2027 Most Valuable Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Scranton

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. That occupational category includes workers with different credentials, specialties, employers, and experience levels; it is not a starting salary or a Scranton-specific prediction. Use it as a broad benchmark, then request recent local placement and earnings information from programs and examine actual job postings.

When judging whether the degree is worth its cost, compare likely earnings after required supervised experience with your current earnings. Also account for loan payments, time away from paid work, and the possibility that an initial supervised position pays less than a later licensed role.

The University of Scranton and Marywood University give local applicants two institutional settings to investigate. Their published program descriptions are useful starting points, but the decisive comparison is how each current degree plan, placement process, and aid offer fits your licensure and work schedule. The best clinical mental health counseling programs listing provides another view of program quality.

• University of Scranton: Its graduate offering is explicitly organized as a master's in clinical mental health counseling (University of Scranton Graduate Admissions). That direct clinical focus makes it a sensible first comparison for applicants pursuing Pennsylvania professional counselor licensure; ask the department for its current course-to-board-requirement mapping and local placement process before treating the degree title as proof of eligibility.
• Marywood University: Its mental health counseling offering sits within its psychology and counseling academic area (Marywood University). Applicants interested in that departmental setting should compare its current curriculum and faculty-supervised clinical opportunities with Scranton's, particularly if they want to explore how counseling training connects with related behavioral-health study.

Neither a degree title nor an institutional affiliation establishes the better personal value. Request the same information from both schools: current credits and required field hours, completion and exam outcomes where published, placement responsibilities, total net price, and a written explanation of how the curriculum addresses Pennsylvania licensure rules.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time study generally takes longer. Your actual timeline depends on course sequencing, when field placements are available, and whether you can complete required clinical hours alongside work. Ask each Scranton program for a term-by-term plan based on your intended enrollment load, not only its advertised fastest route.

Graduation is not the end of the licensure timeline. Pennsylvania requires qualifying supervised experience and an accepted examination in addition to the degree (Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors). If you need independent-practice income by a particular date, include that postdegree stage in your plan.

Online coursework can reduce trips to campus, but it does not make clinical training virtual or remove placement requirements. The comparison below shows which format-related questions are most likely to affect a Scranton student's schedule and licensure preparation.

Choose on evidence, not format alone. For an out-of-state online program, obtain written confirmation that its curriculum is designed to meet Pennsylvania's educational requirements and ask who is responsible for finding and approving your local placement (Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors).

There is no single reliable Scranton-wide program price: schools can charge by credit or term, and the amount paid varies with required credits, fees, aid, and enrollment pace. Published institutional tuition averages are not the same as a counseling program's total bill. For a useful comparison, request each school's current full-program estimate and aid offer. The most affordable clinical mental health counseling programs listing can help identify options to price more closely.

Include required fees, books, travel to placements, and any reduction in work hours. A faster program can cost more per term yet reduce foregone earnings; a lower sticker price can lose its advantage if a placement requires extensive travel. Compare net total cost and expected completion time before calculating a return on investment.

Eligible graduate students can explore institutional scholarships or assistantships, employer tuition assistance, and federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans by completing the FAFSA. Availability and terms depend on the school, the student, and current federal rules (Federal Student Aid; U.S. Department of Education). Ask each program whether assistantships can coexist with clinical placements and whether scholarships continue during internship terms.

Do not assume Graduate PLUS will cover a 2027 start. Under the federal changes effective for new graduate borrowing beginning July 2026, new graduate students generally cannot take out Graduate PLUS loans; limited transition provisions may apply to qualifying continuing students (Federal Student Aid). Confirm your own eligibility directly with the school's aid office and Federal Student Aid before accepting an offer. Borrow only after comparing the full cost with your likely supervised-role income and other funding options.

Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and must meet each school's admission rules, which may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. A psychology major may be helpful but should not be assumed mandatory; ask whether applicants from other fields need prerequisite coursework (University of Scranton Graduate Admissions; Marywood University).

Admissions eligibility and licensure eligibility are separate checks. Before paying an enrollment deposit, request the current program handbook and compare its coursework with Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors requirements. If you have prior graduate credits, obtain a written transfer-credit evaluation; accepted credits must still fit the program's clinical sequence and applicable licensure rules.

Expect coursework in counseling skills, assessment, diagnosis, ethics, human development, research, multicultural counseling, and group work, followed by supervised practicum and internship. The exact titles and sequencing vary by school. What matters most for a Pennsylvania applicant is whether the complete curriculum - not one course in isolation - addresses the board's educational requirements and prepares you for supervised clinical work (Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors).

Compare syllabi and fieldwork policies if you have a specific interest, such as substance-use treatment or work with children. An elective can broaden your preparation, but it does not independently create a specialty license.

Programs may offer electives, placements, or focused training relevant to substance use, trauma, children and adolescents, or other client populations. Confirm which options are actually offered in the terms you would attend; an advertised topic is less useful if it cannot fit your course schedule or placement.

Keep related professions distinct. School counseling, marriage and family therapy, and clinical mental health counseling can lead to different educational and licensing requirements. If your primary goal is to work as a school counselor rather than provide community-based clinical treatment, compare the dedicated school-counseling pathway before committing to a mental health counseling master's (Pennsylvania Department of Education; Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors).

Start with the license and work setting you want, then compare programs on requirements that could change your ability to finish or practice. Popularity shows student interest, not necessarily fit; use the most popular clinical mental health counseling programs alongside evidence about training and cost.

Ask every school the same questions so the answers are comparable:

1. How does the current curriculum address Pennsylvania professional counselor education requirements, and what is the program's current accreditation status?
2. Who finds and approves clinical placements, and what happens if a suitable site near Scranton is unavailable?
3. What is my written net cost and term-by-term completion plan, including fieldwork terms and any transfer credits?
4. What program-level completion, examination, and employment information can you share, with the cohort and reporting period identified?

A common mistake is to treat CACREP recognition, federal aid eligibility, a ranking, and state licensure approval as interchangeable. They answer different questions. Verify accreditation with the accreditor, aid eligibility with the school and Federal Student Aid, and licensure requirements with the Pennsylvania board before committing.

A typical path moves from graduate clinical training to a qualifying supervised counseling role and, after meeting Pennsylvania's additional requirements, an application for professional counselor licensure. From there, counselors may pursue outpatient, community-agency, hospital-related, or other behavioral-health work. Advancement can involve greater clinical responsibility or supervision, subject to employer and state requirements (Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors).

If you already work in human services, the master's may open a route toward clinical responsibilities that your current credential does not permit. If you want primarily research, prescribing authority, or a school-based credential, compare the relevant graduate or professional pathway instead; this degree does not substitute for those qualifications.

National employment of 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 points to broad occupational demand, but it does not measure openings in Scranton or promise a job to any graduate. Local opportunities depend on employer hiring, your placement network, the populations you can serve, and whether a role accepts a supervised graduate or requires a license.

Use the national outlook to judge the field, then test the local market before enrolling: review northeastern Pennsylvania postings for credential and schedule requirements, and ask programs where recent graduates completed placements and obtained work. This is especially important if you need to remain in Scranton rather than consider jobs elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com created its counseling rankings to make program comparisons more transparent, using checks of outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than relying on reputation alone. The ranking is a starting point for a shortlist, not a substitute for confirming current program details with each school.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider program completion, employment or doctoral admission, licensure-exam pass rates where applicable, CACREP programmatic accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, and program cost. The Best ranking first combines completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable exam results (20%), CACREP recognition (16%), and Title IV eligibility (4%); weights are adjusted when a measure does not apply. Cost contributes about 7% of its final score. Online and campus programs use the same method; other named rankings emphasize the dimension in their titles.

The team used the following sources to check program and institutional information:

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

These measures can help you compare value, but published outcomes may cover different cohorts or lack program-level detail. Read more about the approach on the Research.com methodology page, then verify the current curriculum, placement support, and net price of any program on your shortlist.

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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/
• O*NET OnLine - Clinical Mental Health Counseling (21-1014)
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00
• University of Scranton - MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://gradadmissions.scranton.edu/programs/masters-clinical-mental-health-counseling/index.shtml
• Marywood University - Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.marywood.edu/academics/psychology-counseling/programs/mental-health-counseling