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

National occupation figures offer a benchmark, not a Maine salary forecast. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $59,350 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors and $64,330 for school and career counselors and advisors. These are occupation-wide medians, not starting salaries or earnings attributable to a particular master's program.

For a personal return-on-investment estimate, compare likely local job offers with your current earnings and account for aid, borrowing, time to completion, any reduced work hours during placements, and the supervised period before independent clinical licensure. A higher national occupational median does not necessarily make one track the better financial choice for your circumstances.

The clearest distinctions among these options are their intended credential pathways and how coursework is delivered. Program descriptions should be checked directly for current credit totals, placement rules, accreditation status, and Maine credential alignment before applying.

• University of Southern Maine - clinical mental health counseling: Its clinical mental health concentration sits within an MS in Counseling rather than a separately named online clinical degree. It is the USM option to investigate if your goal is therapeutic practice; ask how its required clinical placements fit your location and Maine licensure plan. Source: University of Southern Maine, Counselor Education program description.
• Husson University - clinical mental health counseling: Husson advertises this MS through its online-degree offerings. That delivery model may reduce campus travel for a working student, but confirm required live sessions, approved local placement sites, and supervision before treating it as a fully remote path. Source: Husson University, online clinical mental health counseling program description.
• University of Southern Maine - school counseling: This is the school counseling concentration of USM's MS in Counseling, making it the relevant USM route to examine for school-based practice rather than clinical licensure. Request the current field-experience plan and written guidance on Maine school counselor certification eligibility. Source: University of Southern Maine, Counselor Education program description.
• Husson University - school counseling: Husson lists its school counseling MS among its online degrees, pairing school-focused study with remote coursework. It may suit a student who cannot regularly travel for classes, provided the program can approve school-based fieldwork near the student. Source: Husson University, online school counseling program description.

None of these delivery or track distinctions establishes an outcomes advantage. Compare published completion and credential results, if available, using the same reporting period and definition.

Plan on roughly two to three years of full-time study for a counseling master's; part-time enrollment commonly takes longer. The precise timeline depends on required credits, course sequencing, and when practicum or internship sites can accept students. A seemingly faster course schedule offers little benefit if a required placement delays graduation.

Ask each department for a term-by-term plan showing when students become eligible for fieldwork. Students balancing a job should check whether daytime school placements or clinical supervision hours conflict with their work schedule before choosing a pace.

Online study changes where coursework happens; it does not eliminate supervised counseling practice. Husson advertises online clinical and school counseling degrees, while applicants considering USM should verify the current format and campus attendance requirements of the concentration they want. In either format, ask who approves placements, whether students must find sites themselves, and how supervisors are evaluated.

Online coursework is useful if travel or a fixed class schedule is the main obstacle. Campus-based study may be preferable if access to local placement relationships and face-to-face instruction matters more to you. For either choice, obtain written confirmation that the specific program and placement arrangement meet the educational requirements of the credential and state where you intend to work.

There is no single dependable tuition figure for every Maine counseling master's: total charges depend on the institution, required credits, residency classification where applicable, enrollment pace, and fees. An institutional average for all graduate students would not necessarily describe the price of a clinical or school counseling track. Compare each school's current published per-credit rate with its required program credits and request an itemized estimate.

Include placement travel, background checks, books, and potential lost wages in that estimate. A lower sticker price can become less attractive if courses are offered less frequently or a distant placement raises living costs. Use the most affordable counseling programs comparison to identify candidates, then verify your own net cost with their financial aid offices.

Start with the FAFSA and each institution's aid office. Depending on eligibility, graduate students may have access to federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, institutional scholarships or assistantships, and employer tuition benefits. Ask the Financial Authority of Maine about any current program for which graduate counseling study specifically qualifies; do not assume an undergraduate state grant applies to a master's degree. Sources: Federal Student Aid; Financial Authority of Maine.

Graduate PLUS eligibility needs particular attention for 2027 entrants. Under federal changes taking effect July 1, 2026, new graduate borrowers generally cannot use Graduate PLUS; limited transition provisions can apply to qualifying students already borrowing for their program before the change. Confirm your individual status and current borrowing options with Federal Student Aid and the school before relying on a projected aid package. Source: Federal Student Aid.

Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree and the materials specified by the individual program, which may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Do not assume a psychology major is mandatory - or that having one waives prerequisites. Check the current admissions page for required prior coursework, minimum academic standards, application deadlines, and any requirements before field placement. Source: University of Southern Maine and Husson University program admissions information.

Admissions and credential eligibility are separate checks. Before paying an application fee, ask the program to map its curriculum to the Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure requirements if you want clinical licensure, or to Maine Department of Education school counselor requirements if you want school certification. Applicants planning to work in another state should check that state's rules too. Sources: Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure; Maine Department of Education.

Expect study in counseling theories, ethics, assessment, multicultural practice, group work, and research, followed by supervised practicum and internship. Clinical tracks place more emphasis on mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning; school tracks focus more on counseling in educational settings, student development, and collaboration with schools and families. Actual course titles and fieldwork requirements vary by program. Sources: University of Southern Maine and Husson University counseling program descriptions.

When comparing catalogs, look beyond similarly named courses. Ask whether the required - not merely elective - curriculum covers the topics your intended Maine credential requires and whether the program can document completed fieldwork for a future application.

The program choices discussed here center on clinical mental health and school counseling. Clinical mental health is the closer fit for someone aiming to provide therapy in healthcare or community settings; school counseling is designed around work with students in schools. Interests such as addiction counseling may be explored through coursework or placements, but an interest area is not necessarily a separately awarded concentration or credential.

Choose by the job and authorization you ultimately want, not by a specialization label alone. If you are uncertain between school and clinical work, request both programs' required-course and placement plans; switching tracks later may add coursework or delay supervised experience.

Use the best counseling programs ranking to form a shortlist, then test each option against your intended job. Accreditation, educational eligibility, and a feasible placement plan matter more than popularity if you need a regulated credential.

Before committing, put these questions to each program and request answers that apply to your specific track:

1. Which Maine clinical license or school credential is this curriculum designed to support, and what requirements remain after graduation?
2. What are the program's current institutional and, if applicable, programmatic accreditation statuses, and how can I verify them with the accreditor?
3. Who secures practicum and internship sites, and can I complete approved hours near where I live?
4. What is my estimated total net cost and likely graduation date at the enrollment pace I can sustain?
5. Will any prior graduate credits transfer, and will accepted credits satisfy this program's required courses?

Verify accreditation with the institution and the relevant accreditor, including CACREP if programmatic counseling accreditation matters to your plans. A frequent mistake is to treat admission, accreditation, graduation, examination, supervised experience, and licensure as the same milestone; each needs its own check. Sources: Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure; Maine Department of Education.

A clinical graduate may begin in a supervised agency role and work toward the examination and post-degree experience required for applicable Maine clinical licensure. A school counseling graduate can pursue school positions after satisfying Maine's educator-credential requirements. Neither pathway is interchangeable, and employer requirements can be more specific than a degree title. Sources: Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure; Maine Department of Education.

If financial return is central to your choice, the most valuable counseling programs comparison can help narrow the field. Evaluate value over a realistic time horizon: include debt, completion probability, foregone earnings during study, supervised-work pay, and your earnings before the degree - not just an occupation's national median wage.

The national outlook favors the clinical-related occupation more strongly than the school-related one: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% growth from 2025 to 2035 for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, versus 3% for school and career counselors and advisors. These are U.S. projections published for occupational categories, not forecasts of Maine openings or guarantees of employment.

For a Maine job search, compare current vacancies in the counties where you could work and note whether employers require independent licensure, accept supervised candidates, or require school certification. A program with a workable local placement may help you build relevant contacts, but its career value still depends on credential eligibility and the jobs actually available where you intend to live.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com designed its counseling rankings to help readers compare programs using consistent evidence rather than promotional claims, and its team reviews data quality and applicability when scoring programs. The following sources contribute to the rankings:

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

Research.com's Best counseling ranking combines graduate completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam results, CACREP recognition, and Title IV eligibility; program cost has a smaller role. Criteria that do not apply are reweighted. Other rankings order programs by the dimension named in their title. Popularity therefore should not be mistaken for a measure of licensure readiness or personal fit. Readers can review the full approach on the Research.com methodology page and use the ranking as a starting point for program-level verification.

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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
• University of Southern Maine - Master of Science in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://usm.maine.edu/counselor-education/master-of-science-in-counseling-clinical-mental-health-counseling-concentration/
• Husson University - Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.husson.edu/online/online-degrees/master-of-science-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling
• University of Southern Maine - Master of Science in Counseling: School Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://usm.maine.edu/counselor-education/master-of-science-in-counseling-school-counseling-concentration/
• Husson University - Master of Science in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.husson.edu/online/online-degrees/master-of-science-in-school-counseling