2027 Best Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Tennessee

Pay depends on occupation, employer, experience, credential, and location. The table gives national occupational medians, not Tennessee graduate starting salaries. Its May 2025 wages and 2025-2035 projections are the latest BLS periods used here; the categories are useful comparisons, but they do not isolate the financial effect of earning a particular degree (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections).

Comparing the paths side by side can help you test whether a program's likely career direction fits your financial goals:

A higher occupational median does not establish that one program will pay for itself faster. Compare likely local job offers with your current earnings, borrowing, and the time you may spend working under supervision before reaching your intended role.

The most useful differences among these Tennessee options are their stated degree pathways, institutional setting, and where students would need to arrange study and fieldwork. Program titles alone do not establish licensure eligibility; use these distinctions to build a shortlist, then request each school's current curriculum and outcomes (institutional program pages).

• Lipscomb University - clinical mental health counseling: Lipscomb identifies this as a clinical mental health counseling program in Nashville. It is a direct option to investigate if your goal is the professional counselor pathway and you want to evaluate clinical placements in the Nashville area (Lipscomb University).
• Tennessee Tech University - clinical mental health counseling: Tennessee Tech offers a master's pathway specifically labeled clinical mental health counseling in Cookeville. It gives applicants considering a public university a clinically focused option outside the state's largest metro areas; confirm placement travel and resident tuition before comparing its cost (Tennessee Tech University).
• Trevecca Nazarene University - marriage and family: Trevecca's named marriage-and-family program provides a more directly aligned starting point for applicants interested in relational therapy than a program labeled only general counseling. Ask how its curriculum and supervised practice map to Tennessee's marriage and family therapist requirements (Trevecca Nazarene University; Tennessee Department of Health).
• Tennessee Tech University - school counseling: This separate master's pathway is explicitly focused on school counseling rather than clinical mental health counseling. It warrants attention if your intended workplace is a school, because the relevant state credential is issued through the Tennessee Department of Education (Tennessee Tech University; Tennessee Department of Education).
• The University of Tennessee-Knoxville - MS in counseling: UT Knoxville houses its counseling MS within its College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. Applicants weighing an education-focused academic setting should verify the current track and fieldwork requirements against their intended license before treating the broad degree title as a credential match (University of Tennessee-Knoxville).
• Belmont University - MA in counseling: Belmont offers an MA explicitly titled counseling in Nashville. Its location may help applicants who need access to Nashville-area fieldwork, but the decisive comparison is the current track's credential alignment and placement arrangements, not the MA designation (Belmont University).
• Carson-Newman University - MS in counseling: Carson-Newman's counseling MS gives east Tennessee applicants a program to examine without assuming that a broadly titled degree covers every counseling license. Request its current track requirements and approved placement options if remaining near Jefferson City matters to you (Carson-Newman University).
• Southern Adventist University - graduate counseling: Southern's graduate counseling offering is based in Collegedale, making placement geography a particularly useful comparison for Chattanooga-area applicants. Verify the degree and track you would actually enter, along with its fieldwork and Tennessee credential fit (Southern Adventist University).
• University of Memphis - school counseling MS: Memphis identifies a specific school counseling master's program, providing a clearly directed option for applicants seeking school-based work in west Tennessee. Check its current educator-licensure alignment and how school placements are arranged (University of Memphis; Tennessee Department of Education).
• Milligan University - graduate clinical mental health counseling: Milligan explicitly offers graduate clinical mental health counseling in northeast Tennessee. It is worth comparing if you want a clinical pathway while staying in that part of the state; ask about the availability and travel demands of approved supervised placements (Milligan University).

For another lens on student interest, compare Tennessee's most popular counseling programs. Popularity can help identify options to investigate, but it is not evidence that a program matches your license, schedule, or budget.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time enrollment can extend that timeline. The precise finish date depends on the school's course rotation, required credits, and when you can complete practicum and internship placements. A bachelor's degree typically takes about four years of full-time study before graduate training begins (institutional program catalogs).

Do not mistake an accelerated course calendar for a shorter route to independent practice. Tennessee's professional licensing pathways can require additional supervised experience and examinations after the degree, while school counseling follows a different credential process (Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education). If you need to keep working, ask whether required courses run every term and whether fieldwork can fit your available daytime hours.

An online program changes where you complete coursework; it does not eliminate supervised, in-person work with clients or students. Campus study may make it easier to build relationships with local placement coordinators and classmates, while online study can reduce commuting for someone far from a university. Either format can be demanding when a practicum or internship begins (institutional program catalogs).

For a Tennessee-based online option, verify that the institution can enroll residents of your location, that its track addresses the specific Tennessee credential you want, and that it will help approve placements you can reach. If you might seek licensure in another state, ask about that state separately: authorization to deliver an online degree is not the same as professional licensure eligibility (Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education). Compare required campus visits and placement support before treating remote coursework as the more flexible choice.

There is no single tuition figure that reliably represents every Tennessee counseling degree. Published charges differ by institution, residency, enrollment pace, and program-specific fees; an institution-wide graduate tuition average may not equal the price of its counseling track (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS; institutional tuition schedules). Public resident tuition can be an important starting point, but an out-of-state applicant should obtain the rate that applies to their enrollment rather than assume the resident price.

For a usable estimate, request the current tuition schedule and degree plan, then total required credits, mandatory fees, books, any campus travel, and travel or reduced paid hours during fieldwork. Compare the estimate with Tennessee's most affordable counseling programs, but check whether any quoted price covers the entire program. A cheaper per-credit rate can lose its advantage if the degree takes longer or requires costly travel.

Graduate applicants should begin with the FAFSA, then compare institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition support, and federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Ask the financial aid office whether an award can be retained during fieldwork or part-time enrollment. Tennessee aid programs commonly associated with undergraduate study should not be assumed to fund a counseling master's (Federal Student Aid; Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation).

Graduate PLUS eligibility needs particular attention for 2027 entrants. Under the federal changes taking effect July 1, 2026, new graduate borrowers are generally not eligible for new Graduate PLUS loans. A student who was already enrolled in a program and had received a qualifying Direct Loan for that program before the change may be covered by a limited transition rule; eligibility depends on the rule's conditions and time limits. Confirm your own status with your school's aid office and Federal Student Aid before building a budget around that loan (Federal Student Aid).

If you expect qualifying public-service employment, investigate Public Service Loan Forgiveness rules, but do not count projected forgiveness as an upfront discount: eligibility depends on the employer, loan, repayment, and payment requirements (Federal Student Aid).

Graduate counseling programs generally require a completed bachelor's degree and an application that may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Schools set their own prerequisite-course, GPA, and admissions policies; a psychology major is not universally required (institutional admissions and program pages). Applicants with work or family obligations should also ask when placements begin and whether admission to a track is separate from admission to the university.

Before paying an application fee, identify the credential you want and ask the program to show how its coursework and supervised training address that credential's education requirements. Check the institution's recognized accreditation and any relevant programmatic accreditation independently. Accreditation, admission, graduation, and eventual licensure are distinct decisions; none should be treated as automatic proof of the next (U.S. Department of Education; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education).

Master's curricula commonly cover counseling theories, interviewing and helping skills, human development, assessment, research, ethics, and culturally responsive practice, followed by supervised practicum and internship. The emphasis changes with the track: school counseling adds work with students and school systems, clinical mental health focuses on mental health assessment and treatment, and marriage and family training emphasizes relationships and family systems (institutional program catalogs; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Read beyond course titles. Ask for the current degree plan and compare required content and fieldwork with the Tennessee authority for your intended credential. A catalog listing a course in diagnosis, for example, does not by itself establish that every other educational or supervised-experience requirement has been met (Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education).

Tennessee applicants can investigate clinical mental health, school counseling, and marriage and family pathways among the named programs in this guide. Some applicants may instead seek addiction or rehabilitation-focused training. The important distinction is between a formal degree track and a few electives on a related topic: the latter may build useful skills without meeting another credential's requirements (institutional program pages; Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education).

Choose by intended client group and regulated role. If you want to provide therapy in a clinical setting, start with the applicable clinical license requirements; if you want to work as a school counselor, start with the state's educator-licensure pathway. Someone seeking a faster entry into a nonclinical support role may find that an undergraduate degree or shorter training is a better fit than committing to a licensure-oriented master's.

The best investment is the program that can take you toward your intended credential at a cost and pace you can sustain. A private nonprofit or public institution should not be accepted or rejected on its label alone; compare the actual aid offer, completion requirements, placement support, and likely time away from paid work.

Use these checks when you contact shortlisted programs. They expose costly mismatches that a ranking or tuition headline may miss:

1. Name your target role and Tennessee credential; request the program's written explanation of how the specific track addresses its education requirements.
2. Verify institutional and relevant programmatic accreditation with the accreditor, and ask whether any licensure-exam or graduate-outcome figures are track-specific and current.
3. Request a full-program cost estimate, including residency-based tuition, mandatory fees, aid conditions, and travel or work-hour changes during fieldwork.
4. Ask who secures and approves placements, where students usually complete them, and whether your schedule permits on-time completion.
5. Compare borrowing and lost earnings with plausible post-degree earnings over a realistic time horizon; account for completion risk rather than assuming the median wage will be your starting salary.

The most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison, but value is personal: debt, existing income, aid, and the time needed to qualify for your desired role can change the answer substantially.

A master's can support different paths, but each has its own gatekeeper. Clinical mental health graduates may work toward professional counselor licensure; marriage and family graduates may pursue the separate therapist license; school counseling graduates may pursue the relevant educator credential. Supervised post-degree experience, examinations, and other conditions must be checked with the appropriate Tennessee authority. A degree alone does not authorize independent practice (Tennessee Department of Health; Tennessee Department of Education).

People who want to conduct research, teach counselor education, or supervise future counselors may consider later doctoral study; those who want to begin helping clients sooner should compare the master's-to-licensure route first. If you do not want sustained client-facing work, investigate adjacent education, case-management, or support roles before borrowing for a clinical degree.

The national outlook is strongest among the paths shown here for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors: BLS projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. That signals demand across the U.S., not an 18% increase in Tennessee openings or a guarantee of local employment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections).

For a Tennessee decision, look at current openings in the area where you plan to live and note the credentials employers actually request. Compare school-system hiring calendars with clinical employers' supervision arrangements, and ask placement coordinators about access to sites in your part of the state. A promising national occupation may still be a poor immediate fit if nearby employers require a license or schedule you will not yet have.

Education is a consequential investment. Research.com created its counseling rankings to help readers compare programs using documented outcomes, credentials, and costs rather than reputation alone. The team evaluates graduate completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam results, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and program cost.

For the Best ranking, an initial outcomes-and-accreditation score weights completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure-exam pass rates at 20%, CACREP programmatic accreditation at 16%, and institutional Title IV eligibility at 4%. Weights are adjusted when a criterion does not apply; cost then contributes a smaller component - about 7% of the final score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs. Other Research.com counseling rankings order programs by the particular measure named in each ranking.

The ranking draws on the following data sources. Using multiple sources helps readers assess programs beyond a single school-reported claim:

• IPEDS database: institutional enrollment, completions, and cost 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 definitions.

Rankings narrow the search; they cannot confirm that a particular curriculum meets your intended license's requirements or predict your personal return on investment. Review the program's current catalog and the relevant Tennessee licensing authority before enrolling. 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/
• NBCC - NCE / NCMHCE
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.nbcc.org/exams
• Lipscomb University - Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://lipscomb.edu/academics/programs/clinical-mental-health-counseling
• Tennessee Tech University - Master of Arts in Counseling and Psychology - Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.tntech.edu/majors/counseling-and-psychology_clinical-mental-health-counseling-masters.php
• Trevecca Nazarene University - Master of Marriage and Family Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.trevecca.edu/academics/program/marriage-and-family
• Tennessee Tech University - M.A. in Counseling and Psychology - School Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.tntech.edu/majors/counseling-and-psychology_school-counseling-masters.php
• The University of Tennessee-Knoxville - MS in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://cehhs.utk.edu/chdfs/ms-in-counseling/