2027 Most Popular Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in New Jersey

The U.S. median annual wage for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors was $59,350 in May 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook). That is an occupation-wide national midpoint, not a New Jersey graduate starting salary. Experience, employer, specialty, location, and whether a position requires independent licensure can change an individual offer.

Use salary figures as one input to a return-on-investment estimate. Compare likely earnings after the credential with your current earnings, then account for tuition, fees, placement-related travel, borrowing costs, time out of paid work, and the time needed for post-degree supervision. A higher-paying occupation is not necessarily the better investment if its required program and licensure pathway cost substantially more.

The programs below serve different professional goals. Their strongest distinction is often the credential pathway or client population they emphasize, rather than a claim that one school is universally better. Confirm current curricula, field-placement requirements, and credential alignment directly with each program before applying.

• Montclair State University - MA in Counseling, School Counseling: This specifically named school-counseling pathway offers a clearer starting point for applicants targeting New Jersey school certification than an unspecified counseling master's. Compare its curriculum against current Department of Education requirements if you expect to work in public schools (Montclair State University; New Jersey Department of Education).
• Montclair State University - MA in Counseling: The broader counseling program page is useful for examining counseling study beyond the separately identified school track. Applicants deciding between clinical and educational settings should confirm the exact track and resulting credential pathway before selecting courses (Montclair State University).
• Rutgers School of Health Professions - MS in Rehabilitation Counseling: Its explicit rehabilitation focus distinguishes it from clinical mental health and school-counseling degrees. It is particularly relevant if you want to work with people navigating disability, employment, and access to services rather than assume a general counseling degree covers that specialty (Rutgers School of Health Professions).
• Kean University - MA in Counseling: Kean presents counseling as a master's program rather than a rehabilitation-specific degree. Its fit depends on which available course of study matches your intended credential; request a written curriculum and fieldwork plan for the option you are considering (Kean University).
• The College of New Jersey - MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: This separately identified clinical mental health degree gives applicants a direct program to evaluate for the professional-counselor route. Compare its clinical training and required coursework with the school's distinct school-counseling MA rather than treating the two as interchangeable (The College of New Jersey).
• William Paterson University - MEd in Professional Counseling, School Counseling Concentration: The school-counseling concentration sits within a professional-counseling education degree. It merits a close course-by-course review if you want school certification now but may consider a different counseling role later; the concentration title does not itself establish dual eligibility (William Paterson University).
• Fairleigh Dickinson University, Florham Campus - MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: The program's clinical mental health designation makes the intended practice area clear at the outset. For a prospective commuter or career changer, the decisive comparison is its placement schedule and total net cost against other clinical programs, not the campus label alone (Fairleigh Dickinson University).
• The College of New Jersey - MA in School Counseling: Its stand-alone school-counseling degree offers an alternative to TCNJ's clinical mental health MA for students committed to educational settings. Ask how its supervised school experiences are arranged before assuming clinical placements could serve the same purpose (The College of New Jersey).
• Stockton University - Counseling: Stockton gives students considering the southern part of the state another campus-based program to investigate. If placement travel is a constraint, compare its approved site options with programs nearer your home or workplace; proximity can materially affect whether you can complete fieldwork (Stockton University).
• Kean University - MA in Counseling: For applicants weighing Kean against a program explicitly titled clinical mental health, school, or rehabilitation counseling, the key test is specificity: obtain the proposed track's required courses and credential guidance. That evidence is more useful than assuming every MA in Counseling leads to the same New Jersey authorization (Kean University).

For a broader quality-focused comparison, consult the best counseling programs while keeping your intended credential as the first filter.

A full-time counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years; part-time enrollment can take longer. The operative constraint is often the supervised placement sequence, not how quickly you can finish classroom courses. Schools set their own credit totals, course rotations, and maximum time-to-degree rules, so confirm a term-by-term plan rather than relying on an advertised completion time (institutional program catalogs).

If an accelerated option appeals to you, ask whether it changes summer enrollment, placement hours per week, or the ability to keep working. Finishing earlier may reduce lost earnings and living expenses, but only if its clinical schedule is feasible.

Online study can reduce commuting for lectures, but it does not make counseling fieldwork virtual by default. Campus study may simplify access to classmates, faculty, and nearby placement relationships, while an online program may better suit someone who cannot relocate. Neither format, by itself, determines licensure eligibility (New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee).

Before accepting an online offer, ask where you may complete your practicum and internship, who approves supervisors, whether any campus visits are mandatory, and how the curriculum maps to New Jersey requirements. For an on-campus offer, ask the same placement questions: a nearby classroom does not guarantee a nearby clinical site.

There is no single reliable price for a New Jersey counseling master's. Published graduate tuition may be charged per credit or term, and the amount you pay depends on program credits, residency classification at public institutions, fees, aid, and the number of semesters needed to finish. An institution-wide graduate average can therefore misstate the cost of a particular counseling track (National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS; institutional tuition schedules).

Request a program-specific estimate covering required credits, mandatory fees, summer study, books, background checks, and travel to placements. Compare net total cost, not just the lowest per-credit rate: a cheaper program that extends your time out of work may cost more overall. The most affordable counseling programs can help identify options to price out, but verify current charges with each school.

Start with the FAFSA, then ask each graduate program about assistantships, institutional scholarships, paid placement possibilities, and employer tuition benefits. Eligibility for federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans depends on federal rules and the school's determination of aid eligibility; grants commonly associated with undergraduate study should not be assumed available for a master's (Federal Student Aid).

Graduate PLUS rules have changed for new borrowing beginning in July 2026. Graduate PLUS is generally unavailable to new graduate borrowers under the revised rules, while limited transitional eligibility may apply to eligible students who previously borrowed for the same program. Confirm your own status and current loan limits with the financial aid office before using a loan as the basis for an enrollment decision (Federal Student Aid).

Compare award letters over the entire expected program, including placement terms when paid work may be harder to maintain. For a value-oriented comparison that goes beyond sticker price, see the most valuable counseling programs.

Applicants generally need a bachelor's degree; individual schools may also require prerequisite coursework, references, a statement of purpose, a résumé, or an interview. Requirements vary by program, so do not assume that a bachelor's in psychology is mandatory - or that any undergraduate major automatically satisfies every prerequisite (institutional admissions pages).

Before applying, send admissions staff your transcript and intended career goal. Ask which prerequisites can be completed before enrollment, whether previous graduate credits can transfer, and whether transferred courses will satisfy both the degree and your target credential requirements. Transfer approval by a university is not, by itself, a ruling from a licensing board.

Common subjects include counseling theories, interviewing and helping skills, human development, assessment, ethics, research, multicultural counseling, and supervised practice. Clinical programs also address diagnosis and treatment; school programs emphasize students, families, and educational systems; rehabilitation programs address disability and vocational functioning (institutional program catalogs; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

When comparing course lists, look for gaps that matter to your goal rather than counting electives. Ask a program director to identify the courses and placements that support the New Jersey credential you seek, and retain that explanation with the catalog for your entering year.

Options represented among the programs discussed here include clinical mental health, school, and rehabilitation counseling (institutional program pages). Related interests such as addiction or couples and family work may appear as courses or separate degrees, but an elective is not the same as a credential-qualifying specialization.

Choose according to the people and settings you want to serve. If your goal is independent therapy practice, investigate the clinical licensure route; if it is student support in schools, investigate school certification; if disability and vocational participation are central, examine rehabilitation counseling. Ask whether changing tracks would delay graduation or require a different placement.

Start with the job you want, then work backward to its New Jersey credential. The Professional Counselor Examiners Committee governs professional-counselor licensure, while the Department of Education governs school-counselor certification. Check the current requirements with the appropriate authority and ask each school to document how its specific track addresses them. CACREP accredits eligible counseling programs, but accreditation, graduation, supervised experience, examinations, and state authorization are separate questions (New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee; New Jersey Department of Education; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Use the same checks for every offer so a persuasive program description does not obscure a poor fit:

1. Identify the exact credential and state in which you intend to work; obtain the current official requirements.
2. Confirm the program's applicable accreditation status, required coursework, and field-placement arrangements for that credential.
3. Request a complete tuition-and-fee estimate and a realistic schedule for finishing while managing work and placements.
4. Ask for program-level completion, placement, and licensure-exam information where available; note the reporting period and cohort size.
5. Compare likely debt and lost earnings with your current income and plausible post-degree roles, rather than treating an occupational median as a promised salary.

The most serious mistake is enrolling first and checking credential eligibility later. Another is treating a popularity ranking or low advertised tuition as a substitute for a written course plan and a full cost estimate.

A clinical mental health graduate might pursue supervised counseling work and, after meeting applicable requirements, professional-counselor licensure. A school-counseling graduate might pursue New Jersey school-counselor certification. A rehabilitation graduate might seek roles in disability and vocational services; the requirements for a particular job or professional credential should be checked separately (New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee; New Jersey Department of Education; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

These are pathways, not automatic outcomes of receiving a diploma. If you want a job that does not require counseling practice or supervised clinical hours, compare this master's with a less specialized graduate degree or employer training before paying for a professional curriculum.

National employment of 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 suggests substantial demand in the occupation, but it is not a New Jersey projection or a guarantee of openings near a particular campus.

Evaluate the local market through the employers and placements relevant to your specialty. Ask programs where recent students completed internships and which roles those placements prepared them to seek. For school counseling, compare school-system opportunities; for clinical counseling, compare agencies and treatment settings. The distinction matters because national growth across counseling occupations does not mean every New Jersey specialty or locality has the same hiring conditions.

Investing in a master's degree is a consequential decision. Research.com developed its counseling rankings to make program comparisons more transparent, using education and outcomes data rather than relying on a school's reputation alone. The team reviews the credibility and consistency of its data while recognizing that published measures cannot capture every aspect of student experience.

Research.com evaluates program completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam pass rates, CACREP accreditation where applicable, federal Title IV eligibility, and cost. In its Best ranking, completion accounts for 40% of the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score; employment or doctoral admission and applicable exam results account for 20% each; CACREP recognition accounts for 16%; and Title IV eligibility accounts for 4%. Inapplicable criteria are reweighted. Cost contributes about 7% of the final Best score. Other rankings order programs by the dimension named in the ranking.

The ranking draws on these sources; readers can use them to investigate a school beyond its placement:

• IPEDS database - institutional enrollment, completions, and reported financial data.
• Peterson's database - program and institutional information used in comparisons.
• College Scorecard database - federal institutional outcomes and aid information.
• National Center for Education Statistics - federal education data and definitions.

Popularity is a useful starting point, not evidence that a program fits your intended credential or budget. Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then verify current program requirements and costs with each school. Research.com explains its broader approach 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
• Montclair State University - M.A. in Counseling - School Counseling Concentration
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  http://catalog.montclair.edu/programs/counseling-school-counseling-ma/
• Montclair State University - M.A. in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.montclair.edu/academics/programs/ma-counseling
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, School of Health Professions - M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling-Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://shp.rutgers.edu/ms-rehabilitation-counseling/
• Kean University - Counseling - Clinical Mental Health Counseling (M.A.)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.kean.edu/academics/programs/counseling-ma
• The College of New Jersey - Clinical Mental Health Counseling, MA
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://programs.tcnj.edu/graduate/clinical-mental-health-counseling-ma