2027 Most Popular Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Colorado

Pay depends on occupation, setting, experience, credentials, and location. The latest national occupational medians below are for May 2025; they include workers at different career stages and should not be read as offers to new Colorado graduates (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook).

The gaps matter when assessing a degree's potential return, but occupation labels do not establish eligibility. In particular, marriage and family therapy has its own licensing pathway; do not assume a general counseling degree qualifies you for it. Request recent outcomes for graduates in your intended job and compare them with your current earnings.

The programs below differ most clearly in the populations and career settings they target. Use these distinctions to narrow your search, then compare current credit requirements, fieldwork, accreditation, and graduate outcomes directly with each department. For another perspective on program quality, consult the best counseling programs.

• Adams State University - clinical mental health counseling: This is the therapy-oriented option in Adams State's counselor education offerings. It makes more sense for someone pursuing clinical practice than for an applicant whose sole goal is a K-12 school position (Adams State University).
• Adams State University - school counseling: Its separate school track lets applicants choose a student-facing pathway rather than treating school work as an incidental clinical placement. Ask how its coursework and placements align with Colorado's school counselor credential (Adams State University).
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs - school counseling: The School Counseling MA is housed in counseling and human services, giving prospective students a defined school-focused degree to assess. For applicants near Colorado Springs, placement availability and commuting demands are especially useful points of comparison (University of Colorado Colorado Springs).
• Colorado Christian University - school counseling: This school-specific option sits within a Christian university, making institutional mission a relevant consideration alongside credential alignment. Applicants should ask how school placements and instruction support work across diverse public-school communities (Colorado Christian University).
• Colorado State University-Fort Collins - school counseling: The school specialization is part of an MA in Counseling and Career Development. That framing may appeal to students interested in educational and career decisions within school counseling; confirm the specialization's credential pathway (Colorado State University).
• University of Colorado Denver - school counseling: Its dedicated School Counseling MA is a direct option for applicants planning a K-12 career in the Denver area. Compare the program's placement arrangements with where you expect to live and work, rather than assuming a city location secures a nearby placement (University of Colorado Denver).
• University of Northern Colorado - rehabilitation counseling: The MA in Rehabilitation Counseling offers a more disability- and rehabilitation-focused direction than the school and general clinical options here. It is worth examining if those services match your goal; verify any professional certification requirements separately (University of Northern Colorado).
• Colorado State University-Fort Collins - career counseling: This distinct specialization within Counseling and Career Development centers career-related work rather than the school counselor role. It is a better starting point for applicants targeting career services who do not need a school credential (Colorado State University).
• Colorado Christian University - mental health counseling: Unlike its school counseling option, this program targets mental health practice. Applicants drawn to its institutional mission should still verify the clinical curriculum and Colorado licensure alignment in writing (Colorado Christian University).
• Regis University - Master of Arts in Counseling: Regis places this degree within its School of Mental and Behavioral Health. Students considering a broad counseling degree should ask which clinical requirements, placements, and postdegree steps apply to their intended Colorado credential (Regis University).

Plan on roughly two to three years for a typical full-time counseling master's; part-time study can take longer. The decisive variables are required credits, course sequencing, when practicum and internship start, and whether suitable placements are available when needed. Ask each school for a term-by-term plan rather than relying on its shortest advertised completion time.

Finishing the degree is also not the same as completing a professional pathway. For Colorado clinical practice, graduates must separately satisfy applicable examination and supervised-experience requirements for licensure; school counselor applicants follow the state education credential process (Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Colorado Department of Education).

Online study can reduce commuting for students outside major campus areas or those keeping a job. Campus study may simplify access to scheduled in-person classes and local professional contacts. Neither format is automatically more suitable for licensure: the specific curriculum and supervised placement must meet the requirements of the credential you seek (Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Colorado Department of Education).

Ask an online program whether it accepts students living in your location, helps approve Colorado placement sites, requires campus visits, and supports supervision at those sites. Ask a campus program when daytime fieldwork begins. The better format is the one you can complete and use for your intended credential - not simply the one with the most convenient lectures.

There is no single defensible statewide price for these specific master's tracks: published tuition may be charged per credit or term, and programs can require different numbers of credits. Compare each school's current graduate tuition and mandatory fees against its full degree plan. At public universities, verify whether you qualify for resident tuition; a lower per-credit rate is not necessarily a lower total bill (institutional tuition schedules; NCES/IPEDS).

Add books, travel, background checks where required, and income you may give up during fieldwork. To screen lower-price options, use the most affordable counseling programs, then request a personalized written cost estimate. A shorter program can be economical, but not if its schedule prevents you from earning income or its coursework misses your credential goal.

Start with the FAFSA and each institution's graduate aid office. Depending on eligibility and availability, funding may include federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition support, and placement-related stipends. Ask whether an award renews for every term of your actual program length (Federal Student Aid; institutional financial aid offices).

Do not build a 2027 budget around Graduate PLUS without checking your eligibility. Under the federal rules taking effect for graduate borrowing from July 2026, new graduate borrowers generally cannot rely on that program; some continuing borrowers may qualify under transition provisions. Confirm your status and current borrowing limits with Federal Student Aid and your school before paying a deposit (Federal Student Aid). Borrowing less can improve a degree's return even when a loan is available.

Expect to need a bachelor's degree and an application that may include transcripts, references, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Individual schools set their own GPA, prerequisite-course, and testing policies; do not assume that every applicant needs an undergraduate psychology major (institutional admissions requirements).

Before applying, send admissions staff your intended career goal and ask for the relevant degree plan. Also ask whether prior graduate credits can transfer, whether transferred courses count toward clinical requirements, and whether a field placement will require a background check. An offer of admission is not a determination of future licensure eligibility.

Counseling curricula commonly cover counseling theories, helping skills, assessment, research, ethics, and work with clients from varied backgrounds, followed by supervised practicum and internship. The specialization changes the details: school tracks emphasize students and educational systems; clinical tracks emphasize mental health assessment and treatment; rehabilitation tracks focus on disability-related counseling and services (program curricula; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Compare required courses rather than appealing elective titles. Ask for a curriculum map showing where Colorado's education and fieldwork requirements are met, and who evaluates placement sites. This is particularly important if you may seek a credential in another state later.

The Colorado options discussed here include clinical mental health, school, rehabilitation, and career counseling. Clinical mental health is the clearest track to investigate for an LPC goal; school counseling is the direct track to investigate for K-12 work. Rehabilitation and career counseling fit more specific service populations or employment settings, but their titles alone do not establish eligibility for another credential (program curricula; Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Colorado Department of Education).

If your goal is marriage and family therapy or another regulated profession, check that profession's rules before selecting a neighboring counseling specialization. Related counseling skills do not make degree pathways interchangeable.

Choose for your intended job first, then for affordability and a schedule you can finish. Popularity can reveal programs to investigate, while the most valuable counseling programs offer another comparison lens; neither substitutes for a credential and cost check.

Before committing, work through these questions with each school:

1. Which Colorado credential does this exact track prepare students to pursue, and where can I verify that alignment with the relevant state agency?
2. Is the specific program currently CACREP-accredited, if that recognition matters to my goal, and what is its accreditation status in the CACREP directory?
3. What is my total estimated cost after aid, including required fees and placement expenses, and how might fieldwork affect my earnings?
4. Where do students complete placements, how are sites approved, and what recent program-level completion or employment outcomes can the school document?

For return on investment, compare likely postdegree earnings with your current earnings over a realistic time horizon. Include debt, foregone wages, time to completion, the chance of finishing, and when earnings might change; discounting later earnings avoids treating future income as if it arrived today. A less expensive degree that does not support your career goal is not a bargain.

A clinical graduate might begin in a supervised behavioral-health role and pursue Colorado professional counselor licensure; a school counseling graduate may pursue the state school credential and district positions. Career counseling can lead toward college or workforce services, while rehabilitation counseling aligns with disability and vocational services. Job titles and permitted duties depend on the employer and applicable credential (Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Colorado Department of Education; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

This degree is a strong investment candidate when you want counseling work that requires graduate preparation and you have a feasible route through placement and credentialing. Consider a different path if you want only a short introduction to helping skills, cannot accommodate supervised fieldwork, or need a credential the program does not address. A certificate may build knowledge, but it should not be mistaken for a qualifying master's degree.

National employment for 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 in the occupation nationally, not a guaranteed opening in Colorado or equal demand across every counseling specialty.

For a local decision, examine openings by credential, setting, and region: a school district vacancy and a supervised clinical position require different preparation. Ask programs where graduates actually work, and review Colorado postings while you are still choosing a specialization. Employers' supervision arrangements and location may matter as much as the number of advertised jobs.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com developed its counseling rankings to give readers a consistent way to compare programs, and its team reviews source data and scoring criteria to support the rankings' quality, credibility, and accuracy. Popularity is a useful starting point for a shortlist - not evidence that a program fits your intended Colorado credential or budget.

Research.com's counseling rankings assess graduate outcomes, applicable licensure-exam pass rates, accreditation and federal aid eligibility, and cost, then order programs by the dimension named in each ranking. For the Best ranking, the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score weights completion at 40%, employment or doctoral admission at 20%, applicable licensure-exam pass rates 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 method applies to online and campus programs.

The ranking draws on the following data sources. Comparing their records helps readers look beyond a single school's promotional materials:

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

Read the Research.com methodology for more on how the rankings are created. Before applying, confirm each program's current curriculum, accreditation, outcomes, and price directly with the school; ranking inputs and program requirements can change.

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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
• Adams State University - M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.adams.edu/academics/graduate/counselor-education/masters/clinical-mental-health/
• Adams State University - M.A. School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.adams.edu/academics/graduate/counselor-education/masters/school/
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs - Counseling and Human Services: School Counseling, MA
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://coe.uccs.edu/academics/programs/counseling-and-human-services-school-counseling-ma
• Colorado Christian University - M.A. in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.ccu.edu/ccu/counseling/school-counseling/
• Colorado State University-Fort Collins - Master of Arts in Counseling and Career Development
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://catalog.colostate.edu/general-catalog/colleges/health-human-sciences/education/ma-counseling-career-development/school-counseling-specialization/