2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in San Antonio

Pay depends on occupation, employer, experience, and credentials. The following U.S. medians are for occupations - not for graduates of a particular San Antonio program - and help show why the career path matters when weighing tuition. The wage reference period is May 2025; the separate employment projections cover 2025-2035 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections).

Do not treat a national median as an entry-level offer or a local wage quote. For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare likely post-degree earnings with your current pay, then account for borrowing, time out of work, and the supervised experience you may need after graduation.

The programs below differ most clearly in their stated degree focus and institutional setting. Because those differences can change the credential pathway, confirm current credits, fieldwork, accreditation status, and total price directly with each school before treating one as the more affordable choice.

• The University of Texas at San Antonio - clinical mental health counseling: This is UTSA's clinical mental health option, rather than its school counseling path. It is the more relevant UTSA program to investigate if your goal is clinical practice; request its current Texas professional counselor licensure-alignment details (UTSA).
• The University of Texas at San Antonio - school counseling: UTSA lists school counseling as a separate master's option, making the intended school-based direction clear before you compare costs. Ask how its coursework and placements align with current Texas school counselor certification requirements (UTSA; Texas Education Agency).
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Counseling and Guidance, School: Its graduate catalog explicitly identifies a school-focused counseling and guidance degree. Compare its certification guidance and school placement arrangements with UTSA's school option rather than assuming the two curricula are interchangeable (Texas A&M University-San Antonio).
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling: Its stated focus distinguishes it from the clinical mental health and school options in this group. Students interested in relational and family work should ask specifically how the curriculum maps to Texas marriage and family therapist requirements (Texas A&M University-San Antonio; Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: This provides another locally based clinical mental health route to compare with UTSA's. The useful comparison is the current net price and fieldwork arrangements for the same intended credential, not the degree title alone (Texas A&M University-San Antonio).
• St. Mary's University - master's in counseling: St. Mary's gives applicants a private-university option alongside the public institutions listed here. Request the exact track, credential alignment, aid offer, and full program cost before deciding whether its net price is competitive for your goal (St. Mary's University).

For another lens on academic and outcome measures, see the best counseling programs. A ranking position cannot establish that a particular track meets your individual licensing plan.

Plan on roughly two to three years for a full-time counseling master's; part-time study can take longer. Actual completion time depends on the school's required credits, course sequence, and when you can secure and finish supervised fieldwork. Ask for a term-by-term plan for your chosen track, including summer requirements.

An accelerated schedule may lower living expenses or bring forward employment, but it can be difficult to combine intensive fieldwork with a full-time job. For working professionals, a slower schedule that permits continued earnings may cost less overall than a faster program requiring time away from work.

Online study can reduce commuting and make coursework easier to fit around work; campus study may make scheduled classes and local placement coordination more convenient. Neither format eliminates supervised fieldwork. The practical question is where, when, and under whose supervision you will complete it.

If an online program is based outside Texas, get written confirmation that it has evaluated your intended Texas credential requirements and can support an acceptable placement where you live. Do not assume that online delivery, institutional accreditation, or eligibility in another state establishes eligibility for Texas licensure or certification (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency). To gauge which formats attract applicants locally, consult the most popular counseling programs, then verify each program's actual delivery schedule.

There is no single defensible San Antonio average that captures every counseling track's total price. Published graduate tuition may be reported at the institution level, while a student's bill depends on residency classification, required credits, fees, enrollment pace, and aid. Compare current program-specific figures rather than using a university-wide average as your expected cost (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS; individual institutions).

For a usable estimate, request each school's tuition and mandatory fees for the entire track, then add books, travel to placements, and any expected reduction in work hours. Public-university residency pricing may make a material difference; a private university's aid offer can change the comparison. Also ask whether summer enrollment and required fieldwork carry tuition or additional fees. The most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison point, but your net cost and intended credential should drive the final decision.

Start with the FAFSA and each university's graduate funding office. Depending on eligibility and availability, funding may include institutional scholarships, graduate assistantships, employer tuition assistance, and federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Graduate students should not assume that undergraduate grant eligibility carries over; federal aid terms depend on current program and student eligibility rules (Federal Student Aid).

Ask whether an assistantship requires hours that conflict with practicum or internship. If you expect to work in qualifying public service after graduation, review the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness rules before relying on forgiveness in your budget: qualifying employment, loans, and payments all matter (Federal Student Aid). Borrow only after comparing the actual aid offers and full attendance costs.

Expect to document a bachelor's degree and submit materials such as transcripts, a statement of purpose, references, and, where required, an interview. Prerequisite courses, minimum grades, and test policies are set by individual programs and can change; check the current admissions page for the specific counseling track rather than relying on general graduate-admission rules (UTSA; Texas A&M University-San Antonio; St. Mary's University).

Before paying an application fee, ask two separate questions: "Am I eligible for admission?" and "If admitted and graduated, will this curriculum satisfy the educational requirements for my intended Texas credential?" A school can answer the first without resolving the second. If you already hold graduate credit, ask whether it transfers into the counseling curriculum and whether accepting it would affect required fieldwork or credential eligibility.

Common subjects include counseling theories and techniques, assessment, ethics, multicultural counseling, research, and supervised practicum and internship. Clinical mental health study generally places more emphasis on diagnosis and treatment; school study addresses counseling in educational settings; and marriage, couple, and family study centers on relationships and family systems (individual program curricula).

Use the course sequence to test fit, not just the catalog title. For example, a student seeking clinical work should confirm that the required clinical coursework and supervised experiences match the current Texas board's educational rules. Electives cannot necessarily repair a mismatch in a required degree or fieldwork component (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council).

The clearest local distinctions among the programs listed here are clinical mental health, school counseling, and marriage, couple, and family counseling (UTSA; Texas A&M University-San Antonio). These are not merely different course themes: they point toward different work settings and potentially different Texas credentials.

Choose clinical mental health if your planned work calls for that licensure pathway, school counseling if your goal is a school counselor role, or marriage and family counseling if relational treatment is central to your plan. If you are undecided, compare required courses and ask admissions staff which credential pathways graduates can pursue; do not assume one specialization automatically qualifies you for all three.

Start with the job and credential you want, then compare programs that plausibly lead there. A low advertised tuition rate has limited value if a program requires extra coursework or an unsuitable placement to reach your goal.

Use these checks when speaking with admissions and program staff:

1. Verify the credential pathway. Ask which Texas licensing or certification requirements the specific degree and track address, and confirm the answer with the relevant state authority.
2. Check accreditation precisely. Verify institutional accreditation and, if important to your plans, the status of the specific program with CACREP; do not assume recognition of one track extends to another (CACREP; U.S. Department of Education).
3. Compare net total costs. Obtain a written estimate covering required credits, fees, aid, and fieldwork-related expenses, not just a per-credit tuition rate.
4. Test the schedule and placement plan. Ask when required courses run, how sites are secured, and whether fieldwork fits your employment obligations.
5. Request relevant outcomes. Ask for track-level completion and applicable exam or credential results, including their reporting years, rather than relying on university-wide figures.

A counseling master's is most defensible as an investment when it leads toward the role you want and its expected benefits justify its full cost. Estimate that trade-off using your current earnings, likely earnings after the degree, completion probability, debt, aid, lost work time, and the years over which benefits may accrue. If you want a role that does not require graduate counseling training, compare that less costly route before enrolling.

A graduate may pursue a school counselor role, a supervised route toward professional counselor or marriage and family therapist licensure, or other counseling-related work suited to the degree and employer. The master's is an educational step, not proof of independent-practice eligibility. Texas rules distinguish degree coursework from subsequent supervised experience, examinations, and issuance of a license or certificate (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council; Texas Education Agency).

If your long-term plan is private practice, map the full post-graduation credential sequence before choosing a track. If you prefer school-based work, compare school counselor preparation directly rather than assuming a clinical degree is the more versatile choice.

National projections indicate substantially different growth rates across counseling occupations: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, versus 3% for school counselors, from 2025 to 2035. These are national occupational projections, not forecasts of San Antonio vacancies or a graduate's chance of being hired.

For a local decision, examine current openings in your intended setting and note which Texas credential employers require. Also ask prospective programs where students complete placements and whether sites offer experience with the clients you hope to serve. That evidence is more useful for selecting a San Antonio program than applying a national growth rate to the city.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision, so Research.com evaluates more than a school's advertised price. Its team uses education and outcomes data to assess program quality, credibility, and cost, helping readers identify affordable options that also merit a closer look.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider graduate completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam pass rates, CACREP programmatic accreditation, institutional eligibility for federal Title IV aid, and program cost. For the Best ranking, completion accounts for 40% of the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score; employment or doctoral admission and applicable exam performance each account for 20%; CACREP accounts for 16%; and Title IV eligibility accounts for 4%. Inapplicable criteria are excluded and the remaining shares renormalized. Cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs; rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension.

The ranking draws on the following data sources:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, awards, and cost reporting.
• Peterson's database - program and institution information.
• College Scorecard database - federal institution-level information and student outcomes where available.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

These measures provide a starting point, not a substitute for checking current tuition, accreditation, and credential eligibility with a program. Read more about 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
• The University of Texas at San Antonio - Master of Science (MS) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://future.utsa.edu/programs/master/clinical-mental-health-counseling/
• The University of Texas at San Antonio - M. Ed. in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://future.utsa.edu/programs/master/school-counseling/
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Counseling & Guidance: School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.tamusa.edu/graduate/education-human-development/counseling-health-kinesiology/counseling-guidance-ma-school/
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.tamusa.edu/graduate/education-human-development/counseling-health-kinesiology/marriage-couple-family-counseling-ma/
• Texas A&M University-San Antonio - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.tamusa.edu/academics/College-of-Education-and-Human-Development/counseling-health-and-kinesiology/counseling/master-of-arts-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling.html