2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in New Orleans

Pay varies substantially by occupation, employer, experience, and license. The following national medians describe occupations - not salaries guaranteed to degree holders or New Orleans-specific wages. They are useful for comparing career directions, but not for calculating an individual offer (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 occupational data).

For an investment decision, compare likely additional earnings against tuition, living expenses, foregone income, borrowing costs, and the time required to finish supervised experience. A national occupational median should not be treated as a local entry-level salary.

The New Orleans programs below serve different professional goals. Their most consequential distinction is often the credential and practice setting they prepare you for, rather than an institution-wide reputation; verify current credit, placement, and accreditation details directly with each department before applying (institutional program and catalog pages).

• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, mental health counseling: This is the seminary's mental-health-focused route rather than its marriage-and-family route. It may fit students who want clinical counseling study in a theological educational setting; ask how its curriculum maps to Louisiana counselor licensure requirements.
• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, marriage and family counseling: Its explicit focus on marriage and family work distinguishes it from the seminary's mental health option. Students aiming for couples- or family-centered practice should confirm which professional license the degree supports before committing.
• Xavier University of Louisiana, graduate education and counseling options: Xavier presents counseling alongside graduate education programs. That setting is worth examining if your decision is between school-based and other counseling work; use the current graduate-school information to identify the precise degree and track.
• Xavier University of Louisiana, catalog-listed program: The program catalog is the place to confirm its required curriculum and graduation rules, rather than assuming every Xavier counseling option has the same requirements. Request a current degree audit and written guidance on the credential the specific program supports.
• Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, clinical rehabilitation counseling: Rehabilitation counseling is the defining focus here, unlike the broader mental health and family-oriented options in this group. It merits particular attention from students interested in disability-related counseling and rehabilitation services.
• Loyola University New Orleans, marriage, couple, and family counseling: The program identifies marriage, couple, and family counseling as its practice focus. Compare its degree requirements with Louisiana's separate professional pathways if relationship-centered practice is your goal.
• Loyola University New Orleans, clinical mental health counseling: This option targets clinical mental health counseling rather than Loyola's marriage, couple, and family focus. It is the more relevant Loyola program to investigate if your intended work is general mental health counseling.

Many full-time counseling master's students plan on approximately 2-3 years of study; part-time enrollment can take longer. That is a planning range, not a published completion promise for any school named here. Course sequencing, required fieldwork, and the availability of an appropriate placement can change an individual timeline.

Ask for a term-by-term plan showing when practicum and internship begin. If you need to keep working, compare the program's actual evening, weekend, and placement schedules - not only its advertised full-time or part-time status. Post-degree supervised experience for a license is a separate time commitment (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

Online coursework can reduce commuting and make continued employment easier, while campus study may simplify access to classmates, faculty, and nearby placement contacts. Neither format eliminates supervised practice. A student living in New Orleans should ask an online program whether it approves Louisiana sites and provides the documentation needed for the intended Louisiana credential.

Do not assume that online delivery means a program is cheaper or that an on-campus program automatically arranges fieldwork. Compare total fees, travel requirements, placement responsibilities, and state-authorization information alongside tuition. If you may seek licensure elsewhere later, ask the program to identify the states for which it has made an educational-requirements determination.

There is no single defensible average price for the distinct New Orleans counseling tracks discussed here without matching the same academic year, degree length, enrollment load, and included fees. Institutional tuition figures are not necessarily complete program prices. For a meaningful comparison, multiply each school's current per-credit charge by its published required credits, then add mandatory fees and estimated placement-related expenses; confirm the resulting estimate with the school.

Check whether a public institution charges different rates by residency, and distinguish tuition discounts from aid that must be repaid. Compare the net price and likely borrowing with the time you can realistically devote to study. For another perspective on cost relative to outcomes, see the most valuable counseling programs; neither measure replaces your own budget.

Start with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, then ask each graduate program about scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition support, and payment plans. Eligibility and award amounts vary. Graduate students should also ask whether a clinical placement limits paid-work hours before accepting a funding package that assumes they can keep their current schedule (Federal Student Aid; institutional financial aid offices).

Federal Graduate PLUS rules changed beginning July 1, 2026: new graduate borrowers generally cannot start borrowing through that program, while some existing borrowers may qualify under transitional rules. Confirm your own eligibility and current federal loan options with Federal Student Aid and the school rather than building a budget around presumed Graduate PLUS access (Federal Student Aid). When comparing offers, separate grants from loans and estimate how much you would owe at completion, not just in the first term.

Graduate counseling applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and must meet the chosen school's current admissions requirements. Programs may also request transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, or an interview; prerequisites and application policies are set by the institution, not by a single citywide standard (institutional admissions offices).

Before paying an application fee, ask whether prior coursework satisfies prerequisites and whether any graduate transfer credits will count toward this degree and its clinical requirements. Transfer approval does not necessarily mean a course will satisfy a licensing board's education rules. Confirm both questions in writing with the program and, when necessary, the Louisiana board.

Expect coursework in counseling theories, assessment, ethics, human development, research, and supervised practice, with the balance changing by track. A school counseling curriculum needs school-relevant preparation; clinical mental health study emphasizes assessment and treatment; rehabilitation counseling adds disability and vocational concerns (institutional program catalogs).

Read the required-course list rather than judging a program by its title. In particular, ask how the school documents practicum and internship, who supervises students, and whether elective choices could leave gaps for your intended credential. Louisiana's licensing requirements make that curriculum-level check more important than a broad description of "career preparation" (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners).

Locally relevant choices include clinical mental health, marriage and family, school-related, and clinical rehabilitation counseling (institutional program and catalog pages). These are not interchangeable labels: they can lead toward different workplaces, supervised experiences, and credentialing authorities.

Choose a specialization by working backward from the job and license you want. If you are undecided between school and community-based work, compare both curricula and credential requirements before choosing electives. A short certificate may build a skill, but it should not be assumed to replace a qualifying graduate degree for licensed clinical practice.

First identify your target role; then screen programs for credential fit before comparing price or speed. Accreditation matters, but check both the institution's status and any relevant programmatic recognition rather than treating them as the same thing. The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners is the authority to consult for Louisiana professional counselor requirements; other roles may follow different credentialing pathways.

Use these questions to narrow your shortlist and avoid the most expensive selection mistakes:

1. Which exact degree and track will appear on my record, and how does the school document its fit with my intended Louisiana credential?
2. What are the required credits, total current charges, expected completion schedule, and estimated cost after grants or assistantships?
3. Who secures supervised placements, where can I complete them, and what happens if a suitable site is unavailable?
4. Which of my prior credits would count toward graduation, and which requirements would I still need to complete?
5. What program-level completion and relevant exam outcomes can the school document, including their reporting periods?

Use rankings as complementary screens: affordability addresses price, while the most popular counseling programs provide a different view of student choice. Neither tells you whether a degree fits your license, schedule, and budget. If those do not align, the cheapest or fastest option may cost more in the long run.

A graduate degree can support a path toward professional counseling, marriage and family therapy, school counseling, or rehabilitation counseling when its curriculum and supervised training meet the applicable requirements. Graduation itself is not a license: examinations, post-degree supervision, certification, or other steps may apply depending on the occupation and state authority (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Students who want direct clinical client work should prioritize a qualifying clinical pathway. Those drawn to school systems or disability and employment services should investigate the corresponding specialist programs instead. If you want to test the field before committing to graduate debt, look at nonlicensed support roles and ask employers what qualifications they require; such roles should not be confused with independent clinical practice.

National employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections). That indicates demand for the occupation nationally, but it does not establish how many openings a New Orleans graduate will find or whether a particular employer will hire an applicant before licensure.

For a local job search, compare postings from the settings where you hope to work and note the credentials, supervision status, and experience each employer requests. Ask programs about recent placement sites and graduates' first roles, including the reporting period. This is more useful for judging local fit than applying a national growth rate to one city.

Education is a substantial investment, so Research.com examines more than a school's advertised price. Its team uses institutional and program data to assess outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost, helping readers compare affordable options without mistaking low tuition for a complete measure of value.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider program completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure exam pass rates, CACREP programmatic accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, 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 results account for 20% each; CACREP recognition accounts for 16%; and Title IV eligibility accounts for 4%. Inapplicable criteria are reweighted, and cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. Other rankings order programs by the dimension named in the ranking. The same approach applies to online and campus programs.

The ranking draws on these data sources, which readers can also use to check a school's published information:

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

These measures make the ranking a starting point, not a substitute for checking a particular degree's current tuition, clinical placements, and fit with your intended license. Read more about Research.com's methodology.

• 2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Houston
• 2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Dallas
• 2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nashville
• 2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Denton
• 2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Jacksonville
• 2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in San Antonio
• 2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Knoxville
• 2027 Most Affordable Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Saint Louis
• 2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Columbia
• 2027 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Louisville

• 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/
• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary - MA in Counseling (Specialization in Clinical Mental Health)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.nobts.edu/graduate/masters/degrees/arts/mentalhealthcounseling
• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary - MA in Counseling (Specialization in Marriage and Family)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.nobts.edu/graduate/masters/degrees/arts/marriagefamilycounseling
• Xavier University of Louisiana - M.A. in Counseling - Professional School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.xula.edu/graduateschool/masterineducationandcounseling.html
• Xavier University of Louisiana - Counseling, M.A.
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.xula.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=30&poid=6595
• Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans - Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/crc/default.aspx