2027 Best Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Austin

Pay depends on occupation, employer, experience, and credentials - not the degree title alone. The table shows national occupational medians for May 2025, not entry-level offers or Austin-specific wages. Use the row closest to your intended role when testing whether a program's cost is manageable (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook).

These occupations can have different licensing or certification routes. Before borrowing, compare your expected starting pay with likely debt payments and the earnings you would give up while studying; an occupational median is not a forecast for a new graduate.

The most useful distinction among these Austin options is their stated degree focus. Use the following program characteristics as a starting point, then request the current catalog and clinical-placement details before deciding:

• St. Edward's University - Master of Arts in Counseling: The degree is presented as a counseling master's rather than as a degree named solely for clinical mental health counseling (St. Edward's University). It is worth examining if you want to compare the program's available training paths against a particular career goal; confirm the current track, credit requirements, and Texas credential alignment with the university.
• Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest - Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: The degree explicitly identifies clinical mental health counseling as its focus and is offered within a theological seminary (Seminary of the Southwest). That combination may appeal to applicants interested in this practice area and the institution's educational setting; ask how its curriculum and placements support your intended Texas licensure route.

Neither a program name nor an institutional setting establishes an individual graduate's eligibility for licensure. Compare current coursework, supervised training, accreditation status, outcomes, and net cost directly (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Plan on roughly two to three years for a full-time counseling master's degree; part-time enrollment can take longer. Your actual timeline depends on required credits, course sequencing, and when clinical placements are available. Texas's LPC education pathway requires at least 60 graduate semester hours, so an apparently shorter program needs especially careful review if LPC licensure is your goal (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Degree completion is not the end of the clinical licensure timeline. Texas LPC applicants must meet examination and supervised post-degree experience requirements before independent licensure; ask programs to map the steps from admission through associate licensure and subsequent supervision (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Online coursework may make a program more workable for an employed Austin resident, but counseling training still includes supervised, in-person client work. A campus program may simplify access to local faculty and placement networks; neither format is automatically more suitable for Texas licensure. Check the specific program's curriculum and placement arrangements, not just its delivery label (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Ask whether an online program permits placements in the Austin area, who approves and finds sites, and whether any campus visits are mandatory. If you might move after graduation, ask the destination state's licensing board about its education rules before enrolling; Texas eligibility does not automatically transfer elsewhere.

There is no single Austin counseling-degree price that reliably represents every program. Published tuition may be charged per credit and may exclude university fees, books, travel, required insurance, and the time spent in clinical placement. Compare each school's current graduate tuition and fees against its required credits and expected time to completion; do not treat an undergraduate institutional price as the cost of a counseling master's (institutions' published tuition schedules; NCES IPEDS).

Request an itemized total-program estimate and an aid offer before using the most affordable counseling programs comparison. The lowest listed tuition may not be the lowest net cost if grants, required travel, or an extended part-time schedule differ.

Start with the FAFSA to establish eligibility for federal aid, then ask each graduate program about institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition support, and payment plans. Eligible graduate students may use federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, subject to federal limits and program eligibility; aid is not guaranteed by admission (Federal Student Aid).

Compare offers by the amount you would actually borrow over the whole degree, not by the first term's award. Ask whether a scholarship renews, whether part-time students qualify, and whether placement hours could require reduced paid work. Verify current federal borrowing options with Federal Student Aid rather than assuming that every graduate loan type remains available to new students.

A counseling master's applicant generally needs a bachelor's degree and must meet the selected school's current admissions requirements. Programs may assess academic preparation, relevant experience, references, a statement of purpose, or an interview; the specific requirements and deadlines belong to the institution, not to all Austin programs collectively (St. Edward's University; Seminary of the Southwest).

Before applying, ask whether prerequisite courses are required and whether previous graduate credits can transfer. A credit-transfer approval can reduce coursework, but it does not by itself establish that the resulting degree satisfies Texas LPC education rules; obtain a written degree plan and check the licensing board's requirements (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

Expect graduate study in counseling theories and techniques, lifespan development, assessment, group work, multicultural counseling, ethics, and supervised practicum or internship. Clinical mental health students should examine how the curriculum addresses diagnosis and treatment planning; prospective school counselors should instead check alignment with Texas educator-preparation requirements (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency).

Course titles alone can hide important differences. Request the catalog's full course descriptions and clinical-hour rules, then ask which required classes are offered each term. This is particularly useful if your work schedule makes a missed course sequence costly.

Common career directions include clinical mental health, school counseling, addiction counseling, and work with couples or families. They are not interchangeable labels: Texas regulates professional counseling, marriage and family therapy, and school counselor certification through different credentialing routes (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency).

Choose a specialization by working backward from the job and credential you want. If you hope to provide clinical therapy, check the applicable licensing board's degree and supervised-training rules. If you want to counsel students in schools, confirm that the program supports Texas school counselor certification rather than assuming a clinical degree does.

Start with the credential required for your intended role, then compare programs on verified fit and total cost. The most valuable counseling programs can help narrow a shortlist, but value for you also depends on aid, completion likelihood, foregone earnings, and how long you expect to use the credential.

Before accepting an offer, resolve these questions with each school and the relevant Texas authority:

1. Does the current degree plan meet the education rules for my intended Texas license or certification, and what must I complete after graduation?
2. What is the program's current accreditation status, and does my intended credential require a particular type of accreditation?
3. Who secures and approves local clinical placements, and can I complete them on my schedule?
4. What will I pay and borrow through graduation after renewable aid, fees, and likely changes to my work hours?

A common mistake is choosing the cheapest or quickest program before checking credential fit. Another is treating accreditation, admission, or a ranking position as a promise of licensure or employment. Verify each separately with the program, accreditor, and Texas board (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency).

A clinical mental health graduate may pursue Texas's LPC route and, after meeting its additional requirements, seek counseling roles in agencies or private practice. Other paths include school counseling through educator certification, substance-use counseling, and family-focused practice through the applicable credential route. Job titles and permitted activities depend on the credential held, not simply on having a master's degree (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency).

If you do not want clinical supervision, examinations, or direct client work, a licensure-oriented master's may be a poor investment. Ask employers about roles in case management, student support, or program administration before paying for a degree designed chiefly for regulated practice.

Nationally, employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections. That indicates demand in a broad occupation; it does not measure vacancies in Austin or guarantee a position for a particular graduate.

For a local reality check, review current Austin-area postings for the populations and settings that interest you. Note which require an associate license, full licensure, school certification, or experience. Use those requirements to test a program's placements and post-graduation supervision support before enrolling.

Investing in a counseling degree is a consequential decision. Research.com built this ranking to help readers compare programs using consistent evidence rather than reputation alone. The team evaluates graduate outcomes, accreditation, licensure-exam results where applicable, and cost, while accounting for criteria that do not apply to every program.

For the Best ranking, a graduate-outcomes-and-accreditation score weighs program completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure-exam pass rates at 20%, CACREP programmatic accreditation at 16%, and federal Title IV eligibility at 4%. Weights are adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Program cost then contributes about 7% of the final score. The method is the same for online and on-campus programs; rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension. The following data sources informed the ranking:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completion, and cost data.
• 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.

Use the ranking to identify programs for closer review, then confirm current tuition, accreditation, placement policies, and licensure fit with each school. More detail about the approach is available on Research.com's methodology page.

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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 - Mental Health Counselors (21-1014)
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00
• St. Edward's University - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.stedwards.edu/academics/majors-programs/master-arts-counseling
• St. Edward's University - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.stedwards.edu/academics/majors-programs/master-arts-counseling
• Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest - Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://ssw.edu/admissions/apply-to-southwest/master-arts-clinical-mental-health-counseling/