2027 Most Affordable Online Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Kansas

Counseling salaries vary by occupation, setting, experience, and credential. The following are national occupational medians, not Kansas graduate salaries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the wages for May 2025 and the projections for 2025-2035; use them to compare career directions, not to forecast a starting offer.

These BLS categories cover workers with different experience levels and, in some cases, credentials. For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare realistic local job offers and your current earnings with the program's full cost, expected debt, time away from paid work, and the supervised experience you may need after graduation.

The programs below differ most meaningfully in the counseling pathway they emphasize. These distinctions help you form a shortlist, but confirm current delivery format, credits, placement requirements, accreditation, and Kansas credential alignment directly with each institution before applying.

• Fort Hays State University - school counseling: Its school-counseling pathway is the relevant option to investigate if your goal is work in K-12 education rather than clinical practice. Ask how the program arranges school-based fieldwork and how its coursework maps to Kansas State Department of Education requirements (Fort Hays State University).
• Fort Hays State University - clinical mental health counseling: This is the school's clinical pathway, making it a more pertinent comparison for a prospective professional counselor than its school-counseling option. Confirm its current supervised-training requirements and Kansas licensure alignment (Fort Hays State University).
• Emporia State University - addictions counseling: The addictions emphasis offers a more targeted curriculum comparison for applicants interested in substance-use treatment than a general clinical pathway alone. Ask which addiction-related credentials its coursework supports and what additional requirements apply (Emporia State University).
• Emporia State University - clinical counseling concentrations: Its concentration options merit a close look if you have a clinical career goal but have not settled on a practice area. Compare the required courses and field sites for the concentration you would actually choose, not just the breadth of options advertised (Emporia State University).
• Emporia State University - rehabilitation counseling: This pathway focuses the comparison on counseling connected to disability and rehabilitation. It is worth investigating if those settings fit your goal better than a general mental health curriculum (Emporia State University).
• Emporia State University - school counseling: This option belongs on a shortlist built around school employment and educator-credential requirements, rather than Kansas clinical licensure. Ask about school-placement support in the district where you hope to train (Emporia State University).
• Wichita State University - M. Ed. clinical mental health track: The clinical mental health track sits within a Master of Education, so compare its actual counseling curriculum and credential preparation rather than judging it by the degree abbreviation. That distinction matters if you are comparing it with degrees titled M.A. or M.S. (Wichita State University).
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - clinical mental health counseling: Its clinical mental health option is the relevant MidAmerica Nazarene pathway for applicants pursuing professional counseling practice. Verify the program's current delivery schedule and placement expectations against your work commitments (MidAmerica Nazarene University).
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - marriage, couple, and family counseling: This program provides a more specific curricular match for applicants interested in work with couples and families. Confirm which Kansas credential you intend to pursue and whether the required coursework and supervision support that route (MidAmerica Nazarene University).
• MidAmerica Nazarene University - School Counseling Plus: The named school-counseling pathway is worth comparing with other education-focused options if you want to work in schools. Ask the university to explain exactly what "Plus" includes and how the resulting plan meets your intended Kansas credential requirements (MidAmerica Nazarene University).

Plan on roughly two to three years for a counseling master's, with the actual timeline depending on required credits, enrollment pace, course sequencing, and when fieldwork begins. Part-time study can extend completion; a faster course schedule may not shorten an internship that depends on site availability. Request a term-by-term plan for your intended track rather than relying on a school-wide completion claim.

If finishing quickly is essential, compare the fastest counseling programs against their placement schedules. Ask whether courses run in every term, whether summer enrollment is expected, and whether an approved site can accommodate the hours you need.

The central difference is where you attend academic classes, not whether you practice counseling in person. Online study can reduce routine travel and help working adults stay employed, but live class meetings, campus visits, and local field placements may still constrain the schedule. Campus-based study may make face-to-face collaboration easier, though commuting or relocation can add costs.

Neither format automatically satisfies Kansas licensure requirements. Compare the same essentials in both: curriculum, programmatic accreditation status where relevant, supervised training, approved placement locations, and support if a supervisor leaves mid-placement (Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board; Kansas State Department of Education).

There is no single reliable Kansas-wide price that describes every online counseling master's: programs differ in required credits, tuition classification, fees, and in-person obligations. Published tuition may also change before you enroll. For a useful comparison, ask each school for the total estimated cost to complete your specific track, including mandatory fees and expected campus visits, then add your likely travel and placement expenses.

Public-university residency rates can affect the comparison, but do not assume an online student automatically qualifies for in-state tuition. Private institutions can have different aid offers; institutional type by itself does not determine value. Compare net cost and likely borrowing alongside completion time and credential fit. Readers weighing cost against broader outcomes can also review the most valuable counseling programs (institutional tuition schedules; NCES/IPEDS).

Start with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and each school's graduate-aid office. Depending on eligibility and the institution, funding may include federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships, assistantships, and employer tuition assistance. Ask whether aid continues during the lower-credit terms in which you complete fieldwork; eligibility and disbursement can depend on enrollment status (Federal Student Aid).

Graduate PLUS eligibility has changed. Under rules effective July 1, 2026, new graduate and professional students generally cannot begin borrowing Graduate PLUS loans. Certain students who borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan for the same program before that date and remain eligible may qualify for a limited transition period. Do not build a budget around Graduate PLUS without having the financial-aid office check your individual status and current federal rules (Federal Student Aid). If a funding gap remains, compare the cost of delaying enrollment, studying part time, or choosing another program before taking on private debt.

Expect to need a bachelor's degree and to submit the materials specified by the program, which may include transcripts, references, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Prerequisite coursework, minimum grades, and application deadlines vary by institution and track; confirm them on the current admissions page rather than assuming one counseling program's rules apply to another (institutional admissions requirements).

Before paying an application fee, send admissions staff your transcript and intended career goal. Ask whether you need preparatory courses, whether prior graduate credits can transfer, how many credits may count, and whether transferred coursework would still meet fieldwork or credential requirements. A credit accepted academically is not necessarily a substitute for a required counseling course.

Common subjects include counseling skills, human development, ethics, assessment, research, multicultural counseling, and supervised practicum and internship. Clinical pathways may emphasize diagnosis and treatment; school pathways address counseling in educational settings; addiction and rehabilitation emphases add field-specific study. The precise course titles and sequence depend on the program (program curricula; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Read the degree map with your intended credential in mind. Check whether the courses a Kansas licensing or education authority expects are required, elective, or absent - and whether an elective is offered often enough to fit your graduation plan.

Options represented among Kansas programs include clinical mental health, school, addiction, rehabilitation, and marriage, couple, and family counseling (Fort Hays State University; Emporia State University; Wichita State University; MidAmerica Nazarene University). These labels describe academic focus, not interchangeable professional permissions.

Choose a specialization by working backward from the job and credential you want. Someone seeking K-12 school work should investigate an education-focused route and Kansas educator requirements; someone seeking clinical practice should evaluate the relevant professional-license pathway. If you remain undecided, compare how much specialization a program requires before you have completed introductory coursework.

Start with the career you want, then test each program against requirements that could prevent you from reaching it. A low price is an advantage only if the program's training, timeline, and credential pathway work for you.

1. Identify the credential: Check the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board for professional-counselor routes or the Kansas State Department of Education for school-counselor requirements. Ask the program to map its curriculum to your intended route.
2. Verify accreditation and eligibility: Check institutional accreditation and any claimed CACREP programmatic recognition with the accreditor; ask whether the program and your enrollment qualify for the aid you plan to use.
3. Confirm fieldwork: Ask who finds sites, which Kansas locations are approved, what supervision is required, and whether travel or campus visits are mandatory.
4. Compare complete costs and outcomes: Obtain an itemized price and term-by-term plan, then ask for current program-level completion, licensure-exam, and placement information when available.

Do not equate an easier application with an easier path to practice. The easiest counseling programs may help you compare entry requirements, but admission standards cannot replace the credential and fieldwork checks above. For a fuller investment decision, weigh net cost, debt, completion likelihood, foregone earnings, and plausible post-degree pay over the years you expect to work.

Potential paths include clinical mental health counselor, school counselor, addiction counselor, rehabilitation counselor, and roles focused on couples and families. They are not automatic outcomes of any counseling master's: the applicable Kansas credential, supervised experience, and employer requirements determine which roles a graduate can pursue (Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board; Kansas State Department of Education).

This degree is most compelling for someone who wants counseling work and can accommodate supervised practice alongside graduate study. If your goal is a role that does not require counseling licensure, compare its actual hiring requirements before committing to a licensure-oriented master's. A shorter credential could be more appropriate, but it should not be treated as a substitute where a counseling license is required.

National demand differs sharply by counseling occupation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth from 2025 to 2035 for the occupational category associated with clinical mental health and addiction counseling, compared with 3% for school counseling. Those projections describe U.S. employment, not Kansas vacancies or the number of openings available to a new graduate.

For a Kansas-specific search, inspect current openings in the part of the state where you intend to live. Compare employers' required credentials, supervision arrangements, and settings with what a prospective program actually prepares you to do. A promising national outlook does not remove a local placement bottleneck or shorten the path from graduation to independent practice.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com evaluates counseling programs using graduate outcomes, licensure-exam pass rates where applicable, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and cost. Its team checks multiple education datasets to make the rankings more credible and useful, rather than treating an advertised tuition rate as the whole story.

For the broader 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 programmatic accreditation at 16%, and institutional Title IV eligibility at 4%. Weights are adjusted when a measure does not apply; cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. Rankings focused on a particular dimension, including affordability, order programs by that dimension. The approach is the same for online and on-campus programs.

The ranking draws on the following sources, which let readers check institutional data and understand where a program-level comparison may need further confirmation:

• IPEDS database: institutional reporting on enrollment, completions, and costs.
• 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.

Use the affordability ranking to identify programs to investigate, then request a current, itemized cost estimate and confirm the requirements for your intended Kansas credential. Research.com explains its ranking approach in more detail on its methodology page.

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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
• Fort Hays State University - Master of Science in Counseling (School Counseling)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.fhsu.edu/programs/school-counseling/
• Fort Hays State University - Master of Science in Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.fhsu.edu/programs/clinical-mental-health-counseling/
• Emporia State University - M.S. in Clinical Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.emporia.edu/applied-health-sciences/counselor-education-home/graduate-programs/clinical-counseling-home/clinical-counseling-addictions-counseling/
• Emporia State University - MS, Clinical Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.emporia.edu/applied-health-sciences/counselor-education-home/graduate-programs/clinical-counseling-home/concentrations/
• Emporia State University - MS, Clinical Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.emporia.edu/applied-health-sciences/counselor-education-home/graduate-programs/clinical-counseling-home/clinical-counseling-rehabilitation-counseling/