Choosing an online counseling master's program means comparing more than tuition: clinical placements, Kansas licensure preparation, and the time away from work can change the value of a degree. This guide is for future counselors and working professionals weighing those trade-offs. It accompanies the 2027 Most Valuable Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas, created by the Research.com team of data scientists to help students make an informed choice about which programs are worth considering. You'll learn how to compare costs, training requirements, and career prospects before enrolling.
Key findings about online Clinical Mental Health Counseling degrees in Kansas
For a Kansas clinical counseling career, prioritize a licensure-aligned master's program and confirm its courses and supervised training with the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board; an online degree alone does not confer a license.
CACREP's 2024 standards set a 60-semester-credit minimum for entry-level counseling programs and include a supervised practicum and internship. Ask each school how it arranges those experiences near your home.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $59,350 U.S. median annual wage in May 2025 and 18% projected employment growth for 2025-2035 for the occupational group that includes mental health counselors. These national figures are context, not a Kansas salary or job offer.
What can I expect from an online Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree in Kansas?
Expect a graduate degree centered on assessing mental health concerns, building treatment plans, providing counseling, and practicing ethically under supervision. Clinical mental health counseling is distinct from a general psychology degree: its curriculum and fieldwork are designed around the preparation of professional counselors. Programs may award an MA, MS, or MEd; the degree label matters less than the coursework, accreditation, and state licensure fit.
"Online" usually describes classroom delivery, not an entirely remote path to practice. Students still need supervised work with clients, typically at an approved local site, and some programs require scheduled live classes or campus visits. For someone outside Wichita or the Kansas City area, the ability to complete approved fieldwork closer to home may matter more than a small difference in tuition. Ask whether the school finds placements, approves student-proposed sites, or expects you to do both.
This path fits people who want to provide psychotherapy or related clinical counseling and can accommodate supervised practice. If your goal is school counseling, choose a program that explicitly prepares you for that credential instead; if you only want introductory mental health knowledge for your current job, a shorter nonlicensure option may be less costly.
Where can I work with an online Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree in Kansas?
Depending on licensure status and employer requirements, clinical mental health counselors may work in community mental health centers, hospitals, outpatient clinics, integrated primary care, substance-use treatment, or private practice. Kansas's community mental health center system is particularly relevant if you want public-facing clinical work; the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services identifies these centers as part of the state's behavioral health service network.
Location changes the practical choice. A student seeking a placement near a rural home should ask schools which local supervisors and sites they approve. Someone targeting private practice in the Wichita or Kansas City labor market should also ask how the program prepares graduates for post-degree supervision. A degree can support entry into the field, but independent practice depends on the appropriate Kansas license - not graduation alone, according to the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $59,350 median annual wage in May 2025 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors nationwide. That combined occupation includes clinical mental health counselors, but the figure is not specific to Kansas, newly licensed practitioners, or private practice. Pay can differ with setting, experience, responsibilities, and hours worked.
Use the national median as a benchmark, not an earnings forecast. When weighing tuition against likely income, ask prospective employers about pay for the credential you would hold immediately after graduation and again after advanced licensure. That distinction matters because the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board treats professional counselor licensure and clinical professional counselor licensure as separate credentials with different requirements.
The useful distinction among these Kansas options is not whether each teaches counseling; it is how its degree structure, delivery, and educational approach fit your schedule and intended practice. Confirm current attendance and placement rules directly before treating any program as fully remote.
Fort Hays State University: Its clinical mental health counseling offering is a direct program choice for applicants comparing online graduate study rather than selecting a clinical track within a broader counseling degree. That may simplify an initial curriculum review, but ask Fort Hays State University how it approves practicum and internship sites where you live.
Wichita State University: The clinical mental health option is a track within its MEd in counseling, according to Wichita State University's program description. This structure is worth examining if you want an education-school setting; verify that the clinical track's courses, rather than the broader degree title, match your intended Kansas license.
MidAmerica Nazarene University: Its clinical mental health counseling option sits within the university's Master of Arts in Counseling and reflects its faith-informed institutional setting, according to MidAmerica Nazarene University. It may suit applicants who value that context, provided its current delivery schedule, clinical placements, and total price also work for them.
No delivery label or institutional affiliation establishes licensure eligibility by itself. Compare each school's current handbook, program-level accreditation status, fieldwork arrangements, and written licensure disclosures before accepting an offer.
Plan on roughly two to three years of full-time study for a clinical counseling master's, with part-time study taking longer. The timeline depends on course sequencing and whether you can complete clinical training alongside your job. CACREP's 2024 standards require at least 60 semester credits for entry-level counseling programs and include supervised practicum and internship experiences; a school's calendar determines how those requirements fit together.
An accelerated schedule can reduce time out of the workforce, but it may concentrate coursework and field hours into an unsustainable period. Compare the fastest clinical mental health counseling programs against your actual weekly availability, and request a term-by-term plan that includes placement deadlines - not just classroom courses.
Both formats can lead toward the same career goal if the specific program meets your educational needs and Kansas licensing requirements. The consequential difference is how you attend classes and secure supervised experience, not whether clinical training can be skipped.
The comparison below focuses on decisions that can affect a working student or someone living far from a campus.
Consideration
Online program
On-campus program
Class participation
May combine scheduled live meetings with independent online work; confirm the timetable.
Usually requires regular travel to campus at set times.
Clinical placement
May allow an approved site near home, subject to school and supervisor approval.
May make it easier to use established local campus-area relationships.
Best fit
Students who need geographic flexibility and can manage remote coursework.
Students who prefer in-person contact or want access to a campus-area clinical network.
An online option is not automatically cheaper: distance fees, travel for required visits, and placement-related expenses can offset commuting savings. Ask for the complete attendance requirements in writing before comparing formats.
There is no single dependable Kansas-wide average for this particular online degree. Schools report tuition and fees in different ways, and an institution-wide graduate tuition figure is not necessarily what a clinical counseling student will pay. NCES IPEDS data are useful for institutional comparisons, but a program-specific written estimate is the better budgeting tool.
Compare total expected program cost: required credits multiplied by the tuition that applies to you, plus mandatory fees, books, technology, any campus visits, and costs associated with clinical placement. Confirm whether a public university charges online students different rates by residency; do not assume living in Kansas automatically produces an in-state online rate. The most affordable clinical mental health counseling programs can help start a price comparison, but a lower posted tuition rate does not establish the lowest final bill.
For a return-on-investment decision, consider aid and likely borrowing alongside your current earnings, time to completion, probability of finishing, expected post-degree opportunities, and the years over which the investment might pay back. Compare those factors over the same time horizon rather than treating the national counselor median wage as a guaranteed raise.
Eligible graduate students can generally consider federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships or assistantships, employer tuition benefits, and any state or local opportunities for which they qualify. Federal aid requires a participating school and an eligible program; submit the FAFSA and review the school's actual offer before assuming a listed scholarship or loan will cover your costs, according to Federal Student Aid.
Do not build a 2027 budget around Graduate PLUS without checking eligibility. Under the federal rules described by Federal Student Aid, students newly beginning graduate study after July 1, 2026, generally cannot take out new Graduate PLUS loans. A limited exception applies to qualifying students already enrolled in a program who received a Direct Loan for that program before the change, subject to transition limits. Ask the financial aid office to confirm your status and remaining borrowing options in writing.
Kansas residents should also ask schools about institution-specific awards and check current Kansas Board of Regents aid eligibility; residence alone does not make every graduate award available. Compare net cost after grants and employer support before comparing loan offers, since loans must be repaid.
View the chart data as a table
Annual earnings-to-program-cost ratio by program (Source: Research.com)
Category
Value
MidAmerica Nazarene Univ
1.209
Wichita State University
1.785
Fort Hays State Universi
2.444
Applicants generally need a completed bachelor's degree and must meet the school's academic and application requirements. Programs may request transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, an interview, or prior coursework; these are admissions rules set by the institution, not a uniform Kansas licensing checklist. Check each program's current admissions page before ruling yourself in or out.
Admissions is only the first threshold. Before paying an application fee, ask whether the exact curriculum is designed to satisfy the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board's education requirements for the license you intend to pursue, and whether it can accommodate your proposed clinical placement location. If you already hold graduate counseling credits, request a written transfer evaluation: schools may limit transfer credit, and accepted classroom credits may not replace required supervised experiences. Applicants comparing the easiest clinical mental health counseling programs should assess admissions accessibility separately from academic rigor and licensure fit.
Expect courses in counseling theories and techniques, assessment and diagnosis, group counseling, human development, research, ethics, and multicultural counseling, followed by supervised clinical work. CACREP's 2024 standards describe common entry-level counseling content and clinical training expectations; an individual school's catalog establishes its actual requirements.
For a Kansas-focused comparison, inspect the course descriptions rather than relying on titles. Ask whether the program teaches the diagnostic, clinical, and ethics content relevant to your intended Kansas credential, how it evaluates in-person client work, and when practicum prerequisites must be finished. A course sequence that delays fieldwork can extend completion even when the advertised credit total looks manageable.
Clinical mental health counseling students may be able to shape electives or placements around substance use, trauma, children and adolescents, or other client populations, depending on the school. A placement focus is not necessarily a named concentration, and neither automatically grants a separate professional credential.
Choose the broad clinical curriculum first if your goal is Kansas professional counselor licensure. Then compare opportunities to work with the population you hope to serve. School counseling, marriage and family therapy, and rehabilitation counseling may have different educational or licensing pathways; confirm the appropriate credential with the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board before choosing one degree because its electives sound appealing.
Start with the license and type of work you want, then compare programs that can realistically get you through classroom study and supervised practice. The best clinical mental health counseling programs are a useful shortlist, but your strongest option also has to fit your location, finances, and timetable.
Use these checks before committing a deposit; they target the mistakes most likely to create extra expense or delay:
Confirm the school's institutional accreditation and the specific program's current CACREP status, if programmatic accreditation matters to your plans. Ask the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board how the degree aligns with your intended license.
Request the current course sequence and written rules for live classes, campus visits, practicum, internship, and finding an approved supervisor near you.
Get a personalized estimate of tuition, mandatory fees, travel, and likely aid, plus a written decision on any transfer credits.
Ask for program-level completion, licensure-exam, and graduate employment results when available, including the reporting period and what population each measure covers.
The biggest red flags are an unclear placement process, a price quote that omits required fees, or a claim that an online degree "qualifies you for licensure" without identifying the state, license, and additional steps. Resolve those questions in writing before choosing speed or price over fit.
View the chart data as a table
Wage range - Mental Health Counselors in Kansas (BLS OEWS, May 2025) (Source: BLS)
Category
Value
10th percentile
37,910
25th percentile
44,370
Median
59,470
75th percentile
73,630
90th percentile
85,860
The most direct path is toward professional counseling in a clinical setting, progressing through the Kansas credentials and supervised experience required for the work you intend to do. Graduates may seek supervised counseling positions before becoming eligible for more advanced clinical practice; exact duties depend on their license and employer, according to the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.
Community mental health, outpatient care, and substance-use services offer different client populations and supervision arrangements. If your goal is independent practice, compare programs partly on how clearly they explain the transition from graduation to post-degree supervision. If your goal is an adjacent nonclinical role, decide whether the time and cost of a licensure-oriented master's are justified instead of assuming every mental health job requires one.
View the chart data as a table
Median wage by U.S. state - Mental Health Counselors (BLS OEWS, May 2025) (Source: BLS)
State
Value
AK
80,770
AL
47,310
AR
51,580
AZ
65,300
CA
59,250
CO
62,390
CT
63,590
DC
60,450
DE
56,020
FL
56,790
GA
58,960
HI
60,090
IA
60,880
ID
63,360
IL
60,730
IN
53,760
KS
59,470
KY
54,190
LA
37,910
MA
59,890
MD
59,530
ME
59,970
MI
61,690
MN
58,780
MO
56,910
MS
46,990
MT
59,000
NC
55,490
ND
68,630
NE
63,770
NH
54,840
NJ
62,820
NM
74,100
NV
57,210
NY
59,450
OH
58,360
OK
59,350
OR
74,590
PA
52,010
PR
46,790
RI
65,120
SC
52,370
SD
53,650
TN
49,580
TX
62,630
UT
63,890
VA
59,880
VT
61,810
WA
68,910
WI
62,220
WV
49,430
WY
62,980
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035 nationwide for the occupational group comprising substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors. That indicates expanding national demand, but it does not measure openings in a particular Kansas county or guarantee a job after graduation.
For a local test of demand, review current vacancies from Kansas community mental health centers, health systems, and outpatient providers in the areas where you could work. Compare each posting's required license and supervision arrangement with what you would hold at graduation. That is more useful than counting jobs you could not yet legally or practically accept, especially if relocating from a rural area is not an option.
2027 Most Valuable Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas
Investing in a counseling degree is a consequential decision. Research.com's team uses institutional and program data to make its rankings more credible and useful, while recognizing that no score can replace checking a program's current tuition, delivery format, and fit with your licensure plans.
Research.com's counseling rankings consider graduate outcomes, licensure exam pass rates where applicable, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and program cost. Its Best ranking begins with a graduate-outcomes-and-accreditation score: completion accounts for 40%; employment or doctoral admission, 20%; licensure exam passage where applicable, 20%; CACREP programmatic accreditation, 16%; and institutional Title IV eligibility, 4%. The applicable shares are adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Cost contributes a smaller component - about 7% of the final Best score. The same method applies to online and on-campus programs; other rankings emphasize the dimension named in their titles.
The team used the following data sources to assess programs and cross-check institutional information:
IPEDS database - institutional reporting on enrollment, completions, and costs.
The ranking can narrow your search, not certify that a particular degree meets every applicant's licensing or financial needs. Read more about the approach on the Research.com methodology page, then verify current program details with each school and the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.
# 1 position
Fort Hays State University
Master
Master of Science in Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)
Delivery mode: online
67.40
/ 100
Final score
Specialization
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Application deadline
Summer: Jan 15 priority / Feb 15 final; Fall: Mar 15 priority / Apr 15 final; Spring: Sep 15 priority / Oct 15 final
Application process
direct
GRE
no
Prerequisites
No specific prerequisite coursework listed. Requires a bachelor's degree with minimum 3.00 GPA in the last 60 credit hours, a 1-2 page personal statement, two letters of recommendation, and a completed background check.
Additional requirements
Official transcripts, proof of 3.00 GPA in last 60 undergrad credit hours, 1-2 page personal/professional goals statement, two letters of recommendation, background check (Validity Screening Solutions)
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Fort Hays State University earned a Research.com Value Score of 67.4/100, supported by $54,939 median earnings and $22,482 total cost (tuition and fees). The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2029-03-31.
# 2 position
Wichita State University
Master
M.Ed. in Counseling
Delivery mode: hybrid
46.70
/ 100
Final score
Specialization
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Application deadline
Fall: July 15; Spring: Dec 1
Application process
direct
GRE
no
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.00 GPA for the last 60 credit hours; statement of professional goals, résumé, and three professional references; criminal background check required before the first semester.
Additional requirements
Completed graduate school application; official transcripts showing 3.00 GPA for the last 60 hours; a statement of professional goals; a resume; names, addresses and phone numbers of three professional references.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Wichita State University earned a Research.com Value Score of 46.7/100, supported by $53,762 median earnings and $30,111 total cost (tuition and fees, estimated). The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2029-10-31.
# 3 position
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Master
M.A. in Counseling – Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Delivery mode: hybrid
28.70
/ 100
Final score
Program length
Complete in 33 months
Specialization
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Program completion rate
95.8% (2024-25)
Employment or doctoral admission
100% (2024-25)
Licensure exam pass rate
100% (2024-25)
Application deadline
Applications and interviews occur every February and April
Application process
direct
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university; minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (or 3.2 in last 30 hours), with lower GPAs eligible under probation
Additional requirements
Official transcripts, three professional and/or academic references, a writing assessment, and one half-day of comprehensive interviews with graduate faculty
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
MidAmerica Nazarene University earned a Research.com Value Score of 28.7/100, supported by $47,940 median earnings and 100% licensure exam pass rate. The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2033-10-31.
Frequently asked questions about online Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree in Kansas
Can an online counseling master's lead to licensure in Kansas?
Potentially, yes. The Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board evaluates the relevant education, examination, and supervised-experience requirements; earning the degree does not itself grant a license. Verify the specific program and intended credential before enrolling.
Do I have to complete clinical hours in person?
Expect supervised client-facing practicum and internship work even when courses are online. Ask the school where you may complete it, who approves the site, and whether any campus attendance is also required.
Is CACREP accreditation required for every applicant?
Do not assume that it is either universally required or irrelevant. Check the specific program's accreditation status and ask the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board how your proposed degree would be evaluated.
Is a faster program a better value?
Only if its schedule lets you complete coursework and clinical placements without raising your risk of delay or withdrawal. Compare the full bill, aid, work hours you may give up, and realistic completion date.
Can I use a Kansas online degree to practice in another state?
Possibly, but licensure rules vary by state. Contact the licensing board where you intend to work and ask the school for its state-specific licensure disclosures before applying.
