2027 Best Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in South Dakota

Use occupation-specific wages, not a single "counseling graduate salary." The following U.S. medians are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 occupational wage data. They are national benchmarks for comparing paths, not South Dakota starting salaries or earnings guarantees.

For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare likely local job offers with your current earnings, then account for aid, debt, time away from work, and the period of supervised practice before independent licensure. National medians are most useful for comparing career directions, not forecasting your first paycheck.

The program distinctions below are most useful when read against your intended credential. They describe verifiable specialization choices identified by the institutions, rather than implying that every counseling degree prepares students for the same work. Confirm the current degree plan, fieldwork rules, and applicable accreditation with each school.

• South Dakota State University - school counseling: Its Counseling and Human Resource Development master's offers a school counseling specialization. Unlike the university's clinical and relationship-focused options, this is the path to examine if your goal is school-based practice; verify its fit with current South Dakota educator-certification requirements (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Department of Education).
• South Dakota State University - marriage and family counseling: This named specialization gives applicants interested in couples and family work a more targeted curriculum to investigate than a general counseling label would. Ask the program to document how its courses and supervised training align with the specific state credential you intend to pursue (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).
• Northern State University - counseling master's: Northern offers a dedicated master's degree in counseling, making it an alternative to selecting one of SDSU's separately named specializations. Its value depends on the current track and placement arrangements available for your goal; request the degree plan and confirm where you could complete supervised training (Northern State University).
• South Dakota State University - clinical mental health counseling: The clinical mental health specialization is the clearest SDSU option here for applicants targeting behavioral health counseling rather than school employment. Compare its required courses and fieldwork documentation directly with South Dakota's professional counselor licensing criteria before applying (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).
• South Dakota State University - rehabilitation counseling: A distinct rehabilitation counseling specialization makes this the option to investigate for disability- and functioning-focused work, rather than assuming a general clinical track covers that interest equally well. Ask which placements serve rehabilitation clients and whether the curriculum fits any certification an intended employer prefers (South Dakota State University).
• University of South Dakota - catalog-listed program: USD's official graduate catalog is the controlling place to check the award, required courses, and current academic rules for its listed option. Compare that actual degree plan with your intended credential and placement location rather than relying on the program title alone (University of South Dakota graduate catalog).

These distinctions identify promising questions, not a substitute for published outcomes. Request each program's current completion, exam, placement, and accreditation information in the same format before making a final comparison.

A career-directed counseling master's typically takes about two to three years of full-time study; part-time enrollment can take longer. The decisive scheduling constraint is often supervised fieldwork, which may need to occur during an agency's or school's working hours. Ask for a term-by-term plan showing both courses and placements, particularly if you plan to keep a full-time job.

Graduation and independent practice are separate milestones. Depending on the credential, further supervised experience and an examination may follow the degree (South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists). An accelerated academic schedule is useful only if it still accommodates the training and documentation your intended pathway requires.

Online study can reduce travel for South Dakota residents who cannot routinely commute to a campus. On-campus study can make scheduled meetings with faculty and classmates simpler. Neither format, by itself, establishes licensure eligibility, placement quality, or a lower total cost.

For online programs, ask whether any classes have live attendance times, whether campus visits are required, and who secures and approves a field site near you. For campus programs, ask whether placement travel extends beyond the campus community. If you may practice outside South Dakota, check that state's requirements separately; a degree designed around one state's rules should not be presumed portable (South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).

There is no useful single price for every South Dakota counseling degree: program length, residency status, enrollment pace, and institutional charges differ. IPEDS reports institutional tuition and fees, but an institution-wide figure is not necessarily the price of a particular graduate counseling track (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS). Request the school's current program-level, total-to-completion estimate instead of multiplying an advertised per-credit price without checking additional charges.

Include tuition and mandatory fees, books, travel to placements, any required campus visits, and earnings you might give up during fieldwork. Public-university applicants should verify resident versus nonresident pricing and eligibility; do not assume an online address or a previous connection to the state establishes resident status. Use the most affordable counseling programs comparison to form a shortlist, then obtain current written estimates from each school.

Start with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and each university's graduate-aid office. Depending on eligibility and the program, options may include federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition support, and service-related funding (Federal Student Aid; participating institutions). Ask whether an assistantship changes tuition or carries work obligations, and whether an award continues during a placement-heavy term.

Graduate PLUS availability changed for new borrowers beginning July 2026, with transitional provisions for some previously eligible students. Do not build a financing plan around a Graduate PLUS loan until the aid office confirms your individual eligibility under current federal rules (Federal Student Aid). Compare the amount you would need to borrow with realistic earnings and the time until your intended credential - not merely with the school's advertised aid package.

Master's applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and must meet the individual program's academic and application requirements. A counseling undergraduate major is not necessarily required, but a program may specify prerequisite coursework, references, a statement of purpose, or an interview. Only the institution can confirm its current admissions criteria (South Dakota State University; Northern State University; University of South Dakota).

Before paying an application fee, send admissions staff your transcript and intended career goal. Ask whether missing courses can be completed before or after admission, whether your prior graduate credits may transfer, and whether transferred coursework will satisfy degree and credential-related requirements. Admission, credit transfer, and licensure eligibility are three different decisions.

Expect coursework in counseling approaches, assessment, ethics, human development, research, and supervised practice, with additional study tied to the specialization. A school-focused plan may emphasize students' academic and developmental needs; a clinical plan may place greater weight on diagnosis and treatment; rehabilitation study addresses disability-related services. Exact titles and requirements belong to the current university catalog, not to a generic degree description (South Dakota State University; Northern State University; University of South Dakota).

When comparing course lists, look beyond whether two programs both offer "assessment." Check required content, when fieldwork begins, and whether the department will provide a written curriculum-to-credential explanation for the state where you intend to work.

South Dakota applicants can investigate clinical mental health, school, marriage and family, and rehabilitation counseling pathways; SDSU identifies each as a named master's specialization (South Dakota State University). Availability and degree titles should be checked for the year you plan to enroll.

Choose by the work you want to do and the credential that permits it. A school pathway makes sense if you want to work primarily with students in schools. Clinical mental health is the more relevant comparison for prospective behavioral health clinicians. Marriage and family study suits a relational focus, while rehabilitation counseling is worth closer attention if disability services are your goal. A short certificate may build a skill, but it should not be treated as a replacement for a required graduate degree or supervised experience.

The strongest choice is the program you can complete affordably and use toward your intended credential. A ranking helps identify candidates, but a cheaper or faster degree is not a bargain if its curriculum or placements do not fit your goal. These checks turn a shortlist into a decision:

1. Name the job and state where you intend to practice; obtain that authority's current education and supervision rules.
2. Ask each program to identify the relevant degree track, programmatic accreditation status, fieldwork requirements, and how it documents credential alignment.
3. Request a written total-cost estimate and a realistic course-and-placement schedule for your enrollment pace.
4. Compare published completion, exam, and employment outcomes by program and reporting period; ask how missing or small-cohort results are handled.
5. Speak with placement staff about approved sites near your home and with financial-aid staff about what support you personally qualify for.

Skipping the credential check and comparing tuition alone are two costly mistakes. The most valuable counseling programs comparison can add perspective, but your own calculation should include aid, borrowing, completion probability, lost earnings, expected post-degree earnings, and the time over which you expect the investment to pay off.

A relevant master's can support a path toward professional counseling, school counseling, marriage and family therapy, or rehabilitation services, depending on its curriculum and the applicable credential rules. Graduates may begin in supervised positions and later pursue a different scope of responsibility after meeting additional requirements. The degree does not automatically confer a license or school certification (South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists; South Dakota Department of Education).

It is worth considering this investment if you want sustained client-facing work and can plan for fieldwork and possible post-degree supervision. If your goal is a faster move into a support role without a graduate degree, compare that role's actual entry requirements first; paying for a licensure-oriented master's may not be necessary. Readers exploring where students enroll can also consult the most popular counseling programs, while remembering that popularity is not proof of career fit.

The national outlook is strongest among the counseling paths considered here for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors: the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% U.S. employment growth from 2025 to 2035. That signals a growing national occupation, not a forecast of openings in a particular South Dakota town or a promise of employment after graduation.

For a local decision, inspect current postings in the communities where you could work. Note the credential requested, whether the employer offers supervision, and whether the position involves travel or school-based hours. This is especially important if you intend to remain in a smaller community: the available placement and first-job options may matter more than a national growth rate.

An education investment deserves more than a list of familiar school names. Research.com developed this ranking to help readers assess program quality alongside likely cost, using multiple sources and checks intended to improve the credibility and accuracy of the comparison.

The Best ranking first combines program completion, employment or doctoral admission, licensure exam pass rates where applicable, accreditation, and federal aid eligibility. Completion accounts for 40% of this initial score; employment or doctoral admission and exam performance each account for 20%; CACREP programmatic accreditation accounts for 16%; and Title IV eligibility accounts for 4%. Inapplicable criteria are excluded and the remaining shares renormalized. Program cost then contributes about 7% of the final Best score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs; other Research.com rankings order programs by the dimension named in their titles.

The ranking draws on the following data sources. Readers should still confirm current tuition, accreditation, and licensure fit directly with a program before enrolling.

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completion, and price information.
• 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 context.

The resulting ranking is a starting point for finding programs to investigate, not a substitute for checking whether a particular degree meets your intended credential's requirements. Read more about Research.com's methodology.

• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nebraska
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Minnesota
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Iowa
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Montana
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Colorado
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Wisconsin
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Missouri
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Illinois
• 2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Oklahoma

• 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/
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - School Counseling Specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-school-counseling-specialization
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - Marriage and Family Counseling Specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-marriage-family-counseling
• Northern State University - M. Ed. in Counseling - Clinical Mental Health Pathway
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://northern.edu/degrees/counseling-masters-degree
• Northern State University - Master of Education in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://northern.edu/degrees/counseling-masters-degree
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-clinical-mental-health-counseling