2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in North Carolina

Pay depends on the occupation, credential, employer, experience, and location - not simply on earning a master's. The national medians below are for people employed in the listed occupations in May 2025; they are not starting salaries or North Carolina-specific earnings (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook).

This comparison is most useful when you already know which work setting you want. It shows why a salary estimate for "counselors" can be misleading when used to evaluate a specialized degree.

These are national occupational measures, not forecasts for any one graduate. For an investment decision, compare relevant local job postings and compensation with your expected borrowing, the time spent in school and supervised practice, and what you could earn without the degree.

The North Carolina options below differ most usefully by career target and how clearly a student can establish the path from coursework to fieldwork. A listed program should not be assumed fully online or currently eligible for a particular license: confirm its present delivery format, requirements, and state-credential alignment directly with the institution.

• East Carolina University - M.S. in Counselor Education: ECU identifies the degree specifically as counselor education, making its track selection the decisive comparison point against programs explicitly titled clinical mental health counseling. Ask which track is available online and how its field placements align with your intended North Carolina credential (East Carolina University).
• Catawba College - Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Catawba's program has an explicit clinical mental health focus rather than a school- or college-counseling focus. It is worth examining if your goal is clinical practice; confirm its current schedule and supervised-placement arrangements before comparing completion dates (Catawba College).
• University of Mount Olive - M.S. in Counseling: Its broader counseling degree title makes the specific curriculum and intended credential especially important to establish. Request the current degree plan and written clarification of which North Carolina counseling pathway it is designed to support (University of Mount Olive).
• Montreat College - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Montreat explicitly presents this clinical mental health degree as an online program, a meaningful distinction for applicants who cannot commute regularly for classes. Verify any required in-person activities and whether approved field sites are available near you (Montreat College).
• North Carolina State University at Raleigh - College Counseling and Student Development: This program's focus is college students and student development rather than the clinical mental health or school-counselor roles targeted by several other options. It is the more relevant comparison for applicants seeking higher-education student-services work; confirm delivery format and role-specific preparation before applying (North Carolina State University).
• University of North Carolina at Pembroke - catalog-listed counseling program: The university's academic catalog is the appropriate place to verify the current degree plan and its formal requirements, rather than relying on an advertised timeline. Use it to check the exact track, required courses, and fieldwork before comparing this option with a clinical or school-counseling program (University of North Carolina at Pembroke academic catalog).
• University of North Carolina at Pembroke - Professional School Counseling: UNCP separately identifies professional school counseling, making it a more targeted option for applicants who want to work in schools rather than clinical practice. Confirm how its curriculum and school-based experience relate to North Carolina educator licensure (University of North Carolina at Pembroke; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction).

For every program, ask for the current catalog, a term-by-term plan for your enrollment status, the fieldwork handbook, total charges, and written guidance on the credential it is intended to support. Those documents make a claimed speed advantage much easier to test.

Many counseling master's degrees are planned around roughly two years of full-time study; part-time attendance commonly takes longer. An accelerated schedule may shorten coursework, but a practicum, internship, limited course availability, or delays securing a placement can extend the actual time to graduation. CACREP's 2024 standards require supervised practicum and internship experiences in its accredited entry-level counseling programs (CACREP).

Compare programs using the date you could finish all requirements, not the date you could finish online classes. Request a term-by-term schedule that includes fieldwork, and ask whether summer courses, consecutive enrollment, or a particular start term are necessary to meet the advertised timeline.

Online study can reduce commuting for North Carolina residents, especially those living far from a university. It does not remove the need for live skills practice and approved supervised experience. Campus study may make scheduled in-person activities easier, but neither format by itself establishes licensure eligibility (CACREP; North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors).

The comparison below focuses on the practical constraints that can change a student's completion date.

Check the program's actual mix of asynchronous classes, live meetings, campus visits, and placement support. "Online" is too broad a label to settle a scheduling decision.

There is no single reliable price for the programs in this guide: published tuition may be quoted per credit, per term, or for a full program, and charges can vary by residency and enrollment status. NCES/IPEDS reports graduate tuition and required fees by institution, but those institutional figures do not necessarily equal the total cost of a particular counseling degree. An unsupported statewide program average would conceal differences that matter to an applicant.

Request a written estimate covering every required term, fees, fieldwork-related expenses, and any campus travel. A lower per-credit rate can still produce a higher bill if the program requires more credits or does not offer the schedule you need. The most affordable counseling programs provide a cost-focused comparison, but use your residency status and current school quote to evaluate the actual price.

For return on investment, consider aid and likely debt alongside the probability of finishing, foregone earnings while studying, time to licensure, your current income, and plausible post-degree earnings over several years. A private nonprofit or public university is not inherently the better value; the full pathway determines the trade-off.

Eligible graduate students can complete the FAFSA to be considered for federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and other aid administered by their institution. Schools may also offer graduate assistantships, scholarships, or employer-supported tuition benefits. Eligibility and award amounts depend on the student, institution, and program; an online format alone does not establish eligibility (Federal Student Aid; U.S. Department of Education).

Check borrowing rules early. Federal Graduate PLUS eligibility changed for new graduate borrowers beginning July 1, 2026. Students who meet the rules for continued eligibility under the transition provisions may be treated differently from new borrowers; do not assume Graduate PLUS will cover a remaining balance in a 2027 enrollment plan. Confirm your status with the school's financial aid office and Federal Student Aid before committing to a program (Federal Student Aid).

North Carolina residents should also ask each school about institutional aid and any state-funded assistance for which graduate study is eligible rather than assume an undergraduate state grant extends to a master's degree. Compare net cost and borrowing, not scholarship headlines.

Programs generally require a bachelor's degree and an application with transcripts; schools set their own policies for GPA, prerequisite coursework, recommendations, statements, interviews, and relevant experience. A psychology bachelor's degree should not be assumed mandatory, nor should the absence of an entrance exam be taken as evidence that clinical training is easier (individual university admissions offices).

If admissions flexibility is important, compare the easiest counseling programs, then check their current requirements. Ask whether applicants from another major need preparatory courses, whether previous graduate credits can transfer, and whether transferred credits would shorten the actual schedule. Acceptance into a degree program and eligibility for a North Carolina professional credential are separate questions.

Clinical mental health curricula commonly address counseling techniques, ethics, assessment, human development, research, group work, and diagnosis, followed by supervised practice. School-counseling curricula instead connect counseling skills to students' academic, social, and career development in school settings. CACREP's 2024 standards set curricular and fieldwork expectations for programs it accredits; each school's catalog determines its actual courses and sequence (CACREP; institutional catalogs).

Look closely at sequencing. If a required skills course is offered only before practicum, missing it may delay fieldwork even when the degree advertises a fast completion time. Ask for the current catalog and map prerequisites against the term you intend to start.

The most consequential choice is usually the degree track, not a small group of electives. Clinical mental health counseling targets mental health practice; school counseling targets school-based student support; college counseling and student development targets higher-education settings. Addiction-focused work may be incorporated into clinical training, but a specialization label does not automatically satisfy a separate employer or credential requirement (institutional program descriptions; North Carolina licensing authorities).

Choose the track by working backward from a real job description and its required credential. Someone aiming to become a licensed clinical mental health counselor should not select a college-student-development program solely because it finishes sooner; a future school counselor should confirm educator-licensure alignment before choosing a general clinical track.

Start with the job and North Carolina credential you want, then compare only programs that plausibly support that path. The most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison lens, but value still depends on your own costs, timeline, and career goal.

Use these checks to turn a promising program page into a decision you can verify:

1. Confirm the credential fit: Ask the school which North Carolina license or certification its specific track is designed to support, and check the relevant state authority's current rules yourself.
2. Verify accreditation and eligibility: Check the institution's accreditation and any claimed CACREP programmatic accreditation with the accreditor; confirm federal aid eligibility separately. Do not treat these as the same approval (CACREP; U.S. Department of Education).
3. Test the completion claim: Obtain a term-by-term plan that includes practicum, internship, required live sessions, and any campus visits.
4. Price the entire pathway: Request total tuition and fees under your residency and enrollment status, then estimate travel, placement expenses, borrowing, and time away from paid work.
5. Ask about results and support: Request track-specific completion and exam outcomes where available, plus clear answers about who helps locate and approve fieldwork sites.

A common mistake is choosing the fewest advertised months without checking whether placements can begin on time. Another is treating accreditation, a master's degree, and independent licensure as interchangeable. Written answers from the school - and confirmation from the relevant state authority - are more dependable than a ranking position alone.

A clinical mental health graduate may pursue supervised associate-level practice on a path toward independent clinical mental health licensure, subject to North Carolina Board requirements. A school-counseling graduate may pursue the applicable educator credential through the Department of Public Instruction. College-counseling graduates may seek student-affairs or related campus positions, where employer requirements vary (North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction).

These paths involve different post-degree obligations. Before enrolling, identify whether your target role requires a state license, an educator credential, another certification, or none of those - and whether the program supplies the required educational preparation. A certificate or shorter graduate course may suit a professional adding skills to an existing role, but it should not be mistaken for a license-qualifying master's.

Nationally, employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections. That points to a growing occupational field, but it does not measure vacancies near a particular North Carolina student or guarantee work after graduation. School-counselor demand follows a different occupational outlook, so clinical projections should not be applied to every counseling track.

Make the outlook local before committing: review North Carolina postings for your intended role, note whether employers accept associate-level clinicians or require independent licensure, and check whether nearby organizations offer appropriate supervision. This is particularly important if you plan to remain in one community rather than move for a first position.

Investing in a counseling degree is a consequential decision, particularly when a shorter program could still leave substantial supervised training ahead. Research.com evaluates program information and checks multiple education datasets to make its rankings more credible and useful. The fastest ranking is intended to help readers identify shorter options to investigate; applicants should still confirm each school's current calendar, placement requirements, and licensure fit before enrolling.

Research.com's counseling rankings assess graduate outcomes, licensure exam pass rates where applicable, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and cost. For its Best ranking, the graduate-outcomes-and-accreditation score weights completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure exam pass rates at 20%, CACREP recognition at 16%, and institutional Title IV eligibility at 4%; inapplicable criteria are renormalized. Cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs, while rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension.

The team uses the following sources to check institutional, program, and student-outcome information:

• IPEDS database: institutional reporting on enrollment, completions, and tuition.
• Peterson's database: program and institutional information.
• College Scorecard database: federal institutional and student-outcome information.
• National Center for Education Statistics: federal education statistics and definitions.

Using these sources together helps readers compare options rather than rely on a school's advertised completion time alone. See Research.com's methodology for more about how its rankings are created. No ranking replaces confirmation of current program requirements or eligibility for the particular North Carolina credential you want.

• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in South Carolina
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Virginia
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Georgia
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Tennessee
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Florida
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Maryland
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Alabama
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Pennsylvania
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Ohio
• 2027 Fastest Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Louisiana

• 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/
• East Carolina University - Master of Science in Counselor Education
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://degrees.ecu.edu/degree/counselor-education-ms/
• Catawba College - Master of Health Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.catawba.edu/cmhc/
• University of Mount Olive - Master of Science in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://umo.edu/msc/
• Montreat College - Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.montreat.edu/online/master-clinical-mental-health-counseling/
• North Carolina State University at Raleigh - M. Ed. in College Counseling and Student Development
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://ced.ncsu.edu/graduate/programs/masters/college-counseling-and-student-development/