2027 Most Valuable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranking in Tennessee

Pay depends on occupation, employer, experience, and license - not the degree title alone. The table uses U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics national occupational medians for May 2025, with projections for 2025-2035. These are national benchmarks, not Tennessee graduate salaries; use them to compare career directions, then check local job postings for the roles you want.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections. Different occupations have different employer mixes and entry requirements, so the higher median is not necessarily the better investment for an individual student. Compare likely starting roles and supervision arrangements alongside eventual earning potential.

The programs below differ most clearly in the career paths their published degree offerings identify. Treat each highlight as a reason to investigate a program further, then request its current catalog, placement rules, costs, and credential-alignment statement before applying.

• Lincoln Memorial University - Professional Counseling: Its program is presented as a professional counseling degree rather than a school-only degree (Lincoln Memorial University). It is a starting point for applicants pursuing counseling practice; confirm the available track and its alignment with Tennessee licensure.
• Carson-Newman University - M.S. in Counseling: The degree is listed under counseling rather than a single occupation-specific degree title (Carson-Newman University). Applicants should identify their intended concentration and verify that its particular curriculum - not merely the M.S. name - fits their credential goal.
• University of Memphis - School Counseling M.S.: This is an explicitly school-focused option within a university that also lists clinical counseling degrees (University of Memphis). It merits attention from students targeting schools who want to compare a dedicated school route with clinical routes at the same institution.
• University of Memphis - Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling M.S.: The program explicitly combines clinical and rehabilitation counseling in its title, a different emphasis from the university's school and clinical mental health degrees (University of Memphis). Ask how its training and placements serve disability-related career goals.
• University of Memphis - Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.S.: Its named clinical mental health route gives applicants a distinct alternative to the university's rehabilitation and school offerings (University of Memphis). It is the more direct program to investigate if your goal is mental health practice rather than an educator credential.
• Carson-Newman University - M.S. in Counseling: For a working applicant, the decisive comparison is whether the chosen counseling concentration's class schedule and placements are feasible together (Carson-Newman University). Request a sample sequence and placement expectations before judging flexibility from the degree title.
• University of Tennessee at Martin - M.S. Ed. in School Counseling: UT Martin identifies school counseling as its own M.S. Ed. route, separate from clinical mental health counseling (University of Tennessee at Martin). That distinction matters if your intended endpoint is a school counselor credential.
• University of Tennessee at Martin - M.S. Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: This separately named clinical route lets applicants compare two occupational paths within UT Martin's counseling offerings (University of Tennessee at Martin). Confirm the clinical curriculum and supervision arrangements if you plan to pursue professional counselor licensure.
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville - M.S. in Counseling: Applicants considering this degree should use the program's current track descriptions to distinguish school from clinical preparation (University of Tennessee, Knoxville). The relevant comparison is the requirements of the track you would enter, not the shared M.S. label.
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville - M.S. in Counseling: Location can also be decisive: a Knoxville-area applicant should ask which placements are available within a workable commute and how site selection operates (University of Tennessee, Knoxville). A suitable placement may matter more than a small difference in advertised tuition.

None of these descriptions establishes a current completion rate, licensure pass rate, or total program price. Request those measures directly and compare like with like before treating a published feature as a value advantage.

Plan on roughly two to three years of full-time study for a counseling master's; part-time enrollment can take longer. The exact timeline depends on the program's required coursework, course rotation, and supervised placement schedule. A fast academic sequence is not necessarily a fast route to independent practice: Tennessee's professional counselor licensure pathway includes requirements beyond earning the degree (Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists).

Ask each school for a term-by-term plan showing when practicum and internship begin. If you work full time, find out whether placements require daytime availability before choosing an accelerated schedule.

Online delivery may reduce travel for coursework, but it does not remove supervised fieldwork. Campus delivery can make in-person classes and local faculty contact easier, yet commuting may add substantial time. In either format, the critical question is whether you can complete approved placements where you live and meet the requirements of the credential you seek (Tennessee licensing boards; individual programs).

If you may practice outside Tennessee, ask the program for a written, state-specific licensure disclosure for that state as well. Do not assume that an online program based in Tennessee - or an out-of-state online program available to Tennessee residents - automatically satisfies Tennessee licensing or school-certification rules.

There is no single reliable price for every Tennessee counseling master's. Total cost varies with required credits, per-credit graduate tuition, residency classification at public universities, fees, books, travel to placements, and time away from paid work. NCES/IPEDS reports institutional graduate tuition and fees, but an institution-wide figure is not necessarily the price of a particular counseling program. Without comparable current program totals, a statewide counseling-program average would be misleading (National Center for Education Statistics).

Request a written estimate for all required terms, including summer enrollment and field-placement expenses. Then compare net cost after grants or employer support, not just the advertised rate. The most affordable counseling programs provide a useful cost-focused comparison, but a lower tuition bill may lose its advantage if a longer schedule increases living costs or delays full-time earnings.

Start with each school's graduate assistantships, scholarships, and employer tuition benefits. Eligible graduate students may also use federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans by submitting the FAFSA; eligibility and annual borrowing limits depend on federal rules and individual circumstances (Federal Student Aid). Ask whether a placement carries a stipend, but do not budget for one unless the school confirms it.

Federal graduate borrowing rules changed for programs beginning in 2026. Graduate PLUS is generally unavailable to new graduate borrowers from July 1, 2026; qualifying borrowers who received a loan for the same program before that date may have limited continued eligibility under transition rules (Federal Student Aid; U.S. Department of Education). Confirm your own status with the financial aid office before relying on Graduate PLUS to cover a funding gap.

Programs generally require a completed bachelor's degree and an application that may include transcripts, recommendations, a statement of purpose, and an interview. Specific GPA, prerequisite-course, and background-check policies belong to each institution; a psychology bachelor's degree should not be assumed to be either mandatory or sufficient (individual university admissions offices).

Before applying, send an admissions adviser your transcript and intended career goal. Ask whether prior graduate coursework can transfer, how many credits the program will accept, and whether transferred courses satisfy its clinical or accreditation-related requirements. A transfer award that does not replace a required course may save little time.

Common subjects include counseling theories and techniques, ethics, assessment, research, human development, multicultural counseling, and supervised practicum and internship. The application differs by track: clinical programs emphasize mental health assessment and treatment; school programs address counseling within educational settings; rehabilitation programs focus on disability and related service systems (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; individual program curricula).

Compare syllabi and fieldwork requirements, not course names alone. If you intend to seek Tennessee licensure, ask the program to map its required courses and supervised training to the applicable state credential requirements in writing (Tennessee licensing boards).

The clearest choices among the programs discussed here are clinical mental health, school, and clinical rehabilitation counseling. The University of Memphis lists separately named degrees in all three areas; the University of Tennessee at Martin identifies school and clinical mental health routes (University of Memphis; University of Tennessee at Martin). An addiction-related career may also be possible through an appropriately aligned clinical pathway, but its required credentials should be checked separately.

Choose by intended client group and credential, not by which specialty has the highest national wage. If you are unsure whether you want school employment or clinical practice, speak with practitioners in both settings before committing: changing tracks can add coursework or fieldwork.

The best investment is the program you can complete at a manageable net cost and use for your intended credential. A ranking can narrow the field - the best counseling programs offer another comparison - but it cannot know your existing income, commuting limits, or preferred practice setting.

Use this sequence when contacting schools; it prevents an appealing price or format from hiding a credential mismatch:

1. Name the job and Tennessee credential you want, then request the program's written explanation of how its specific track meets the relevant education requirements.
2. Verify current institutional accreditation and the program's current CACREP status, where applicable, using the accreditor and the Tennessee licensing authority rather than relying on marketing language.
3. Request total required credits, a term-by-term schedule, placement-site policies, and any published program-level completion or exam outcomes.
4. Compare total net cost, likely borrowing, forgone earnings, and your probability of completing; consider how long you expect to work after graduation.

A common mistake is treating accreditation, graduation, examination, supervised experience, and licensure as one step. They are distinct. If a school cannot clearly explain its pathway to your intended credential, resolve that uncertainty before depositing. Return on investment also depends on your earnings before the degree, later earnings, debt, time horizon, and the value of money over time - not whether the institution is public or private.

A clinical graduate may begin in a supervised counseling role and work toward the state license required for independent professional practice. A school-track graduate may seek the Tennessee educator credential for school counseling. Rehabilitation graduates may pursue disability- and employment-focused roles, with job requirements varying by employer (Tennessee licensing boards; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

This degree is worth considering if the role you want requires graduate counseling preparation and you can accommodate supervised fieldwork. It may be a poor fit if you want an immediate, fully independent practice after graduation or mainly want a broad helping-professions credential without a defined career target. In the latter case, compare the job requirements for social work, psychology, or a shorter credential before borrowing for a counseling master's.

National demand differs substantially by occupation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 18% employment growth for the occupation associated with clinical mental health and addiction counseling over 2025-2035. That signals a stronger national growth outlook than for some other counseling specialties, but it does not predict openings in a particular Tennessee county or guarantee a first job.

Evaluate the local market where you expect to live: review current employer postings for required licenses, supervision offered to newer counselors, schedules, and pay. Compare those requirements with a program's recent placement sites. This is especially important if you cannot relocate, because a national growth projection cannot tell you whether nearby employers offer the supervised role you need next.

Investing in graduate education is a consequential decision. Research.com's team designed its counseling rankings to help readers compare programs using documented outcomes, accreditation, eligibility for federal aid, and cost rather than reputation alone. The team draws on the following databases and checks applicable program information for accuracy:

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

Research.com evaluates counseling programs using completion, employment or doctoral admission, applicable licensure-exam results, CACREP programmatic accreditation, federal Title IV eligibility, and cost. Its Best ranking first combines completion (40%), employment or doctoral admission (20%), applicable exam results (20%), CACREP accreditation (16%), and Title IV eligibility (4%); unavailable or inapplicable criteria are renormalized. Cost contributes about 7% of that ranking's final score. Other rankings emphasize the dimension named in their titles. The same approach applies to online and campus programs, giving readers a starting point - not a substitute for checking current tuition and licensure fit. More detail appears in Research.com's methodology.

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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/
• Lincoln Memorial University - M. Ed. in Professional Counseling - PreK-12 School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.lmunet.edu/school-of-education/graduate/masters/professional-counseling/
• Carson-Newman University - M.S. in Counseling - Professional School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.cn.edu/graduate-studies/programs/ms-in-counseling/
• University of Memphis - M.S. in School Counseling
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.memphis.edu/cepr/counseling/degrees_and_certificates/school_counseling_ms.php
• University of Memphis - Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling (M.S.)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.memphis.edu/cepr/counseling/degrees_and_certificates/clinical_rehab_counseling_ms.php
• University of Memphis - Clinical Mental Health Counseling (M.S.)
  Official program page (curriculum, tuition, admissions).
  https://www.memphis.edu/cepr/counseling/degrees_and_certificates/clinical_mental_health_counseling_ms.php