2027 Best Online Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Louisiana

Pay depends on occupation, experience, employer, location, and credential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the following national occupational medians for May 2025, not starting salaries or earnings specifically for Louisiana graduates. Match the occupation to your intended program rather than treating all counseling jobs as interchangeable.

The national figures show why specialty matters, but they should not be used as a personal return-on-investment estimate. A prospective student should compare local job postings, likely starting pay, existing earnings, and the time needed to reach the relevant credential (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

The most useful distinctions are credential target, specialization, degree level, and clinical placement. Confirm current online availability and any campus visits directly with each institution: a program page describing a degree does not, by itself, establish that every required component is remote. These program-level differences can help you build a shortlist.

• University of Holy Cross, M.A. in Counseling: The master's pathway is the relevant option here for students comparing entry routes into counseling, rather than doctoral study. Ask the program which concentration matches your intended Louisiana credential and how it approves local fieldwork (University of Holy Cross, Counseling M.A. program).
• University of Louisiana at Monroe, online M.S. in Counseling: Its dedicated online-degree pathway makes delivery format a central feature, particularly for employed students who cannot attend regular campus classes. Confirm live-meeting expectations and whether your preferred clinical placement can be completed near home (University of Louisiana at Monroe, online M.S. in Counseling program).
• Northwestern State University of Louisiana, M.A. in Counseling: This master's option gives applicants another Louisiana-based curriculum to compare against their specific counseling goal. Its program requirements and available tracks - not the shared M.A. title - should determine whether it fits a clinical or school-oriented plan (Northwestern State University of Louisiana, M.A. in Counseling program).
• University of Holy Cross, Ph.D. in Counseling: The doctoral level distinguishes this route from the master's programs. It is more relevant to applicants planning advanced scholarship, supervision, or teaching than to someone seeking the shortest initial path into counseling practice (University of Holy Cross, Counseling Ph.D. program).
• Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling: Its health-sciences setting and clinical rehabilitation focus distinguish it from broader counseling pathways. Students interested in disability-related clinical work should compare its curriculum and placement requirements with the credential required for their intended job (LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program).
• University of Louisiana at Monroe, School Counseling: This pathway deserves separate consideration from a general clinical counseling choice because school-based work involves its own training and Louisiana certification questions. It fits applicants committed to serving students in schools more directly than those seeking general clinical practice (University of Louisiana at Monroe, School Counseling program; Louisiana Department of Education).
• Southern University and A&M College, counseling pathway: Consider this option by comparing its published degree requirements and training focus with the occupation you want, particularly if rehabilitation-oriented work interests you. Verify the current degree title, delivery format, and credential alignment before treating it as interchangeable with an online clinical mental health program (Southern University and A&M College, program information).

Many full-time counseling master's pathways take roughly two to three years; part-time study commonly takes longer. The decisive scheduling constraint is often the sequence of prerequisites, practicum, and internship, not how quickly a student can complete online lectures. Program calendars and fieldwork requirements determine the actual timeline (participating institutions' counseling program requirements).

If time away from work is costly, compare the fastest counseling programs against their internship schedules. Ask for a term-by-term plan showing when supervised work begins and whether those hours fit your employment. An accelerated academic calendar does not necessarily shorten the supervised experience required for a credential.

The principal difference is where academic instruction happens, not whether students practice counseling skills. Both formats can require supervised, face-to-face fieldwork. Online study may improve access for someone outside a university city, while campus study may make scheduled skills practice and local placement contacts easier to navigate; actual requirements vary by program (participating institutions' counseling program requirements).

Compare the formats against the constraint most likely to affect your completion:

Neither format automatically qualifies graduates for Louisiana licensure. Check the curriculum and fieldwork against the applicable board or certification rules before comparing convenience (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners; Louisiana Department of Education).

There is no single defensible statewide price for an online counseling degree: institutions price graduate study differently, and published tuition may exclude fees, travel, clinical requirements, and additional terms. A useful comparison is the total estimated program cost for your residency status and expected course load, not an advertised price per credit. Institutional tuition reporting in NCES IPEDS is helpful context, but it is not a quote for a specific counseling program (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS).

Request written estimates from each school for tuition, mandatory online and campus fees, books, required visits, placement-related expenses, and the cost of an extra term. Louisiana residents comparing public institutions should ask whether online graduate tuition differs by residency; private nonprofit institutions may use a different pricing model. The most affordable counseling programs are a starting point, but the lowest listed tuition may not produce the lowest total bill.

Eligible students at eligible institutions may seek federal graduate Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships or assistantships, and employer tuition assistance. Submit the FAFSA and ask the school's aid office which programs and enrollment loads qualify. Federal aid eligibility belongs to the institution and student under federal rules; it should not be inferred from a program's online label (Federal Student Aid).

Do not build a new graduate-school budget around Graduate PLUS without checking your eligibility. Federal Student Aid's graduate PLUS guidance reflects changes affecting access for new graduate borrowers beginning July 2026, with limited transition provisions for qualifying existing borrowers. Ask the financial aid office to assess your specific borrowing history and program before accepting an offer (Federal Student Aid).

For Louisiana-based aid, check current Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance rules rather than assuming an undergraduate state award applies to a graduate counseling degree. Compare any aid offer with expected borrowing over the entire program, including a possible part-time internship term (Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance).

A counseling master's generally requires a bachelor's degree; programs may also request transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and evidence of readiness for supervised work. Prerequisite coursework, minimum grades, interviews, and transfer-credit limits are institution-specific. Doctoral applicants should expect different requirements tied to prior graduate study and professional goals (participating institutions' published admissions requirements).

Admission difficulty is not a proxy for professional eligibility. If you compare the easiest counseling programs, separately confirm the degree's accreditation status, Louisiana credential fit, and fieldwork support. Ask admissions to evaluate previous graduate credits before you budget for a shortened program; accepting a course for transfer does not necessarily mean it fulfills a licensing-related requirement (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

Clinical counseling students can expect study in counseling theories, helping skills, human development, ethics, assessment, group counseling, and research, followed by supervised practicum and internship. A clinical track may also emphasize diagnosis and treatment planning; a school track may focus more on student development and school systems. Exact course titles and required content vary by program (participating institutions' counseling curricula).

Read the course descriptions, not only the degree title. Ask the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners or the Louisiana Department of Education which educational rules govern your target credential, then ask the program to explain how its curriculum addresses them. This is especially important if you plan to study in one state and seek a credential in another.

Options represented among Louisiana counseling pathways include clinical mental health, school, and clinical rehabilitation counseling; doctoral counseling study serves a different, advanced academic goal (participating institutions' program information). Some students may also pursue addiction- or family-focused work through relevant coursework and subsequent credentials, but a concentration title is not itself a license.

Choose the specialization by working backward from the job description. Someone intent on school counseling should prioritize school placement and certification alignment. Someone seeking clinical practice should investigate LPC-related coursework and supervision. A student focused on disability and employment services should examine rehabilitation training and the credentials requested by prospective employers (Louisiana Department of Education; Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

Start with the credential and setting you want, then test each program against that goal. CACREP is programmatic accreditation, distinct from an institution's accreditation and federal aid eligibility; confirm a claimed CACREP status in the accreditor's directory and check the relevant Louisiana authority's educational rules. Do not assume that accreditation, graduation, or a school's location automatically confers a license (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

Use the following checks to turn a shortlist into a decision:

1. Identify the exact Louisiana license or school credential required for your intended role and ask each program how its curriculum addresses the applicable rules.
2. Request the current course sequence, online attendance rules, campus-visit requirements, and written policy for approving field sites and supervisors near you.
3. Compare full program cost, aid, expected time out of work, and the extra borrowing you might need if an internship limits paid hours.
4. Ask for program-specific completion, placement, and applicable exam results with their reporting periods; treat missing outcomes as uncertainty, not proof of poor results.

Then use the most valuable counseling programs as another comparison, not a substitute for your own budget. A sound return-on-investment estimate considers duration, opportunity cost, aid, debt, probability of completion, earnings before and after the degree, and how long you expect to work in the field.

Career paths include mental health counselor, addiction counselor, school counselor, rehabilitation counselor, and, with suitable preparation, counseling supervisor or educator. These are different credential routes, not automatic outcomes of one degree. Louisiana's LPC board governs its professional counselor licensing pathway; school certification is handled through the Louisiana Department of Education. Rehabilitation and other specialized roles may involve separate employer expectations or certifications (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners; Louisiana Department of Education).

A bachelor's degree may help someone enter related support work, but it should not be mistaken for a complete route to independent professional counseling practice. For a career changer, the sensible investment is usually the least costly eligible degree that provides the required training and a workable path to supervised experience - not necessarily the most advanced credential.

The strongest broad national growth signal is in substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counseling: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. That projection describes U.S. occupational employment, not guaranteed vacancies in a particular Louisiana parish or a forecast for every counseling specialty.

For a local decision, review current Louisiana postings in your intended setting and note which credentials employers actually require. Compare opportunities within commuting distance of a prospective internship, especially if you cannot relocate after graduation. That check connects the degree's specialization and supervised training to the market where you expect to work.

Education is a significant investment, so Research.com evaluates counseling programs using outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than relying on a school's reputation alone. The Best ranking first scores graduate outcomes and accreditation: 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%. Weights are adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Cost then contributes about 7% of the final score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs.

The Research.com team uses the following data sources to check program information and support credible comparisons:

• IPEDS database - institutional reporting on enrollment, completions, and prices.
• Peterson's database - program and institutional information.
• College Scorecard database - federal information on institutions and student outcomes.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

These measures help readers compare programs on more than advertised tuition. They do not replace checking a particular degree's current delivery format, accreditation, and fit for a Louisiana credential. See Research.com's methodology for more about how the ranking was created.

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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 Holy Cross - MA in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://uhcno.edu/ceb/counseling/counseling-ma.php
• University of Louisiana at Monroe - Master of Science in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.ulm.edu/onlinedegrees/ms_coun.html
• Northwestern State University of Louisiana - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.nsula.edu/program/master-of-arts-in-counseling/
• University of Holy Cross - PhD in Counseling: Counselor Education & Supervision
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://uhcno.edu/ceb/counseling/counseling-phd.php
• Northwestern State University of Louisiana - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.nsula.edu/program/master-of-arts-in-counseling/