2027 Best Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Scranton

National occupation figures offer a benchmark, not a prediction of local pay. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $59,350 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors. Its 2025-2035 projection of 18% growth indicates demand nationally, but neither figure establishes what a new counselor will earn or how many jobs will open in Scranton.

Pay depends on the role, employer, experience, and credential. When assessing an offer, compare its salary and benefits with the debt and time needed to qualify for that particular position; do not apply a national occupational median to every counseling graduate.

These local programs are most useful to compare by intended credential and practice setting. Their distinguishing features below describe program focus, not a promise of licensure or employment; confirm current curriculum, accreditation status, and placement rules directly with the institution before applying.

• University of Scranton, school counseling: This is the university's school-focused master's route rather than its clinical mental health or rehabilitation route. It is the relevant option to examine if your goal is counseling students and pursuing Pennsylvania school certification; ask how its school placements and courses align with current state requirements (University of Scranton).
• Marywood University, mental health counseling: Marywood's mental health program offers an alternative local institution for students targeting clinical counseling rather than PK-12 work. Compare its supervised-practice arrangements, course sequence, and current credential disclosures with the University of Scranton's clinical program before choosing (Marywood University).
• University of Scranton, clinical mental health counseling: This track concentrates on mental health practice rather than school certification or rehabilitation specialization. It merits attention from applicants pursuing the LPC pathway; verify how its required coursework and field experiences map to Pennsylvania's licensure rules (University of Scranton; Pennsylvania Department of State).
• University of Scranton, clinical rehabilitation counseling: Its distinguishing focus is counseling in the context of disability and rehabilitation, making it a more targeted choice than a general mental health track for students interested in those services. Ask which professional credentials the current curriculum supports before assuming it serves the same goals as clinical mental health counseling (University of Scranton).
• Marywood University, counselor education PK-12: Its stated PK-12 scope makes the full school-age range central to the comparison. It suits applicants considering school counseling across grade levels; check its current Pennsylvania certification alignment and placement expectations against the University of Scranton's school route (Marywood University).

Popularity is a different measure from fit. If application demand matters to your shortlist, consult the most popular counseling programs, but keep credential alignment as your first filter.

Plan on roughly two to three years for a full-time counseling master's; part-time study can take longer. The actual timeline depends on course scheduling, required supervised practice, and whether you can complete a placement alongside paid work. Ask for a term-by-term plan rather than assuming that a program's advertised pace fits your schedule.

Degree completion is not the same as independent-practice eligibility. Pennsylvania LPC applicants must also meet the state board's post-degree requirements, including applicable supervised experience and examination requirements (Pennsylvania Department of State). If your goal is independent clinical practice, include that additional period in your career and financial plan.

Online coursework may reduce commuting and make study easier to combine with work. On-campus study may make face-to-face meetings and access to local placement contacts more convenient. Neither format removes supervised fieldwork requirements, and delivery mode alone does not establish Pennsylvania credential eligibility.

For an online program based outside Pennsylvania, request written confirmation of its Pennsylvania-specific disclosures and ask who secures an approved placement near Scranton. For a campus program, check when classes meet and how far placements may be from home. The better format is the one whose schedule, supervision arrangements, and credential pathway you can realistically complete.

There is no single verified Scranton-wide average counseling-master's price that fairly captures differences in credits, fees, aid, and program length. Obtain each school's current graduate per-credit tuition, required credit total, mandatory fees, and estimated placement-related costs. Then compare the amount you would actually need to pay or borrow after grants and employer assistance.

For a working applicant, a faster schedule may reduce the time until a career change but require giving up paid hours; a slower schedule may preserve income while extending fees and borrowing costs. The most affordable counseling programs can help identify price-conscious options, but affordability should be tested against your individual aid offer and ability to finish.

Start with the FAFSA and each university's graduate aid office. Ask about institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition benefits, and whether your enrollment level meets aid requirements. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans may be an option for eligible graduate students; federal aid eligibility and loan limits are determined under Federal Student Aid rules.

Do not build a 2027 financing plan on an assumption that a new graduate student can use a Graduate PLUS Loan. Under the rules taking effect for programs beginning July 1, 2026, new graduate borrowers generally cannot access Graduate PLUS; limited transition provisions may apply to eligible continuing borrowers who previously received a loan for the same program (Federal Student Aid). Have the aid office confirm your individual status and produce a full-program borrowing estimate before you enroll.

Expect to need a completed bachelor's degree and to submit materials such as transcripts, a statement of purpose, and recommendations; exact prerequisites and application rules vary by program (University of Scranton; Marywood University). Ask admissions whether prior psychology coursework is required or merely helpful, and whether any previous graduate credits can be accepted toward the specific counseling curriculum.

A common mistake is treating admission as evidence that a program satisfies a desired credential. Before accepting an offer, request the current curriculum and ask the program to identify how it addresses Pennsylvania LPC education requirements or, for school counseling, Pennsylvania Department of Education certification requirements. Transfer-credit approval, if available, does not by itself settle either question.

Expect foundations in counseling theory, interviewing, human development, ethics, assessment, research, and supervised practice. Clinical mental health study places greater emphasis on mental health assessment and treatment; school counseling adds school-based services and student development; rehabilitation-focused study addresses disability and related services (University of Scranton; Marywood University).

Course titles are less informative than the full sequence. Check which courses must precede practicum or internship and whether those prerequisites could delay a planned graduation date. If you intend to seek Pennsylvania licensure, ask the school to review the complete course list against the state board's current education rules rather than relying on a program title.

The clearest local choices are clinical mental health, school counseling, and clinical rehabilitation counseling. University of Scranton lists programs in each area, while Marywood lists mental health counseling and PK-12 counselor education (University of Scranton; Marywood University). These are distinct program pathways, not interchangeable labels for the same credential.

Choose school counseling if working with students in schools is the goal; choose clinical mental health if your intended role involves mental health treatment; investigate clinical rehabilitation if disability-related counseling is your primary interest. If you are undecided, compare required placements and the credentials each pathway supports before paying an enrollment deposit.

"Best" depends on the job you want and the cost and training required to reach it. Narrow your shortlist in this order:

1. Name the target role and Pennsylvania credential, then ask each school for current written guidance on program alignment.
2. Verify institutional and, where relevant, programmatic accreditation with the accreditor and ask what it means for your intended credential.
3. Compare placement requirements, local site support, class schedules, and a realistic completion timeline.
4. Calculate net cost, expected borrowing, forgone earnings, and the time between graduation and eligibility for your intended role.
5. Request recent program-level completion, exam, and employment outcomes, including their reporting periods and definitions.

A practical return-on-investment comparison includes your current earnings, likely post-degree role, aid, debt, probability of completion, opportunity cost, and the years over which you expect benefits to accrue. Discounting future earnings can make a long route look different from a simple salary comparison. The most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison lens, but cannot replace that personal calculation.

Career paths depend on specialization and credential. The national figures below compare occupations associated with common counseling goals; they are U.S. medians from May 2025 and U.S. employment projections for 2025-2035, not Scranton graduate outcomes (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

A master's may be a sound investment when its pathway matches a role you want and its total cost fits your likely opportunities. If you want a school role, do not select a clinical program solely because the occupations share "counselor" in their names; if you want independent clinical practice, account for requirements beyond graduation.

National demand is strongest among the paths shown here for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth for 2025-2035. That supports investigating clinical opportunities, but a national projection cannot tell you how competitive a particular Scranton opening will be.

Evaluate the local market through current vacancies at schools, health systems, behavioral health agencies, and rehabilitation providers. Note each posting's credential, supervision, schedule, and pay requirements, then compare them with what a prospective program prepares you to do at graduation. This is especially important if you intend to remain in the area and cannot broaden your job search geographically.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com's team designed this ranking to help readers compare program outcomes and credentials, rather than rely on reputation alone, and used multiple education data sources to support the quality and credibility of the results.

The Best ranking first scores graduate outcomes and accreditation: program completion carries 40%; employment or doctoral admission, 20%; applicable licensure exam pass rates, 20%; CACREP programmatic accreditation, 16%; and federal Title IV institutional eligibility, 4%. Inapplicable criteria are excluded and the remaining shares renormalized. Program cost then contributes about 7% of the final score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs; rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension.

The ranking draws on these data sources:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completion, and cost data.
• Peterson's database - program and institutional information.
• College Scorecard database - federal institutional outcomes and aid information.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then verify current tuition, program-level outcomes, accreditation, and Pennsylvania credential eligibility with each school. More detail on the ranking approach is available in Research.com's methodology.

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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/
• Counseling Compact - Participating States
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://counselingcompact.org/
• University of Scranton - M.S. in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://gradadmissions.scranton.edu/programs/masters-school-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
• 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
• University of Scranton - Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://gradadmissions.scranton.edu/programs/masters-clinical-rehabilitation-counseling/index.shtml
• Marywood University - Master of Science in School Counseling (MS)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.marywood.edu/academics/psychology-counseling/programs/counselor-education-pk12