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

There is no single "counseling master's salary": occupation, license, employer, and experience all matter. The table shows national occupational medians, not North Carolina starting salaries or earnings attributable to any particular degree. These are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections figures: wages refer to May 2025, while growth covers 2025-2035.

Use the row matching your intended occupation when weighing debt - not the highest figure in the table. An entry-level North Carolina offer may differ substantially from a national median across workers at all experience levels.

The clearest differences among the named options are their stated degree focus and, in some cases, delivery. A program's presence in a comparison is not confirmation that every track can currently be completed online or that it meets a particular licensing rule; verify both directly before applying.

• East Carolina University - M.S. in Counselor Education: ECU presents the degree through both its degree listing and counselor education department. Its counselor-education framing is worth examining if you want to compare available preparation paths within that department; ask which path, if any, matches your target credential and online schedule. Source: East Carolina University.
• North Carolina Central University - M.A. in School Counseling: This is a separately identified school counseling degree rather than a general counseling label. It is the option to investigate if your goal is a school-based role; confirm its current delivery format and North Carolina educator-licensure alignment. Source: North Carolina Central University.
• North Carolina Central University - M.A. in Career Counseling: NCCU identifies career counseling as its own master's program. That distinction matters if you want to advise people on education and work decisions rather than assume a clinical mental health pathway; ask which professional credentials its graduates typically pursue. Source: North Carolina Central University.
• North Carolina Central University - M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: This separately named clinical program offers a more direct starting point for comparing clinical preparation than NCCU's school or career counseling degrees. Check its supervised-placement arrangements and current state-licensure disclosures. Source: North Carolina Central University.
• Catawba College - Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Its program page identifies a clinical mental health focus, making clinical credential fit the central question - not whether the institution offers counseling generally. Ask for its required clinical sequence, placement support, and complete program price. Source: Catawba College.
• Gardner-Webb University - School Counseling: Its named school counseling program should be compared with NCCU's school-focused option on educator-licensure alignment, delivery, and school-placement access. It is a less direct match for someone seeking clinical practice. Source: Gardner-Webb University.
• University of Mount Olive - M.S. in Counseling: The broader degree title makes track selection especially important. Request the current plan of study and written clarification of which North Carolina credential, if any, your chosen path is designed to support. Source: University of Mount Olive.
• Montreat College - Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Montreat explicitly presents this program as online, a useful starting point for students who cannot attend regular campus classes. Confirm any required in-person activities and whether its placement process works where you live. Source: Montreat College.

Many counseling master's students should budget roughly two to three years for the degree, although part-time enrollment or limited placement availability can extend that timeline. Ask for a term-by-term plan showing when clinical courses, practicum, and internship are offered; the shortest advertised timeline may assume full-time study and an immediately available placement.

A faster degree can reduce living expenses or time away from work, but it is not automatically cheaper if its pace forces you to cut work hours. Use the fastest counseling programs as a comparison, then calculate whether their schedules are feasible for you. Degree completion is also distinct from any postdegree supervised experience required for clinical licensure by the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors.

The central difference is access to coursework, not exemption from professional training. This comparison helps identify which format better fits your work schedule and placement needs.

Choose online if remote coursework makes enrollment possible and the school can support your required fieldwork. Choose campus study if its schedule or local placement network better suits you. Neither format alone establishes eligibility for a North Carolina license.

A defensible, current statewide average price for an online counseling master's is not established by the institutional graduate-tuition figures reported in NCES IPEDS: those figures do not necessarily represent this program's required credits, fees, or residency pricing. Rather than apply an institutional average to your budget, obtain each school's current per-credit rate and full degree requirements.

Total cost includes required tuition and fees, books and technology, possible campus visits, and travel or reduced work hours during fieldwork. Public-university prices may differ by residency; private institutions can have different pricing and aid policies. The most valuable counseling programs offer a useful second lens, but value depends on your net price and likely path to completion - not institution type alone.

For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare net education cost and likely borrowing with your current earnings, plausible postdegree earnings, time to finish and obtain any needed license, probability of completion, and years you expect to work in the new role. Account for earnings forgone while studying and discount future gains; a national occupational median is not a forecast of your pay.

Start with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and ask each school's financial aid office about eligibility for federal graduate loans, institutional scholarships, assistantships, and aid available to online students. Federal Student Aid rules and institutional eligibility determine federal awards; an online format by itself does not establish or rule out eligibility.

North Carolina residents should also ask the school how residency is determined for its tuition rates and whether any state-administered assistance applies to graduate study. Do not assume an undergraduate state grant extends to a master's program. Compare net cost after grants and scholarships separately from loans: borrowed funds lower today's bill but add repayment costs.

Expect to document a bachelor's degree and submit the materials specified by the program, which may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, an interview, or prerequisite coursework. Requirements differ; a psychology major should not assume admission is automatic, and an applicant from another field should not assume they are ineligible.

Before paying an application fee, ask admissions which prerequisites can be completed after admission, whether prior graduate credits can transfer, and how transfer credit affects the fieldwork sequence. Applicants comparing the easiest counseling programs should distinguish accessible admissions from an easy route to licensure: supervised training and credential requirements still apply.

Common subject areas include counseling theories and skills, assessment, ethics, multicultural counseling, human development, research, and supervised practicum or internship. Clinical mental health curricula may emphasize diagnosis and treatment planning; school counseling curricula may emphasize student development and work within schools. The exact course names and sequence come from the institution's current catalog.

For a North Carolina clinical goal, compare the transcript you would earn - not just course titles - with the educational standards published by the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors. Ask the program to explain any apparent gaps in writing before enrolling.

The programs named here illustrate several different directions: clinical mental health, school, career, and broader counselor education or counseling study. They are not interchangeable labels. Clinical mental health is the more relevant comparison for someone pursuing clinical counseling licensure; school counseling is the more direct comparison for someone pursuing a school-based credential. Career counseling may suit work focused on education and employment decisions.

Choose the intended job and credential first, then ask whether a specialization is a distinct degree, a concentration within a degree, or a set of electives. That distinction can affect required fieldwork and whether the resulting education meets the rules of the North Carolina authority responsible for your goal.

A low advertised price is useful only if the program is feasible to finish and appropriate for your career goal. Use this sequence to test your shortlist before committing:

1. Name the target credential. Check the North Carolina clinical counseling board or Department of Public Instruction requirements that apply to the role you want; do not assume graduation grants a license.
2. Verify recognition and eligibility. Confirm institutional accreditation through recognized accreditation sources and check any claimed CACREP program accreditation in the CACREP directory; ask how each relates to your intended credential.
3. Request a written completion plan. Include total required credits, course frequency, any campus visits, placement approval, and realistic full-time or part-time duration.
4. Compare net cost and fieldwork support. Obtain current tuition and mandatory fees, aid estimates, and an explanation of who finds and approves supervisors near you.
5. Check outcomes and contingencies. Ask for recent program-level completion and applicable exam results, their reporting periods, and what happens if a local placement falls through.

A common mistake is treating "online," "accredited," or "affordable" as sufficient on its own. Each answers a different question about access, recognition, or price; none substitutes for confirming the complete path to your intended work.

Possible paths include clinical mental health counseling, addiction counseling, school counseling, rehabilitation counseling, and career counseling. The degree focus and the employer's credential requirements determine which are realistic immediately after graduation. A clinical graduate may need a North Carolina associate credential and supervised postdegree experience before qualifying for independent clinical licensure; school roles involve a separate educator-licensure route. Sources: North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

If you want to enter a helping profession without the time or cost of a counseling master's, compare roles that do not require this degree before borrowing. If your goal is independently licensed counseling, a short certificate alone is not a substitute for meeting the applicable degree, supervision, and examination requirements.

The strongest national growth signal among the career directions discussed here is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' 18% projected employment increase for the occupational group covering mental health and addiction counselors over 2025-2035. That projection describes the United States, not the number of openings in a North Carolina city or the likelihood of receiving an offer.

For a local decision, inspect current postings in the county where you plan to practice. Note whether employers require independent licensure, accept an associate credential under supervision, offer supervision, or seek school credentials instead. Comparing those conditions with a program's fieldwork and graduate pathway is more informative than assuming national growth will translate into an entry-level opportunity nearby.

Investing in graduate education is an important decision. Research.com developed this ranking to make program comparisons more transparent, using multiple education and outcomes sources and checking that the measures support a credible comparison. An affordability ranking is a starting point: students should still request a current, individualized cost estimate from each school.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider graduate outcomes, applicable licensure exam pass rates, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and program cost. In its Best ranking, the graduate-outcomes-and-accreditation score weights completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure exam results at 20%, CACREP recognition 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. The affordability ranking instead orders programs by its named cost dimension. The same underlying approach applies to online and on-campus programs.

The ranking draws on these data sources; their different measures help readers look beyond an advertised tuition rate:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completion, and price reporting.
• Peterson's database - program and institutional information.
• College Scorecard database - federal institutional data and available outcomes measures.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

These measures can narrow a shortlist, but they do not establish an applicant's final bill or eligibility for a particular North Carolina credential. Read more about the approach on Research.com's methodology page, then confirm program-specific details with the institution and relevant licensing authority.

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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/
• O*NET OnLine - Mental Health Counselors (21-1014)
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00
• East Carolina University - Master of Science in Counselor Education
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://degrees.ecu.edu/degree/counselor-education-ms/
• East Carolina University - Master of Science in Counselor Education - School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://education.ecu.edu/counselor-education/
• East Carolina University - Master of Science in Counselor Education
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://degrees.ecu.edu/degree/counselor-education-ms/
• North Carolina Central University - School Counseling, MA
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.nccu.edu/academics/graduate-programs/school-counseling-ma
• North Carolina Central University - Career Counseling, MA
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.nccu.edu/academics/graduate-programs/career-counseling-ma