2027 Easiest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas

Pay depends on occupation, location, experience, employer, and licensure - not simply on holding a master's degree. The following U.S. occupational medians refer to May 2025, while growth projections cover 2025-2035; neither is a Kansas starting-salary estimate (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections).

The faster national growth projected for mental health and addiction counseling may make that pathway attractive, but it does not establish what a particular Kansas employer will pay. For a realistic return-on-investment estimate, compare local job postings for the credential you expect to hold with your current earnings, anticipated borrowing, and any period of lower-paid supervised work.

The programs below stand out for different career targets or curricular choices, rather than for a single definition of "easy." Their published program descriptions are a starting point: confirm current delivery format, credit requirements, fieldwork arrangements, and Kansas credential alignment directly with each institution before enrolling.

• MidAmerica Nazarene University - marriage, couple, and family counseling: This is the clearest match in this group for someone specifically seeking a relationship- and family-focused counseling curriculum. Compare its clinical training and intended credential with clinical mental health programs before choosing a broader track instead (MidAmerica Nazarene University).
• Emporia State University - clinical counseling with addictions counseling: The named addictions pathway distinguishes this option from general clinical tracks. It merits a closer look if substance-use treatment is the intended field, provided its coursework and supervised experience match the credential the student plans to pursue (Emporia State University).
• Emporia State University - school counseling: Its dedicated school-counseling pathway separates preparation for educational settings from the university's clinical options. Prospective students should check school-placement arrangements and Kansas school-counselor credential requirements rather than assume a clinical internship will substitute (Emporia State University).
• Fort Hays State University - clinical mental health counseling: This program identifies clinical mental health counseling as the primary degree direction, making it relevant to applicants planning for behavioral health practice rather than school employment. Ask how its online coursework and required supervised experiences are scheduled from your location (Fort Hays State University).
• Fort Hays State University - school counseling: The distinct school-counseling offering lets education-focused applicants compare a purpose-built route with clinical mental health study at the same institution. Its practical fit will depend on placement access and the student's intended school credential (Fort Hays State University).
• Wichita State University - clinical mental health track: Clinical mental health counseling is identified as a track within its counseling master's, a structural distinction worth reviewing alongside stand-alone program titles. Request the track-specific plan of study so you can identify exactly which courses and placements apply to your goal (Wichita State University).
• Emporia State University - clinical counseling concentrations: The university publishes a concentrations pathway for students who want to examine focus areas within clinical counseling. Compare the actual required courses for each concentration; a concentration name alone does not establish separate licensure eligibility (Emporia State University).
• Wichita State University - school counseling: A published school-counseling handbook gives applicants a program-specific document to use when checking academic and field-experience expectations. Compare its stated requirements with your work schedule and the school sites available to you (Wichita State University).
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - School Counseling Plus: The separately named "Plus" pathway deserves attention from applicants comparing school-focused options. Ask the university what the additional pathway entails and which credential, if any, its added requirements are designed to support (MidAmerica Nazarene University).
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - clinical mental health counseling: This option is directed toward clinical mental health rather than the university's family- or school-focused pathways. It suits applicants who want to compare those professional directions within one institution, while verifying the precise training and credential implications of each (MidAmerica Nazarene University).

Plan on roughly two to three years of full-time study for a counseling master's, with part-time enrollment often taking longer. This is a planning range, not a promise from any listed school: required credits, course rotations, prerequisites, and the timing of supervised placements determine an individual completion date. A student who can take online classes quickly may still have to wait for an approved field site.

If speed matters, compare published course sequences in the fastest counseling programs, then ask each school for a personalized completion plan. Check whether summer courses are offered and whether an accelerated schedule leaves enough time for paid work and clinical supervision.

The central difference is where academic instruction takes place, not whether students practice counseling skills. Both formats can involve supervised work at an approved site. Online study can make classroom attendance more feasible for a Kansas resident far from campus; on-campus study may make scheduled face-to-face practice and local faculty contact easier. Neither format is inherently less rigorous or automatically license-qualifying.

Ask about synchronous meeting times, required campus visits, how supervisors are secured, and whether the institution can place students in your county. Online delivery is a poor bargain if travel, unpaid fieldwork, or placement delays erase its convenience. For any program located outside Kansas, obtain written confirmation of its assessment of Kansas credential requirements before paying a deposit.

There is no reliable single Kansas average that describes the total price of every online counseling master's. Institution-level graduate tuition figures, such as those reported through IPEDS, do not necessarily include program-specific charges, clinical-placement expenses, travel, or the number of credits an individual must take (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS). Quoting an institutional average as the cost of a particular counseling degree would be misleading.

Request an itemized estimate based on your residency, required credits, fees, expected time to completion, and any campus visits. Compare that estimate - not the advertised price per credit - when reviewing the most affordable counseling programs. Also ask whether online students pay a separate rate and whether a slower schedule adds fees or delays entry to credentialed work.

Eligible graduate students may be able to use federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans at participating institutions, alongside institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition assistance, or aid for which they qualify under current state rules. Federal eligibility depends on factors including the student's status, enrollment, and the school's participation; online attendance alone does not establish eligibility (Federal Student Aid; Kansas Board of Regents).

Complete the FAFSA and request a program-specific aid estimate before deciding what to borrow. Ask whether aid continues during lower-credit practicum terms and whether scholarships require full-time enrollment. Subtract grants and employer support from total attendance costs, then test whether the remaining debt is manageable on a conservative - not median or best-case - early-career income.

Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and the materials required by the institution, which may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, or an interview. Programs can differ on prerequisite coursework, minimum academic standards, and expectations for related experience; check the current admissions page rather than assuming that a psychology major is always required.

Admission is separate from field-placement eligibility and professional licensure. Before enrolling, ask whether background checks, site requirements, or prior coursework could prevent you from completing clinical training. If you have graduate credits elsewhere, obtain a written transfer-credit evaluation that identifies which required counseling courses - not merely electives - will transfer.

Students can expect study in counseling theories, helping skills, ethics, assessment, research, and human development, followed by supervised practice. The mix changes with the intended occupation: a school pathway may emphasize student development and school systems, while a clinical pathway may place more weight on diagnosis and treatment planning. Marriage-and-family study examines relationships and family systems.

Review the actual course sequence, not just course titles. A program may cover a topic but allocate credits or supervised experience differently from what a Kansas credential requires. Ask the program to map its current curriculum to the relevant Kansas licensing board or education-agency standards (Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board; Kansas State Department of Education).

The program options examined here include clinical mental health, school, marriage-and-family, and addictions-focused counseling; some institutions also describe concentrations within a broader clinical degree (Emporia State University; Fort Hays State University; MidAmerica Nazarene University; Wichita State University). Those labels do not all describe the same kind of credential. A concentration may shape electives without replacing the degree, fieldwork, or examination required for a professional license.

Choose a specialization by working backward from the job you want. If you intend to counsel pupils in a school, investigate school-counselor preparation and state credentialing. If you intend to provide independent clinical services, confirm the specific clinical license pathway. Choose an addictions emphasis for its relevant training, not on the assumption that it automatically grants an additional credential.

Start with the credential and work setting, then compare only programs that plausibly support that goal. A broad comparison of best counseling programs can help form a shortlist, but the decisive evidence is each program's current curriculum, accreditation status, placement process, and total cost.

Use these checks before accepting an offer; each addresses a mistake that can be expensive to correct after enrollment:

1. Identify the Kansas license or school credential you want, then ask for the program's written explanation of how its degree and fieldwork meet the applicable requirements.
2. Verify institutional accreditation and check any claimed programmatic CACREP status directly with the accreditor; do not treat institutional and programmatic accreditation as interchangeable (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).
3. Request the full course sequence, online attendance rules, campus-visit requirements, and a realistic placement timeline for your location.
4. Compare net total cost, likely borrowing, completion time, forgone earnings, and plausible post-degree pay over the period you expect to work - not tuition or ranking position alone.

If a school cannot explain who approves supervisors or how an out-of-area student finds a placement, resolve that uncertainty before enrolling. The easiest application process is not useful if completing the degree or qualifying for the intended credential becomes difficult.

A relevant master's can be part of a path toward clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, marriage-and-family therapy, or work emphasizing substance-use treatment. Job titles and permissible duties depend on the setting and credential. Kansas regulates behavioral health licenses through the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board, while school credential questions should be checked with the Kansas State Department of Education; graduation itself does not confer either credential (Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board; Kansas State Department of Education).

The degree is most likely to be worth the investment when the chosen curriculum leads toward the credential and jobs you actually want, and expected career benefits justify the total cost and time involved. Compare the most valuable counseling programs alongside your own starting salary, aid, debt, likelihood of completion, and time horizon. If you want a different helping profession or cannot accommodate supervised fieldwork, investigate that alternative before committing to a counseling master's.

The national outlook differs meaningfully by specialty. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth for the category covering mental health and addiction counseling during 2025-2035, versus 3% for school counseling. That contrast can inform a career choice, but national projections are not forecasts of openings in a particular Kansas district, clinic, or county.

For a local reality check, search current Kansas postings for the exact credential you expect to hold and note whether employers accept applicants who are still accumulating supervised experience. Compare openings in places where you are willing to live or commute; an online degree expands access to classes, not necessarily access to nearby supervisors or suitable jobs. Recheck requirements near graduation because employer expectations and licensing rules can change.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com's team uses multiple education datasets and program-level measures to make its counseling rankings more credible and useful than a comparison based on advertising or tuition alone. The ranking is intended to help readers build a shortlist; it cannot determine whether a particular degree meets an individual's licensing or scheduling needs.

The team used the following data sources to create the ranking:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completion, and cost information.
• Peterson's database - information used to compare educational programs.
• College Scorecard database - federal institutional and student-outcome information.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and context.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider program completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam results, CACREP programmatic accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, and cost. In its Best ranking, completion contributes 40% of the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score, employment or doctoral admission 20%, applicable licensure-exam performance 20%, CACREP recognition 16%, and Title IV eligibility 4%; unavailable or inapplicable criteria are renormalized. Cost contributes approximately 7% of the final Best score. Other rankings order programs by the dimension named in their titles, so readers should not interpret an "easiest" designation as proof that coursework, clinical training, or licensure is easy. See Research.com's methodology for more detail.

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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/
• O*NET OnLine - Mental Health Counselors (21-1014)
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.mnu.edu/pgs/mac-marriage-couple-amp-family-counseling/
• Emporia State University - M.S. in Clinical Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.emporia.edu/applied-health-sciences/counselor-education-home/graduate-programs/clinical-counseling-home/clinical-counseling-addictions-counseling/
• Emporia State University - Master of Science in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.emporia.edu/applied-health-sciences/counselor-education-home/graduate-programs/school-counseling/
• Fort Hays State University - Master of Science in Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.fhsu.edu/programs/clinical-mental-health-counseling/
• Fort Hays State University - Master of Science in Counseling (School Counseling)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.fhsu.edu/programs/school-counseling/