2027 Most Popular Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Greensboro

Pay depends on the occupation entered, licensure status, employer, and experience - not the degree title alone. The table uses national U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational medians for May 2025 and projections for 2025-2035. They are benchmarks for comparing paths, not Greensboro starting salaries or program outcomes.

The school-counseling median is higher than the mental health and addiction counseling median, but it should not decide your specialization on its own. These are different occupations with different qualification rules and work settings. Ask programs for recent graduate outcomes, then compare those results with the debt and time required to reach your intended role.

The programs below differ most meaningfully by the professional role they target. Compare their published degree descriptions and current handbooks before treating similar-sounding counseling degrees as interchangeable.

• North Carolina A&T State University - mental health counseling: This graduate pathway focuses on clinical mental health practice rather than school-based counselor preparation (North Carolina A&T State University). It is the more relevant A&T option to investigate if your goal is North Carolina clinical counselor licensure; verify the current curriculum and placement requirements with the department and licensing board.
• North Carolina A&T State University - school counseling: Its dedicated school-counseling pathway targets work with students in educational settings, a different credential route from clinical mental health counseling (North Carolina A&T State University). Choose it over a clinical track only if school-based practice matches your goal, and confirm educator-licensure alignment.
• North Carolina A&T State University - counselor education and supervision: This doctoral option centers the preparation of counselor educators and supervisors rather than initial master's-level practice training (North Carolina A&T State University). It is worth comparing if you already have counseling preparation and want advanced academic or supervisory work.
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro - M.S. in counseling, school counseling concentration: The school-counseling route sits within an M.S. in counseling and identifies the school concentration in the degree itself (UNCG). That distinction matters when checking whether coursework and placements match North Carolina educator-licensure requirements rather than clinical licensure requirements.
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro - Ph.D. in counseling and counselor education: UNCG's Ph.D. is an advanced research and counselor-education pathway, not a substitute for an entry-to-practice master's (UNCG). Compare its faculty research interests and doctoral expectations with A&T's counselor education and supervision program if teaching or research is your objective.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time enrollment usually extends that timeline. A doctorate often takes several additional years, with dissertation progress affecting completion. These are planning ranges, not promises from either Greensboro university.

Calendar time matters as much as credit count. Ask whether courses start every term, when internship applications open, and whether required placements can fit your work hours. For a clinical path, distinguish graduation from the additional supervised experience and examination steps required for North Carolina licensure (North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors).

Online coursework can reduce commuting and help a working student remain employed. On-campus study may make scheduled faculty interaction and local networking easier. Neither format removes the need to complete required supervised experiences in an acceptable setting; placement availability may be the deciding factor.

Before choosing an online option, obtain written answers about where you may complete fieldwork, who approves a site and supervisor, and whether the program's curriculum meets the requirements of the state where you intend to seek licensure. This is especially important if you study while living in Greensboro but plan to practice elsewhere; state licensing requirements can differ (North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors; U.S. Department of Education).

There is no single useful Greensboro-wide price for a counseling degree: master's and doctoral programs, residency classifications, enrollment loads, and aid packages produce different totals. For the two public universities, verify your in-state or out-of-state tuition classification and use the school's current graduate tuition schedule rather than an undergraduate sticker price (North Carolina A&T State University; UNCG).

Build a full-program estimate that includes required fees, books, travel to placements, and earnings you may give up during internship. Then compare it with the most affordable counseling programs. The lowest tuition is not necessarily the lowest-cost route if its schedule extends your studies or makes paid work impractical.

Graduate students should complete the FAFSA and ask each department about assistantships, scholarships, and placement-related funding. Eligible students may also use federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans; federal loan eligibility depends on the student and institution, not simply on admission (Federal Student Aid).

Do not build a 2027 financing plan on the assumption that Graduate PLUS remains available to every new graduate student. Federal Student Aid's rules restrict new Graduate PLUS borrowing beginning July 2026, with a limited transition for qualifying students already enrolled in and borrowing for the same program before the change. Ask the financial aid office to assess your specific eligibility and show the funding gap before you commit (Federal Student Aid).

A counseling master's generally requires a bachelor's degree and a graduate application; departments may also request recommendations, a statement of purpose, transcripts, or an interview. Doctoral applicants should expect closer review of prior graduate preparation and fit with faculty interests. Requirements and deadlines can change, so use each Greensboro program's current admissions page rather than assuming one university's rules apply to the other (North Carolina A&T State University; UNCG).

If you have a related bachelor's degree, ask whether any prerequisite courses are needed. If you already hold a counseling master's, ask a doctoral program how it evaluates previous coursework and clinical preparation. Do not assume graduate credits will transfer or shorten the degree until the department confirms that in writing.

Master's curricula commonly include counseling theories, ethics, assessment, human development, multicultural counseling, research, and supervised practicum and internship (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). Clinical mental health students should look for diagnosis and treatment preparation; school-counseling students should examine school-based services and student-development coursework. Doctoral study shifts toward research, teaching, leadership, and supervision.

Course titles alone are a weak test of licensure fit. Request the current degree plan and ask an adviser to identify which courses and field experiences address the requirements of your intended North Carolina credential.

The clearest local choices represented here are clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, and doctoral counselor education. Select clinical mental health if you want to investigate a route toward counseling clients in healthcare or community settings; select school counseling if you want to serve K-12 students; consider a doctorate if your established goal is counselor education, research, or supervision (North Carolina A&T State University; UNCG).

Marriage and family therapy or rehabilitation counseling may sound adjacent, but do not assume a general counseling concentration qualifies you for those distinct roles. Check the relevant credentialing body and the exact program curriculum before choosing by specialization name alone.

Start with the job and credential you want, then compare programs against that target. Use the best counseling programs as one screening tool, not as a replacement for checking licensure fit and affordability.

Before applying, ask admissions staff and the department for answers to these decision-making questions:

1. Which North Carolina credential is this exact program designed to support, and which requirements must graduates complete afterward?
2. Does the specific program currently hold CACREP accreditation, and how can I verify its status in the accreditor's directory?
3. What are the full estimated cost, realistic completion schedule, and rules for transferring previous graduate credit?
4. Who secures placements, where have recent students trained, and can internship hours fit my work schedule?
5. What recent program-level completion, examination, or employment results can the department document?

A common mistake is to treat institutional accreditation as proof of programmatic CACREP accreditation, or school-counselor preparation as clinical-licensure preparation. Check both separately with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the relevant North Carolina licensing authority.

A relevant master's can be a step toward licensed clinical mental health counseling or school counseling, depending on its curriculum and the applicable North Carolina requirements. A doctorate can support applications for counselor-education, research, leadership, or supervision roles; it does not automatically grant a clinical license or faculty appointment (North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction).

To judge whether the investment is worthwhile, compare the most valuable counseling programs with your own likely path. Account for aid, debt, completion probability, time away from work, your earnings without the degree, possible earnings afterward, and how long you expect to work in the field. National occupational medians are context, not a personal return-on-investment forecast.

The national outlook favors mental health and addiction counseling more strongly than school counseling: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% growth for the former occupation and 3% for the latter from 2025 to 2035. That difference can inform specialization choice, but national growth does not measure openings in Greensboro or guarantee local employment.

For a local decision, compare recent openings from Guilford County Schools, area healthcare systems, and community behavioral health employers with each program's placement network. Look closely at required licenses and experience: an attractive job posting may describe a role you cannot enter immediately upon graduation.

Investing in a degree is a consequential decision. Research.com's team developed its rankings to help readers compare programs using consistent evidence rather than promotional claims, and reviews the underlying data for quality, credibility, and accuracy. "Most popular" describes its ranking dimension; it does not, by itself, establish that a program is the best fit, the least expensive, or the strongest route to licensure.

Research.com also evaluates counseling programs using graduate outcomes, applicable licensure-exam results, accreditation, federal aid eligibility, and cost. Its Best ranking first combines completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable exam pass rates (20%), CACREP recognition (16%), and Title IV eligibility (4%); inapplicable criteria are reweighted. Cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. Online and campus programs are assessed by the same method, while other rankings order programs by the dimension named in their title.

The ranking draws on the following databases to support comparisons across institutions and programs:

• IPEDS database: institutional enrollment, completions, and price information.
• Peterson's database: program and institution information.
• College Scorecard database: federal institution-level outcomes and aid data.
• National Center for Education Statistics: federal education statistics and definitions.

These sources make the ranking a useful starting point, not a substitute for checking a program's current curriculum and your intended credential. Read more about Research.com's methodology before deciding how much weight to give any ranking.

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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/
• Counseling Compact - Participating States
  Verified professional/licensure/career reference.
  https://counselingcompact.org/
• North Carolina A & T State University - M.S. in Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.ncat.edu/academics/graduate-programs/ced/mental-health-counseling.php
• North Carolina A & T State University - M.S. in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.ncat.edu/academics/graduate-programs/ced/school-counseling.php
• North Carolina A & T State University - Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.ncat.edu/academics/graduate-programs/ced/counselor-education-and-supervision.php
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro - Counseling, M.S.
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.uncg.edu/degrees/counseling-m-s-school-counseling-concentration/
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro - PhD in Counseling and Counselor Education
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.uncg.edu/degrees/counseling-and-counselor-education-ph-d/