a program and placement site offer them. Do not assume either Mankato school guarantees a formal concentration in any of these areas; check its current catalog and the placements available when you enroll.

Choose the setting and skills before the label. A prospective substance-use counselor, for example, should ask how substance-use assessment and treatment appear in coursework and fieldwork, and whether a desired role calls for a credential beyond a counseling degree. A school-counselor role is a different professional destination: verify its separate preparation and licensing route rather than assuming a clinical mental health degree covers it (Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy; Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board).

Start with the license and role you want, then compare programs on evidence you can obtain in writing. The best clinical mental health counseling programs can help you build a shortlist, but a ranking cannot establish whether a particular course plan, placement, and schedule work for you.

Ask both schools the same consequential questions before paying a deposit:

1. Which Minnesota license is this degree designed to support, and how does the current course plan address the board's education requirements?
2. What is the program's current CACREP status, and what does that status mean for my intended pathway?
3. Who arranges practicum and internship placements, and can I complete them where I expect to live?
4. What will I pay through graduation after confirmed aid, and which required activities could limit my paid work?
5. Which credits from previous graduate study would count toward this specific degree?

A warning sign is an answer that treats admission, degree completion, accreditation, and licensure as interchangeable. Get each claim separately documented (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy).

The most direct path is toward counseling roles that use graduate clinical preparation and, where required, Minnesota professional licensure. Early-career work may involve supervised practice; later responsibilities can differ by license, employer, and experience. Relevant paths include community mental health counseling, outpatient behavioral health, and counseling within integrated-care or substance-use services (Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

A degree is worth the investment when it advances a role you actually want and its likely benefits justify its total cost and time commitment. Compare the most valuable clinical mental health counseling programs using your own expected borrowing, aid, completion prospects, current earnings, possible post-degree earnings, and the time it may take to become licensed. If your goal is school counseling, social work, or a nonclinical support position, compare those credentials before committing to this degree.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% national employment growth from 2025 to 2035 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors. That supports investigating the field, but a national projection cannot tell you how many suitable openings will exist in Mankato when you graduate. Employer requirements, available supervision, and willingness to work in nearby communities will shape your actual options.

Use local job postings as a reality check while comparing schools. Note which licenses employers request, whether they hire people completing supervised experience, and which populations or clinical skills recur. Then ask programs whether their placement arrangements can help you gain relevant experience. Avoid treating strong national growth as a promise of employment - or a reason to overlook an unaffordable program (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy).

Investing in a graduate degree is a consequential decision. Research.com developed its counseling rankings to make program comparisons more transparent, using graduate outcomes, accreditation, licensure-exam results where applicable, and cost rather than relying on a school's reputation alone. The team draws on the following sources to check the quality and credibility of the information used:

• IPEDS database: institutional enrollment, awards, and cost reporting.
• Peterson's database: program and institutional information.
• College Scorecard database: federal institutional and student-outcome information.
• National Center for Education Statistics: federal education data and definitions.

Research.com's Best counseling ranking first combines program completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam pass rates, CACREP programmatic recognition, and institutional Title IV eligibility. Those criteria carry weights of 40%, 20%, 20%, 16%, and 4%, respectively, with weights adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Program cost then contributes about 7% of the final Best score. The same approach applies to online and campus programs; other rankings order programs by the dimension named in their titles. A popularity ranking is therefore a starting point for comparison, not proof that a program is the best licensure or financial fit for you. See Research.com's methodology for more detail.

• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Milwaukee
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Chicago
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Saint Louis
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Springfield
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Detroit
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Dayton
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Louisville
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Cincinnati
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Columbus
• 2027 Most Popular Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nashville

• 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/
• Counseling Compact - Participating States
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://counselingcompact.org/
• Minnesota State University-Mankato - Counseling and Student Personnel (MS) - Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.mnsu.edu/programs/counseling-and-student-personnel/counseling-and-student-personnel-mental-health-counseling-ms/
• Bethany Lutheran College - Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://blc.edu/academics/grad-programs/clinical-mental-health-counseling-cmhc/