2027 Most Popular Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Springfield

The table uses national occupational medians, not starting salaries or Springfield-specific offers. Figures refer to May 2025 wages; growth projections cover 2025-2035. Job titles, employers, experience, and licensure status can change an individual's pay (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections).

For a Springfield investment decision, compare realistic local job offers and supervision arrangements against your current earnings - not just the national median. The school-counseling figure also covers career counselors, so it should not be read as a wage estimate for every school district position.

The clearest verified differences among these Springfield options are career track and institution type. The program pages identify the tracks, but a student should obtain current credit, fieldwork, outcome, accreditation, and tuition details directly from each department before treating either option as the stronger investment.

• Missouri State University - clinical counseling: Its clinical track is the public-university option in this comparison for students pursuing mental health counseling rather than school practice. Missouri residents should request its current graduate cost estimate and confirm how its curriculum maps to professional counselor licensure (Missouri State University, clinical counseling program).
• Missouri State University - school counseling: This distinct track fits students targeting school-based work, not independent clinical practice. Its practical value depends on whether its current coursework and placements meet the Missouri school certification route relevant to the applicant (Missouri State University, school counseling program; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).
• Evangel University - clinical mental health counseling: Evangel offers a Master of Science route at a private, faith-based university, providing an institutional alternative to the public clinical track. Applicants should examine its current curriculum, placement sites, and net cost to decide whether that setting fits their training goals (Evangel University, Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program).
• Evangel University - school counseling: Evangel's Master of Science school track offers the private-university alternative for a school-focused career. Career changers should ask specifically about any prior teaching requirements, school placements, and certification alignment rather than assuming a clinical counseling curriculum will satisfy them (Evangel University, Master of Science in School Counseling program; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).

For a broader comparison beyond popularity, consult the best counseling programs and then verify the program-level details that matter for your intended credential.

A full-time counseling master's typically takes about 2-3 years; part-time attendance can take longer. The actual finish date depends on course rotation, required fieldwork, the availability of an approved site, and whether prerequisites or transfer credits are accepted. Those constraints are especially important for working adults whose available placement hours may not match an employer's schedule.

Ask for a term-by-term plan that shows when practicum and internship begin. An accelerated course schedule offers little time savings if required supervised hours cannot be completed sooner. Transfer-credit approval should be obtained in writing before enrolling.

Online study can reduce commuting and make coursework easier to fit around employment. On-campus study offers scheduled face-to-face access to classmates and faculty. Neither format removes supervised fieldwork: students still need eligible placement sites and supervision, and an online program located outside Missouri may not be designed for Missouri credentials (Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).

Before choosing a format, request written confirmation of where fieldwork can occur, who approves the site, whether any campus visits are required, and which state credential the curriculum is designed to support. For students already working in Springfield, placement flexibility may matter more than whether lectures are online.

There is no single verified Springfield-wide average that accurately prices these different counseling master's programs. Published tuition may be quoted per credit or term and may exclude mandatory fees, books, transportation, and costs associated with fieldwork. At a public institution, confirm whether you qualify for Missouri resident tuition; do not assume that a private nonprofit university uses the same residency-based price structure (NCES/IPEDS; Missouri State University; Evangel University).

Request a full-program estimate using the credits and schedule you expect to take, then subtract aid you are likely to receive. The most affordable counseling programs can help start a price comparison, but the lowest advertised tuition is not necessarily the lowest total cost - especially if one schedule requires more time away from paid work.

Graduate students can complete the FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal student aid and to support school-based aid decisions. Direct Unsubsidized Loans are a federal borrowing option for eligible graduate students; scholarships, assistantships, employer tuition benefits, and institution-specific awards depend on availability and their own rules (Federal Student Aid; Missouri State University; Evangel University). Pell Grants generally serve eligible undergraduates, so a prospective master's student should not budget for one without confirming eligibility (Federal Student Aid).

Ask both schools whether counseling students can hold assistantships during placement terms and whether scholarships continue during part-time study. Compare borrowing over the whole program, including fees and likely lost work hours. The most valuable counseling programs provide another comparison point, but your return depends on aid, debt, completion likelihood, earnings before and after graduation, and the time it takes to recover the cost.

A counseling master's applicant typically needs an accredited bachelor's degree, transcripts, and the materials specified by the program, which may include recommendations, a statement of purpose, or an interview. Undergraduate major requirements, prerequisite courses, GPA thresholds, and background-check timing must be confirmed with the individual school; they should not be assumed to match across Springfield programs (Missouri State University; Evangel University).

Admissions eligibility and credential eligibility are separate checks. Before paying an application fee, ask the program which Missouri professional license or school certification its current curriculum is designed for, and verify the answer with the relevant state authority. That step is particularly important if you earned prior credits elsewhere or plan to move after graduation.

Expect study in counseling theories, helping relationships, ethics, assessment, human development, multicultural counseling, and supervised practice. Clinical routes place particular weight on mental health assessment and treatment planning; school routes connect counseling skills to student development and school systems. Actual course titles and required hours vary by program and credential pathway (Missouri State University; Evangel University; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs).

Read the current catalog alongside the fieldwork handbook. A course list alone will not tell you whether placements are available in the setting where you hope to work or whether coursework satisfies a state board's requirements.

The locally identified choice is clinical mental health counseling versus school counseling at Missouri State University and Evangel University. Related career interests include addiction treatment and marriage and family therapy, but an interest area within a counseling curriculum is not automatically a separate credential. Marriage and family therapy, in particular, has its own Missouri licensing oversight (Missouri State University; Evangel University; Missouri Division of Professional Registration).

If your preferred client group is children, consider the setting as well as the population: school counseling and child-focused clinical counseling involve different responsibilities. Ask for the exact degree title, specialization shown on the transcript, approved placements, and state credential pathway before choosing.

Start with the job you want, then test each program against that destination. These checks reveal more than a popularity position or a tuition quote:

1. Confirm credential fit. Ask the program and the Missouri licensing board or education department which current requirements its coursework and fieldwork address; verify programmatic accreditation separately.
2. Compare usable training. Request the fieldwork handbook, typical placement settings, supervision rules, and a schedule compatible with your work obligations.
3. Compare net investment. Obtain written full-program cost and aid estimates, expected completion timelines, and available program-level completion or exam results.
4. Stress-test the outcome. Compare plausible jobs with your current earnings, expected debt, and the time you can afford to spend in training and supervised practice.

Accreditation of the institution and CACREP accreditation of a particular counseling program are different checks; neither, by itself, awards a Missouri license (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors). A red flag is any claim that graduation alone guarantees licensure, placement, or a particular salary.

A clinical-track graduate may seek a supervised counseling position and, after meeting applicable state requirements, pursue professional counselor licensure. A school-track graduate may pursue school counselor positions after meeting Missouri certification requirements. Some graduates instead enter related support, case-management, or doctoral-study pathways; those choices do not all require or confer the same credential (Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).

If you want independent clinical practice, budget time for post-degree supervised experience and any required examination, not just the master's itself. If you want to work primarily within schools, compare school calendars, student-support duties, and certification rules before committing to a clinical track.

National employment for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health 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). This suggests different national demand conditions, not a forecast of Springfield vacancies: school hiring depends heavily on particular districts, while clinical openings span multiple types of care settings.

For a local reality check, review recent Springfield-area postings for the credential, supervision status, and schedule they require. Ask placement coordinators which employers take trainees and whether those sites hire graduates. Do not interpret national growth as a guarantee that a new graduate can immediately practice independently.

Investing in a counseling degree is a significant decision, particularly when a program must also support a specific credential. Research.com's team evaluates program information and checks multiple data sources to make its rankings more useful, credible, and accurate. The ranking can help you build a shortlist; it cannot replace confirmation of current admissions, costs, accreditation, and Missouri credential requirements.

The ranking draws on all of these data sources:

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

Research.com evaluates counseling programs using graduate outcomes, applicable licensure-exam results, accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, and cost. Its separate Best ranking first combines completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable exam results, CACREP recognition, and Title IV eligibility; cost then contributes a smaller share of the final score. Criteria that do not apply are reweighted. Other rankings order programs by the dimension named in their titles, so popularity should not be read as a licensure-readiness or value score. See Research.com's methodology for further details.

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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
• Missouri State University-Springfield - Master of Science in Counseling - Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.missouristate.edu/SMHBS/Counseling/GradCounseling/clinical.htm
• Missouri State University-Springfield - M.S. in Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.missouristate.edu/SMHBS/Counseling/GradCounseling/school-counseling.htm
• Evangel University - Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.evangel.edu/programs/master-of-science-in-clinical-mental-health-counseling-grad/
• Evangel University - Master of Science in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.evangel.edu/programs/master-of-science-in-school-counseling-grad/