2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Maine

Pay depends on the occupation, setting, experience, and credential - not simply the degree title. National median annual wages in May 2025 were $59,350 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors and $64,330 for school and career counselors and advisors (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook). These are different occupational groups, not a controlled comparison of two Maine master's degrees.

Use those figures as context for a budget, not as a promised starting salary. Ask prospective employers about pay during supervised practice as well as after licensure, then compare that realistic progression with borrowing and any income you would give up while studying.

The most useful distinctions among the programs below are their intended credentials and delivery formats. Compare each school's current curriculum and placement policies before treating any feature as a personal advantage.

• University of Southern Maine, M.S. in Counseling - School Counseling concentration: This concentration is directed toward school counseling rather than clinical practice (University of Southern Maine). It is the more relevant USM option for an applicant whose goal is a school position; confirm how its current curriculum aligns with Maine Department of Education certification requirements.
• University of Southern Maine, M.S. in Counseling - Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration: Its clinical focus distinguishes it from USM's school track (University of Southern Maine). Applicants aiming for the Maine clinical professional counselor pathway should examine its current field-placement requirements and confirm their fit with Board rules before committing.
• Husson University, online M.S. in School Counseling: Online academic delivery is a practical distinction for students who cannot regularly travel to campus (Husson University). Because school counseling still involves supervised experience, ask how Husson arranges placements near your home and supports Maine certification planning.
• Husson University, online M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: This combines an online academic format with a clinical, rather than school-based, career focus (Husson University). It may suit a working adult planning for clinical practice, provided local placement availability, live-session expectations, and Maine licensure alignment work with their schedule.

A program's format or stated focus is not proof of licensure eligibility. If academic fit matters more to you than the lowest price, compare the best counseling programs alongside each school's current credential disclosures.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time study can take longer. Your actual timeline depends on required credits, course sequencing, when placements are offered, and whether you can reduce work hours during supervised fieldwork. Ask for a term-by-term plan that includes the internship rather than relying on an advertised minimum completion time.

Graduation is not necessarily the end of the clinical pathway. Maine licensure can involve additional supervised experience and examination requirements after the degree, depending on the credential sought (Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure). An accelerated degree makes sense only if its pace leaves you able to complete the required training well.

Online study can reduce travel to class and make graduate coursework more manageable for someone already employed. On-campus study may better suit a student who values scheduled face-to-face practice and easier access to campus-based advising. Neither format eliminates the need to arrange appropriate supervised field experience.

For a rural Maine student, the deciding question may be whether an online program can approve a suitable nearby placement. For a student living near campus, an in-person schedule may offer a simpler routine. Ask both types of programs which activities require travel, when live attendance is required, and who is responsible for finding a supervisor. Enrollment in an online program does not, by itself, establish eligibility for Maine licensure or certification.

There is no single reliable "average Maine counseling degree cost" that tells an applicant what they will pay: programs vary in required credits, tuition policies, fees, aid, and time to completion. Obtain each school's current graduate tuition schedule and a written estimate for the entire degree. Public-university resident pricing may matter, but verify residency eligibility and compare the resulting total with private-university offers rather than assuming either institution type is cheaper.

Include books, technology and program fees, placement travel, and income lost when fieldwork limits paid hours. A lower per-credit rate can lose its advantage if a program requires more credits or extends your time away from full-time work. Compare net cost after grants and employer support, and model the debt you would carry at completion.

Start with the FAFSA and each school's graduate-aid office. Ask about institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition assistance, and federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility. Graduate students generally should not budget on receiving an undergraduate Pell Grant; aid eligibility depends on the student and program (Federal Student Aid).

Graduate PLUS rules changed for new graduate borrowing beginning in July 2026, with transitional provisions for some students who previously borrowed for the same program. Do not assume a newly entering 2027 student can use Graduate PLUS to cover a funding gap. Confirm your eligibility and current borrowing limits with Federal Student Aid and the school before accepting an offer (Federal Student Aid).

Compare aid offers against each program's full length, not just its first year. If affordability is your main concern, the most valuable counseling programs offer another lens; your own net price, expected debt, and likelihood of completing remain more important than a ranking label.

Master's applicants generally need a completed bachelor's degree, transcripts, and materials that explain their interest and readiness for counseling; specific prerequisites and admissions standards vary by program (University of Southern Maine; Husson University). Ask whether prior psychology coursework is required, whether relevant work experience helps, and whether an interview or recommendations are part of the current application.

Before applying, identify the exact Maine credential you want. Then ask the program to document how its coursework and supervised training relate to that pathway. Check the institution's accreditation and, where relevant, the current status of programmatic CACREP accreditation directly with the accreditor; institutional accreditation and programmatic accreditation are not interchangeable (CACREP; Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure).

Core graduate counseling study commonly covers counseling theories, ethics, assessment, human development, research, multicultural practice, and supervised skills training. Clinical mental health curricula place more emphasis on mental health assessment and treatment; school counseling curricula address student development and work within school systems. The precise courses and fieldwork sequence depend on the program (University of Southern Maine; Husson University).

Request a current course map and compare it with the credential requirements that apply to you. A particularly important question for someone transferring graduate credits is whether the receiving program accepts those courses and whether they satisfy the intended credential's content requirements; transfer acceptance alone does not answer both questions.

The clearest specializations to compare among the programs discussed here are school counseling and clinical mental health counseling. They lead toward different work settings and credential reviews. Other interests, such as addiction treatment or work with children and families, may be developed through electives, placements, or later training, but an elective is not automatically a separate license or specialization.

Choose the track based on the work you want to do most days. If you are undecided, compare actual course lists and placement sites rather than selecting a broad-sounding degree name. The most popular counseling programs can show another way to explore options, but popularity does not establish fit with your intended Maine credential.

The best investment is the program you can afford to finish and use for your intended career. A comparison should begin with credential fit, then test whether the schedule, placements, and net cost are workable.

1. Identify your target role and confirm its current degree, examination, supervision, and certification or licensure rules with the Maine agency responsible.
2. Ask each program for its current credential-alignment statement, course sequence, placement policy, and any relevant accreditation status.
3. Calculate full-program net cost, expected borrowing, time away from paid work, and the effect of a slower completion schedule.
4. Ask how many students obtain suitable placements, what support is offered if a site falls through, and what recent completion and credential outcomes the program publishes.

A common mistake is choosing the smallest tuition figure without checking placement feasibility or credential fit. Another is treating national median wages as a personal return-on-investment forecast. A sound ROI estimate considers your current earnings, plausible post-degree earnings, aid, debt, completion probability, time horizon, and the value of money over time.

A clinical mental health pathway may lead from supervised counseling roles toward licensed practice, subject to Maine Board requirements. A school counseling pathway points toward positions in educational settings under the applicable Maine Department of Education credential rules. Related human-services work can offer experience, but job titles and employer requirements vary (Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure; Maine Department of Education).

This degree is most compelling for someone committed to a role that needs graduate counseling preparation and willing to complete supervised training. Someone primarily seeking a quick career change, or unwilling to take on fieldwork and possible post-degree requirements, should compare roles that do not require the same credential before borrowing for a master's.

National projections indicate substantially different growth across counseling occupations: employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3% for school and career counselors and advisors (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections). Those figures describe national occupational categories, not predicted openings for a particular Maine program's graduates.

For a local job search, examine current postings in the part of Maine where you intend to work. Note which credential employers request, whether positions accept candidates completing supervision, and how far you can travel. This is especially important if you need to secure both a placement during your degree and a suitable role afterward.

Investing in a counseling degree is a consequential decision. Research.com created this ranking to make program comparisons more transparent, using multiple education datasets and checking measures of outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than treating a low advertised price as the whole story.

Research.com's counseling rankings assess program completion, employment or doctoral admission, licensure-exam pass rates where applicable, CACREP programmatic accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, and program cost. For the Best ranking, the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score weights completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure-exam performance at 20%, CACREP accreditation at 16%, and Title IV eligibility at 4%; inapplicable criteria are reweighted. 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 (Research.com methodology).

The ranking draws on these sources to assess institutions and programs:

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

These sources help narrow a shortlist, but they cannot establish whether a particular student will finish, obtain a placement, or qualify for a Maine credential. Check current program disclosures and ask for a written estimate of your own costs. More detail about the ranking approach is available in 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
• University of Southern Maine - Master of Science in Counseling: School Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://usm.maine.edu/counselor-education/master-of-science-in-counseling-school-counseling-concentration/
• University of Southern Maine - Master of Science in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://usm.maine.edu/counselor-education/master-of-science-in-counseling-clinical-mental-health-counseling-concentration/
• Husson University - Master of Science in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.husson.edu/online/online-degrees/master-of-science-in-school-counseling
• Husson University - Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.husson.edu/online/online-degrees/master-of-science-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling