2027 Most Popular Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Nebraska

Pay depends on the occupation entered, employer, location, experience, and credential - not the degree title alone. The following national medians and projections help compare career directions; they should not be treated as Nebraska starting-salary offers. Wage figures refer to May 2025, and growth projections cover 2025-2035 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections).

The stronger projected growth for mental health and substance use counseling may broaden the range of jobs to investigate, but it does not guarantee a local opening or a particular salary. For a realistic Nebraska earnings estimate, compare recent postings for the exact credential and work setting you intend to pursue.

These programs are most useful to compare by the career each is designed to support, not by treating every counseling master's degree as interchangeable. The distinctions below identify which option deserves closer investigation; confirm current credits, fieldwork rules, delivery, and outcomes with the program before deciding.

• University of Nebraska at Omaha - clinical mental health counseling: Its clinical mental health focus makes it the relevant UNO option to investigate for a behavioral health practice goal. Students who want placements near Omaha should ask how the program arranges and approves local clinical supervision (University of Nebraska at Omaha).
• Wayne State College - clinical mental health counseling: This is Wayne State's clinical route rather than its school-counseling route. It warrants a direct comparison with UNO and Doane on required clinical hours, scheduling, and total tuition if the goal is mental health licensure (Wayne State College).
• Wayne State College - school counseling: Its school-specific degree is the clearer starting point for an applicant seeking a Nebraska school counselor credential, rather than clinical practice. Confirm the current Nebraska Department of Education endorsement requirements and how the program accommodates school-based fieldwork (Wayne State College; Nebraska Department of Education).
• Doane University - Master of Arts in Counseling: This option merits a close review of its stated counseling track and training plan alongside the clinical programs above. Applicants should ask Doane to identify the Nebraska credential their chosen curriculum supports and provide a written breakdown of tuition and required training costs (Doane University).

No program highlight substitutes for comparable, current program-level figures. Request each school's published credit requirements, fieldwork expectations, completion information, and applicable exam outcomes before using the ranking to make a final choice.

A counseling master's commonly takes about two to three years of full-time study; part-time study can take longer. The actual timeline depends on course sequencing, enrollment intensity, and when a student can complete practicum and internship placements. Ask for a term-by-term plan rather than estimating graduation from credit totals alone.

Graduation is not necessarily the end of the timeline. A Nebraska clinical credential may also involve supervised experience and examination requirements, while school certification follows the Department of Education's rules (Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; Nebraska Department of Education). Someone changing careers should budget for the interval between finishing classes and reaching the credential required for their target job.

Online study can reduce travel for working adults or students far from a campus. On-campus study may make it easier to use scheduled in-person instruction and coordinate with nearby peers and faculty. Neither format removes required supervised practice, and delivery format alone does not establish licensure eligibility.

For a rural student, the decisive question may be whether approved placement sites and supervisors are available within a reasonable distance. For someone planning to practice outside Nebraska, ask the program how its curriculum aligns with the destination state's rules; authorization to enroll online is not the same as eligibility for that state's professional license. Compare best counseling programs only after confirming the track, fieldwork arrangements, and state where you intend to work.

There is no single Nebraska counseling-degree price that reliably describes every graduate track and enrollment pattern. Institution-wide tuition figures are useful context, but they may not equal a program's per-credit graduate rate or include fees. NCES IPEDS reports institution-level prices; applicants need a program-specific estimate to compare actual bills.

Build a total-cost comparison from required credits, tuition by residency and delivery mode, mandatory fees, books, travel to placements, and any income lost while completing supervised work. A public university may charge different resident and nonresident rates, while a private nonprofit institution can have different aid; neither institution type determines the better net price on its own. Use the most affordable counseling programs as a shortlist, then request a written cost-of-attendance estimate from each school.

Graduate students should submit the FAFSA and ask each university about institutional scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition benefits, and any aid tied to service commitments. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans may be available to eligible graduate students; graduate students generally cannot receive Pell Grants (Federal Student Aid). Ask whether an award applies for the full program or only its first year.

Graduate PLUS availability has changed for new borrowing beginning July 1, 2026. Continuing borrowers may qualify under limited transition rules, but new graduate students should not build a financing plan around receiving a Graduate PLUS Loan. Check individual eligibility with Federal Student Aid and the school's financial aid office before accepting an offer (Federal Student Aid).

Compare aid by net total cost and repayment obligation, not award size alone. An assistantship that reduces tuition may require work hours that conflict with field placements; ask about that scheduling trade-off before relying on it.

A counseling master's generally requires a bachelor's degree and an application that may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Schools set their own prerequisite-course, GPA, and application rules, so an applicant with a degree outside psychology should check whether additional undergraduate coursework is required rather than self-selecting out (individual university admissions offices).

Before paying an application fee, ask the program to confirm which professional credential its specific track is designed to support. Also check the institution's accreditation and any applicable programmatic accreditation directly with the accreditor and school. CACREP recognition can be important to some employers or credential pathways, but it does not replace Nebraska's separate education, experience, and examination requirements (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services).

Graduate counseling curricula commonly cover counseling theories, helping relationships, ethics, assessment, group counseling, multicultural practice, research, and supervised practicum or internship. Clinical mental health tracks add coursework aimed at assessment and treatment in behavioral health settings; school tracks emphasize counseling within educational systems. Exact course titles and required hours vary by program (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; individual university catalogs).

Read the course sequence alongside the fieldwork plan. If a required class is offered infrequently or placement approval takes time, a seemingly short program may take longer than expected. Ask for a current catalog and a sample schedule for your intended full-time or part-time pace.

The clearest choice in the programs discussed here is between clinical mental health counseling and school counseling. Clinical study fits someone seeking work with clients in behavioral health settings; school counseling fits someone seeking an education-based role. Related interests can include addiction, rehabilitation, couples and family work, or counselor education, but a course or elective in an area does not by itself confer a separate professional credential.

Choose the credential first, then check whether a proposed specialization's required courses and placements support it. If the desired occupation is marriage and family therapy or another separately regulated profession, verify that profession's degree rules rather than assuming any counseling master's will qualify (Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services).

Start with the job you want and work backward to its Nebraska credential. This prevents a common, expensive mistake: selecting an appealing program name without verifying the courses and supervised experience needed for the intended role.

Use this sequence to reduce the shortlist:

1. Identify the target occupation and confirm its current Nebraska licensing or certification requirements with the appropriate state agency.
2. Ask each program, in writing, which requirements its specific track meets and which steps remain after graduation.
3. Compare published credits, fieldwork arrangements, completion schedule, accreditation, and program-level outcomes using the same questions for every school.
4. Estimate net total cost, borrowing, lost earnings, and likely time to the required credential - not tuition alone.

Return on investment also depends on whether you finish, your earnings before enrollment, potential earnings afterward, repayment terms, and how long you expect to work in the field. The most valuable counseling programs can inform that comparison, but no ranking can calculate your personal outcome. Treat missing fieldwork details, unclear credential claims, or salary claims without a stated occupation and reference year as reasons to ask follow-up questions.

A graduate may pursue clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, or another helping profession, depending on the degree track and credentials completed. Clinical work can progress from supervised roles toward positions with greater practice responsibility; school counseling follows an education-certification path. Advanced supervision or counselor education may call for further study and experience rather than only a master's degree.

For someone entering the field from another career, the practical first step is to inspect job postings for the intended Nebraska role. Note whether employers ask for a specific state credential, supervised experience, or a particular specialization. That evidence helps distinguish a qualifying degree from an interesting but indirect one.

Nationally, employment of mental health and substance use counselors is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3% for school and career counselors (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections). These occupation-specific projections suggest different national demand conditions; they are not a forecast of vacancies in a particular Nebraska city or school district.

Investigate the market where you can realistically live and complete supervised training. Compare Omaha and Lincoln postings with openings in smaller communities, and check whether the employer accepts applicants still working toward a credential. A program with workable local placements may be more useful than a faster-looking degree that requires an impractical commute or leaves the necessary supervision unresolved.

Investing in a counseling degree is a consequential decision. Research.com developed its rankings to help readers compare programs using documented educational and career-related measures rather than reputation alone. Its team reviews source data and applies a consistent scoring approach, while recognizing that no ranking can establish whether a program meets an individual student's licensing or financial needs.

Research.com's counseling rankings consider program completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam pass rates, CACREP recognition, federal Title IV eligibility, and cost. For the Best ranking, completion accounts for 40% of the initial outcomes-and-accreditation score; employment or doctoral admission and applicable exam performance account for 20% each; CACREP recognition accounts for 16%; and Title IV eligibility accounts for 4%. Inapplicable criteria are renormalized, and cost contributes a smaller share - about 7% - of the final score. The same approach applies to online and on-campus programs; other rankings emphasize the dimension named in their titles.

The ranking draws on the following sources. Each provides a different check on institutional characteristics, outcomes, or costs:

• IPEDS database: institution-reported enrollment, completions, and price information.
• Peterson's database: supplemental program and institution information.
• College Scorecard database: federal institution-level cost and outcome information.
• National Center for Education Statistics: federal education data and definitions used to interpret school comparisons.

A popularity-oriented list is a starting point, not proof of clinical quality, affordability, or licensure eligibility. Readers can learn more about the ranking process on Research.com's methodology page, then verify current program-level requirements directly with each school.

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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/
• University of Nebraska at Omaha - M.S. in Counseling with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-education-health-and-human-sciences/counseling/graduate/clinical-mental-health.php
• Wayne State College - Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master's Degree (MSE)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.wsc.edu/clinical-mental-health-counseling-masters-degree
• Wayne State College - Master of Science in Education (MSE) in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.wsc.edu/school-counseling-masters-degree
• Doane University - Master of Arts in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.doane.edu/programs/master-of-arts-in-counseling