Choosing a counseling master's in New York means choosing a career pathway, not just a school: a degree designed for school certification may not meet your goal of becoming a licensed mental health counselor. This guide explains the differences, along with costs, training requirements, and career prospects. It also features the 2027 Best Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in New York, created by the Research.com team of data scientists to help students make an informed choice about programs worth considering. Use it to narrow your options before committing time and money.
Key findings about Counseling degrees in New York
Match the degree to the credential first: New York's licensed mental health counselor pathway, school counselor certification, and rehabilitation counseling careers have different educational and professional requirements (New York State Education Department).
For the U.S. occupation that includes mental health and substance use counselors, the May 2025 median annual wage was $59,350; employment is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035. These national figures are career context, not a New York graduate salary forecast (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
New York mental health counselor licensure generally requires a qualifying master's education, 3,000 hours of supervised post-degree experience, and an examination. A degree alone does not confer a license (New York State Education Department).
What can I expect from a Counseling degree in New York?
A counseling master's combines human development, assessment, ethics, and supervised practice, but its intended credential determines much of the curriculum. Mental health counseling prepares students for clinical work and New York's licensed mental health counselor, or LMHC, pathway. School counseling prepares students to support pupils' academic, career, and social-emotional development and pursue state school counselor certification. Rehabilitation counseling focuses on disability, access, and employment or independent-living goals.
Expect skills practice, feedback from supervisors, and placements with actual clients or students. Before comparing course titles, ask each program which New York credential its graduates are prepared to seek and whether additional coursework would be needed for your goal. CACREP accreditation is a useful program-level quality signal, but it is not a substitute for confirming that a degree meets the specific New York State Education Department requirements applicable to you.
Where can I work with a Counseling degree in New York?
The setting follows the specialization. Mental health counseling graduates may pursue roles in community clinics, hospitals, substance use treatment, or private practice after meeting applicable licensing and supervision rules. School counseling graduates typically aim for public or private schools; New York public-school positions require the appropriate state certification. Rehabilitation counseling can lead to vocational rehabilitation, disability services, healthcare, or community agencies (New York State Education Department; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Location also affects training access. A student planning to work in a particular borough or upstate community should ask whether the program can arrange placements there and who supervises them. A convenient classroom location does not necessarily mean a convenient internship or a job offer.
Salary depends on occupation, employer, experience, and location - not on the degree title alone. The following U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures pair May 2025 national median annual wages with 2025-2035 national employment projections. They are useful for comparing career directions, but they do not measure starting pay or wages specific to New York.
Career direction
U.S. median annual wage, May 2025
Projected U.S. job growth, 2025-2035
Mental health or addiction counseling
$59,350
18%
School counseling
$64,330
3%
Rehabilitation counseling
$46,850
2%
The higher school counseling median does not make a school counseling degree the better investment for someone who wants to provide clinical therapy. Likewise, a national median cannot establish whether a particular New York offer will cover your debt. Compare likely local positions and required credentials before treating any wage figure as an expected return.
The programs below serve different professional aims, so their strongest distinction is often the credential or population they prepare students to serve - not a claim that one curriculum is universally better. Confirm current credits, placement arrangements, and credential eligibility with each program before applying.
CUNY Hunter College - School Counseling, MSEd: This is the school-focused option among these programs, built around the work of counseling students rather than treating a general clinical caseload. It is the clearest fit here for applicants targeting New York school counselor certification; verify the program's current certification recommendations with Hunter and the New York State Education Department (CUNY Hunter College).
Touro University - Mental Health Counseling: Touro places its mental health counseling program within its School of Health Sciences. Applicants interested in clinical practice should compare its supervised-placement arrangements and New York licensure preparation with Pace's rather than assuming that two mental health counseling degrees offer identical training experiences (Touro University).
Pace University - Mental Health Counseling, MS: Pace offers a specifically titled clinical mental health counseling master's rather than a school counseling or rehabilitation counseling degree. It belongs on the shortlist for an LMHC-oriented applicant who can confirm that its current coursework and placements meet their intended New York licensing route (Pace University).
CUNY Hunter College - Rehabilitation Counseling, MSEd: Its rehabilitation focus distinguishes it from the two mental health counseling options and Hunter's school counseling program. Students drawn to disability services and vocational goals should investigate this path, while checking separately whether the curriculum supports any clinical license or professional certification they may also want (CUNY Hunter College).
These differences matter more than institutional name recognition if you already know your intended work setting. If you do not, compare fieldwork populations and credential outcomes before ranking programs by convenience.
A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time study often takes longer. The schedule depends on required credits, course sequencing, and when supervised placements are offered. For New York LMHC preparation, the qualifying education generally includes at least 60 semester hours, but completing that education is only one stage: supervised post-degree experience and examination requirements follow (New York State Education Department).
Ask for a term-by-term plan showing when you can begin practicum and internship. An accelerated classroom schedule offers little benefit if placements cannot fit your work hours; a part-time plan may be more realistic for a working professional, even if it postpones eligibility for the next career step.
Online delivery changes where you take classes, not whether supervised counseling practice is required. An online program can reduce commuting and help a working student keep a job, but placements still need suitable sites, supervisors, and scheduling. Campus study may make in-person skills practice and local professional connections easier, although it can increase travel and time away from work.
For either format, ask who secures New York placements, whether evening or weekend sites are realistic, and whether the program meets the educational requirements for your intended credential. Do not assume that an online degree advertised nationally satisfies New York licensure or school certification rules (New York State Education Department).
There is no single reliable price for a New York counseling master's: published tuition can be charged per credit or per term, and programs differ in length and required fees. Public-university resident rates may differ from nonresident rates, while private-university pricing follows each institution's policy. Without a consistently defined, current statewide counseling-master's median, comparing an unsupported "average" would be less useful than comparing complete program estimates (institutional tuition schedules; NCES IPEDS).
Request each school's estimated total for tuition, mandatory fees, books, travel, and placement-related expenses. Then account for grants and the income you may give up during fieldwork. The most affordable counseling programs can help you start a price shortlist, but the lowest sticker price is not automatically the lowest cost to finish.
Start with the FAFSA and each school's graduate-aid office. Depending on eligibility and availability, funding may include federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional grants, assistantships, employer tuition assistance, and scholarships. Ask whether aid continues during internship terms, when paid work may be harder to maintain (Federal Student Aid; institutional financial aid offices).
Graduate PLUS availability has changed: students entering a graduate program under the rules effective July 2026 generally cannot begin borrowing Graduate PLUS for it. A limited exception applies to qualifying continuing students who were enrolled in the same program and had a qualifying loan before the cutoff, subject to time limits. A prospective 2027 entrant should not build a budget around Graduate PLUS without confirming eligibility directly with Federal Student Aid and the school (Federal Student Aid).
Compare net cost and borrowing needs, not just awards described as "aid": loans must be repaid. State-specific awards also have their own degree-level and residency rules, so verify graduate eligibility rather than assuming an undergraduate New York grant carries over.
View the chart data as a table
Best score by program (Source: Research.com)
Category
Value
CUNY Hunter College
78.28
Pace University
85.02
Touro University
87.69
CUNY Hunter College
88.55
Programs generally expect a bachelor's degree and an application documenting academic preparation and interest in counseling. Requirements for prerequisite psychology coursework, minimum grades, recommendations, interviews, and relevant experience vary by institution; check the current admissions page for each degree rather than treating one school's requirements as statewide rules (institutional admissions offices).
If you are changing careers, ask whether missing prerequisites can be completed before or after admission. If you already hold graduate credits, obtain a written transfer-credit evaluation and check whether transferred courses satisfy both degree requirements and your intended New York credential pathway. Credit acceptance does not, by itself, establish licensure eligibility (New York State Education Department).
Common areas include counseling theories, human development, assessment, research, ethics, group work, and supervised practicum or internship. A clinical mental health curriculum also needs to address diagnosis and treatment; a school curriculum emphasizes counseling in educational settings; rehabilitation study centers disability, accessibility, and vocational planning (New York State Education Department; program curricula).
Course names alone are a weak test of fit. Compare catalog descriptions and fieldwork requirements against the state's requirements for the precise credential you want, then ask the program how it documents graduates' educational eligibility.
The most consequential choice is often the degree pathway itself: clinical mental health, school, or rehabilitation counseling. Some schools also offer electives or focused training in areas such as addiction, trauma, or particular age groups, but an elective emphasis is not necessarily a separate license or certification (institutional program catalogs; New York State Education Department).
Choose based on whom you want to serve and where you want to work. A school-focused degree makes sense for a prospective school counselor; it is a poor shortcut to independent clinical practice unless the graduate separately meets LMHC requirements. Similarly, interest in couples and families does not make every mental health counseling program a marriage and family therapy licensure program.
Start with the job and credential you want, then compare programs that can plausibly get you there. The most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison lens, but your own return depends on completion, financial aid, debt, foregone earnings, likely post-degree earnings, and how long you expect to work in the field.
Before accepting an offer, get clear answers to these questions:
Which New York license or certification is this exact degree designed to support, and what requirements remain after graduation?
Is the program currently CACREP-accredited, if that matters to my goals, and how does it document compliance with New York requirements?
Who finds and approves field sites, and can I complete the required hours near where I live and work?
What is my written total-cost estimate after grants, including fees and placement-related expenses?
What do the program's recent completion, examination, and employment outcomes measure, and which graduates are included?
A common mistake is choosing by ranking position or tuition alone. Treat unclear credential claims, vague placement support, or outcomes without a reporting period as reasons to ask for documentation before enrolling.
View the chart data as a table
Median wage by counseling career path (U.S., BLS May 2025) (Source: BLS)
Category
Value
Psychologists
99,110
Postsecondary Teachers
85,330
Marriage & Family Therapists
66,940
School & Career Counselors
64,330
Mental Health Counselors
59,350
Rehabilitation Counselors
46,850
A master's can support entry into supervised clinical counseling work, school counseling positions after appropriate certification, or rehabilitation and disability-service roles. Later paths may include clinical supervision, program management, or private practice where licensing rules permit. These are distinct career routes, not interchangeable outcomes of every counseling degree (New York State Education Department; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
For a career changer, the degree is most compelling when the desired role actually requires graduate preparation and the program aligns with its credential. If you want to explore helping professions before committing to a regulated clinical career, a relevant entry-level service role may be a lower-cost way to test your interest. Looking at the most popular counseling programs may show where students enroll, but popularity cannot establish fit or employment outcomes.
National demand is strongest among the counseling occupations shown here for mental health and addiction work: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. That projection describes the national occupation, not openings available to a particular graduate in New York. School and rehabilitation counseling have different demand patterns, so switching specializations solely because of a growth rate can lead to the wrong credential.
To assess your local market, examine current postings in the New York communities where you would work. Separate positions open to graduates under supervision from those requiring full licensure or school certification, and compare pay with your likely borrowing and time to qualify. Employers' credential requirements are a more useful near-term signal than a national projection on its own.
2027 Best Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in New York
Investing in a master's degree is a consequential decision. Research.com developed its counseling rankings to make program comparisons more transparent, using multiple sources and checking outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than relying on reputation alone.
The Best ranking begins with a graduate-outcomes-and-accreditation score: program completion accounts for 40%, employment or doctoral admission for 20%, applicable licensure exam pass rates for 20%, CACREP programmatic accreditation for 16%, and institutional Title IV eligibility for 4%. When a measure does not apply, the remaining shares are renormalized. Program cost then contributes a smaller component - about 7% of the final score. Online and campus programs use the same method; other Research.com rankings order programs by the dimension named in each ranking. The underlying sources are:
The ranking is a starting point, not a substitute for checking a program's current curriculum, price, and fit with your intended New York credential. Read more about Research.com's methodology before comparing schools.
# 1 position
CUNY Hunter College
Master
School Counseling (MSEd)
Delivery mode: campus
88.55
/ 100
Final score
Program length
On-time completion defined as 3 years (20 credits per year); part-time or full-time study permitted
Specialization
School Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
Acceptance rate
64.8%
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Program completion rate
85% (2024-25)
Employment or doctoral admission
73% (2024-25)
Application deadline
Fall: February 1
Class size
21
Application process
direct
GRE
no
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of at least 3.0; 15 to 25 credits of approved courses from anthropology, economics, education, guidance, health sciences, political science, psychology, sociology, and related areas.
Additional requirements
Statement of purpose (400-600 words), an additional essay (400-600 words) on a counseling scenario, two letters of recommendation from professional or academic references; relevant work/volunteer experience highly recommended.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
CUNY Hunter College earned a Research.com Counseling Program Score of 88.55/100, supported by 85% program completion rate and 73% employment or doctoral admission rate. The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2028-03-31.
# 2 position
Touro University
Master
MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Delivery mode: campus
87.69
/ 100
Final score
Program length
2-year or 3-year plan of study available
Specialization
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Program completion rate
83% (2025-26)
Licensure exam pass rate
83% (2025-26)
Application deadline
Fall: Feb 8 (priority), Mar 25 (final); Spring: Dec 8 (limited to those who completed MNHN 600 or transfer applicants)
Application process
direct
GRE
optional
Prerequisites
Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution; minimum of 12 semester hours of psychology or related social science courses; an undergraduate course in statistics.
Additional requirements
Baccalaureate degree, min 3.0 GPA, 12 semester hours of psychology/social science coursework, statistics course, an interview with faculty (individual or group) including a brief spontaneous writing sample; English proficiency exam if applicable.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
Touro University earned a Research.com Counseling Program Score of 87.69/100, supported by 83% licensure exam pass rate and 83% program completion rate. The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2031-10-31.
# 3 position
Pace University
Master
Mental Health Counseling, MS
Delivery mode: campus
85.02
/ 100
Final score
Program length
30–36 months (full-time and part-time)
Specialization
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
GPA range
3.00 - 4.00
Program completion rate
98% (2024-25)
Licensure exam pass rate
60% (2024-25)
Application deadline
Fall: January 1, then space available until April 15; Spring: April 1, then space available until July 15
Application process
direct
GRE
no
Prerequisites
Bachelor's in psychology or a related field; others may need two undergraduate psychology courses. Minimum undergraduate GPA 3.0 (3.3 for a completed graduate degree). Provisional acceptance possible with counseling experience.
Additional requirements
Personal statement; resume or outline covering at least five years of employment and significant activities; two academic or professional recommendation letters; official transcripts from every college or university attended.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
Pace University earned a Research.com Counseling Program Score of 85.02/100, supported by 60% licensure exam pass rate and 98% program completion rate. The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2027-10-31.
# 4 position
CUNY Hunter College
Master
Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling (MSEd)
Delivery mode: campus
78.28
/ 100
Final score
Program length
About 2.5 years full-time
Specialization
Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
Required credits
60 semester credits
Acceptance rate
95.7%
GPA range
2.70 - 4.00
Program completion rate
29% (2024-25)
Employment or doctoral admission
84% (2024-25)
Application deadline
Fall: March 15; Spring: October 15
Class size
16
Application process
direct
GRE
no
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of at least 2.7; 15-25 credits of approved courses from anthropology, economics, education, guidance, health sciences, political science, psychology, sociology, and related areas.
Additional requirements
Statement of purpose (400-600 words); additional essay (400-600 words); two letters of recommendation; a resume.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), with institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
CUNY Hunter College earned a Research.com Counseling Program Score of 78.28/100, supported by 29% program completion rate and 84% employment or doctoral admission rate. The program is CACREP-accredited, valid through 2028-03-31.
Frequently asked questions about Counseling degree in New York
Can I become a licensed mental health counselor as soon as I graduate?
No. A qualifying degree is one requirement; New York also requires supervised post-degree experience, an examination, and satisfaction of its other licensure rules (New York State Education Department).
Is a school counseling degree the same as a mental health counseling degree?
No. School counseling is directed toward school settings and state certification. Mental health counseling is a distinct clinical licensure pathway; check the exact degree against your intended credential (New York State Education Department).
Does a counseling master's need CACREP accreditation in New York?
Do not assume CACREP accreditation is either universally required or sufficient for your goal. Check the New York State Education Department's rules for your intended credential and ask the program how its curriculum qualifies.
Can I complete a New York counseling master's online?
Some programs offer online coursework, but supervised placements still require approved practice arrangements. Confirm New York credential eligibility and who helps arrange local fieldwork before enrolling.
How should I compare two programs with similar tuition?
Compare total cost after aid, time to completion, placement logistics, credential eligibility, and clearly defined graduate outcomes. A cheaper program may cost more overall if its schedule forces additional time away from work.
See What Experts Have To Say About Studying Counseling
