2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in South Dakota

National occupational medians provide a benchmark, but they are not starting salaries, South Dakota wage estimates, or returns attributable solely to a master's degree. The table pairs the latest stated U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 median annual wages with its 2025-2035 employment projections; compare the occupation that actually matches your intended credential.

The growth difference matters when choosing a specialty, but it does not predict vacancies in a particular South Dakota town. For a personal earnings estimate, compare current local postings for the credential you can realistically attain, separating prelicensure jobs from independently licensed roles (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

The programs differ most meaningfully in whom they prepare students to serve. These highlights describe verifiable track-level distinctions, not claims that one program has better outcomes or a lower final bill; confirm current credits, placement hours, delivery format, and tuition directly before applying.

• South Dakota State University - school counseling: This named specialization is the clearest match in SDSU's listed options for applicants focused on students and school systems rather than clinical practice. Ask how its current curriculum and placements align with South Dakota's school-counselor credential (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Department of Education).
• South Dakota State University - marriage and family counseling: Its explicitly relationship- and family-focused specialization differs from SDSU's individual mental-health and school pathways. It is the one to investigate if marriage and family therapist licensure is your goal; verify the degree and supervised-experience pathway with the state board (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).
• South Dakota State University - clinical mental health counseling: This dedicated clinical specialization is the more direct comparison for applicants seeking behavioral-health counseling roles. Before prioritizing its price, confirm which South Dakota counselor-license educational requirements its current curriculum is designed to address (South Dakota State University; South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).
• South Dakota State University - rehabilitation counseling: SDSU identifies rehabilitation as a separate specialization rather than treating disability and vocational concerns as an elective interest. That distinction matters to students targeting rehabilitation services instead of a general clinical or school role (South Dakota State University).
• University of South Dakota - catalog-listed program: USD provides a formal graduate catalog entry, making the catalog the appropriate place to check binding degree requirements rather than relying on a promotional summary. Applicants comparing USD with named tracks elsewhere should request its current course plan and a written explanation of the credential it supports before treating the programs as equivalent (University of South Dakota graduate catalog).
• Northern State University - counseling master's: Northern offers a named master's-level counseling option in Aberdeen, giving applicants another in-state location to assess against Brookings and Vermillion. Its practical advantage depends on whether its current delivery and approved placements fit where you can live and complete supervised training; confirm those details with the program (Northern State University).

Use these distinctions to build a shortlist, then compare them with the best counseling programs if outcomes and accreditation matter as much to you as advertised price.

Plan on roughly two to three years of full-time study for a counseling master's, but request the actual sequence from each school. Track requirements, course availability, and placement scheduling can extend that timeline; part-time attendance generally takes longer. The relevant comparison is time to the credential you need, not merely the earliest possible graduation date.

For working adults, an accelerated schedule can reduce time out of the labor market but compresses coursework and clinical hours into fewer terms. Before choosing it, ask when placements occur, whether evening or weekend supervision is possible, and whether every required course is offered often enough to keep you on schedule. Post-degree supervised experience for licensure is a separate timeline governed by the applicable South Dakota board (South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).

Online delivery changes where you take academic classes; it does not remove supervised fieldwork or state credential requirements. Campus study can make scheduled skills practice and faculty contact easier to organize, while online coursework may help someone remain employed or live far from a campus. Neither format is inherently cheaper once travel, technology, fees, and reduced work hours during placement are counted.

The deciding question for a rural South Dakota student is often whether a program will approve a reachable local placement and provide supervision that satisfies its requirements. Ask who finds sites, whether the school accepts a site you propose, how often you must visit campus, and whether its current curriculum meets the rules of the state where you plan to practice. Compare those answers before assuming that "online" means you will never need to travel.

There is no single defensible statewide average price for these specific counseling master's tracks in the information available here. Published graduate tuition may be stated per credit or term, and the amount a student pays depends on residency classification, required credits, enrollment pace, mandatory fees, and aid (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS). An apparent tuition bargain can cost more overall if it requires extra travel or takes longer to finish.

Request a written estimate covering all required credits, program and university fees, books, travel to placements, and any terms needed to complete an internship. Compare net total cost after grants or assistantships, not just a headline tuition rate. If you are considering programs across institutions, the most valuable counseling programs offer another perspective, but your own debt and career plans still determine value.

Start with the FAFSA and each graduate school's aid office. Depending on eligibility and availability, funding may include federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships, graduate assistantships, employer tuition assistance, or support tied to a placement or service commitment. Ask whether an award continues during internship terms, when paid work may be harder to maintain (Federal Student Aid; individual institutions).

Do not build a 2027 budget assuming new Graduate PLUS borrowing will cover any gap. Federal rules restrict Graduate PLUS availability for new graduate borrowers beginning July 1, 2026, with limited provisions for eligible continuing students; have the school's aid office confirm your individual status and current borrowing options before accepting an offer (Federal Student Aid). A manageable plan also accounts for repayment while completing any post-degree supervision required for licensure.

Applicants generally need a completed bachelor's degree and must meet the admitting graduate school's academic and application rules. Individual counseling tracks may also specify prerequisite coursework, recommendations, a statement of purpose, or an interview; field sites may impose separate screening requirements. Check each institution's current admissions page rather than assuming that requirements for a clinical track match those for school counseling (South Dakota State University; University of South Dakota; Northern State University).

If you have prior graduate coursework, request a transfer-credit review before enrolling. Ask which credits replace required courses, whether clinical training must be completed through the new program, and whether accepting transfer work would affect the educational record you later present for licensure. An admission offer alone does not resolve those questions.

Expect foundational study in counseling theories, helping skills, ethics, assessment, research, and human development, followed by track-specific coursework and supervised practice. A clinical mental health plan may emphasize diagnosis and treatment planning; a school plan may emphasize student development and school systems; marriage and family coursework addresses relational dynamics; and rehabilitation coursework addresses disability and vocational concerns. Exact course titles and requirements vary by institution (South Dakota State University; individual graduate catalogs).

Compare course sequences, not just catalogs. If a required assessment class is offered infrequently, or an internship must follow a practicum, a seemingly shorter plan may not fit your work schedule. Ask for the current degree audit or sample term-by-term plan for the exact specialization you intend to enter.

South Dakota State University's named options illustrate four materially different routes: school counseling, clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family counseling, and rehabilitation counseling (South Dakota State University). They should not be treated as interchangeable labels. A school-focused student should investigate the education credential; an aspiring therapist should determine which clinical license they want; and a student interested in disability or vocational services should examine rehabilitation-specific training.

A broad counseling title can still be useful, but ask for a curriculum-to-credential explanation before assuming it qualifies you for a specialized role. If you are exploring demand rather than a fixed career target, the most popular counseling programs can widen your shortlist; popularity does not establish licensing fit.

The right program is the least costly viable route to your goal, not necessarily the one with the lowest listed tuition. Use the following checks to compare schools on the same terms:

1. Name the job and credential you want, then obtain the applicable South Dakota board or education-authority requirements in writing (South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists; South Dakota Department of Education).
2. Ask each program which specific track, courses, and supervised experiences address those requirements; confirm its current institutional and, where relevant, programmatic accreditation status with the accreditor.
3. Get a complete cost and term-by-term completion estimate, including placements, residency pricing, aid, and likely changes to your paid-work hours.
4. Ask where students can complete fieldwork, who secures supervision, and what happens if a site falls through.
5. Compare expected debt and foregone earnings with realistic prelicensure and postlicensure pay over a chosen time horizon, rather than treating a national median wage as your future salary.

Common red flags are an unclear licensing explanation, a price quote that excludes required terms or fees, and an online program that cannot explain placement support in your area. A graduate certificate may suit someone adding a limited skill, but it is not a substitute for a qualifying master's when the intended professional credential requires one. The investment makes most sense when the credential unlocks work you specifically want and the total cost remains manageable against your existing earnings and likely repayment capacity.

Possible paths include mental health or addiction counseling, school counseling, marriage and family therapy, and rehabilitation counseling. Each has different clients, settings, supervision needs, and credential rules. Some graduates may enter supervised roles first and pursue independent practice later; others may work in schools or service organizations under their applicable qualifications (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists; South Dakota Department of Education).

If your primary goal is research, teaching future counselors, or supervising at an advanced academic level, investigate doctoral expectations separately rather than assuming a practice-oriented master's alone is sufficient. If you mainly want a nonclinical student-support or human-services role, compare its actual job requirements before taking on the cost of a license-oriented degree.

The national outlook is strongest among the listed paths for the occupation covering mental health and addiction counselors: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035. That supports investigating the field, but it does not establish South Dakota's growth rate or the number of openings near a prospective student's home.

Evaluate the local market by searching current positions in your preferred area for the exact credential and supervision status you expect to hold. Check whether employers offer qualifying supervision, whether school roles require a particular certification, and whether a rural position involves travel across communities. Those details can change the practical value of a program more than a national growth figure.

Investing in a graduate degree is a consequential decision. Research.com created its counseling rankings to help readers compare programs using consistent evidence rather than tuition or reputation alone. Its team evaluates graduate outcomes, applicable licensure-exam results, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and program cost; the ranking named "Most Affordable" orders programs by its cost dimension.

For context, Research.com's Best ranking first combines program completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable licensure-exam pass rates (20%), CACREP accreditation (16%), and institutional Title IV eligibility (4%). Shares are adjusted when a criterion does not apply. Cost then contributes about 7% of the final Best score. The same approach applies to online and campus programs, while rankings named for another dimension order programs by that dimension.

The team used the following sources to check institutional, program, cost, and outcome information:

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

These checks make the ranking a useful shortlist, not a substitute for a current tuition quote or written confirmation that a specific track meets your licensing goal. Readers can review Research.com's full methodology for more detail.

• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nebraska
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Minnesota
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Iowa
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Montana
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Colorado
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Wisconsin
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Missouri
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Illinois
• 2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Indiana

• 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
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - School Counseling Specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-school-counseling-specialization
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - Marriage and Family Counseling Specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-marriage-family-counseling
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-clinical-mental-health-counseling
• South Dakota State University - Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - Rehabilitation Counseling Specialization
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.sdstate.edu/programs/graduate/counseling-human-resource-development-ms-rehabilitation-counseling-specialization
• University of South Dakota - M.A. in Counseling and Psychology in Education - Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.usd.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=41&poid=9585&returnto=2666