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2025 Best Student Counseling Schools in the Plains States Region

26 Colleges in the Plains States Region
1,833 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
$51,797 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in student counseling, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #72 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 26 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Student Counseling Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,833 degrees in student counseling to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Student Counseling School

Best Student Counseling Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of student counseling school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Student Counseling School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Student Counseling Degree Level

Master's Degrees in Student Counseling
Doctor's Degrees in Student Counseling

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Student Counseling Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Student Counseling in the Plains States Region

The schools below may not offer all types of student counseling degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in Student Counseling

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
189 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
$52,024 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in student counseling needs to take a look at University of Missouri - Columbia. Mizzou is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #131 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were approximately 189 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the student counseling program earn around $52,024 for their early career.

More information about a degree in student counseling from University of Missouri - Columbia

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
161 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
4.3% Growth in Graduates

Kansas State University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in student counseling. K -State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Manhattan. A Best Colleges rank of #269 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means K -State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 161 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program earn about $47,436 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in student counseling from Kansas State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
23.6% Growth in Graduates

University of Missouri - St Louis is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in student counseling. UMSL is a large public university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #632 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMSL is a great university overall.

There were roughly 72 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at UMSL in the most recent data year. After graduating, student counseling degree recipients usually make around $44,437 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in student counseling from University of Missouri - St Louis

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$52,154 Median Starting Salary

North Dakota State University - Main Campus is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in student counseling. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Fargo. A Best Colleges rank of #382 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means North Dakota State University is a great university overall.

There were about 19 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at North Dakota State University in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program earn an average of $52,154 for their early career.

More information about a degree in student counseling from North Dakota State University - Main Campus

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$51,778 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Wayne, WSC is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 9th out of 19 schools for overall quality in the state of Nebraska.

There were about 29 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at WSC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the student counseling program report average early career income of $51,778.

More information about a degree in student counseling from Wayne State College

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$48,473 Median Starting Salary

St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Saint Cloud. This university ranks 33rd out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 24 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at St. Cloud State University in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, student counseling degree recipients typically earn about $48,473 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in student counseling from Saint Cloud State University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In SD
40 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded

South Dakota State is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Brookings. A Best Colleges rank of #425 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means South Dakota State is a great university overall.

There were about 40 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in student counseling from South Dakota State University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
$46,957 Median Starting Salary

UMKC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Kansas City. A Best Colleges rank of #674 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMKC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 31 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program make an average of $46,957 for their early career.

More information about a degree in student counseling from University of Missouri - Kansas City

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
29.7% Growth in Graduates

MSU Moorhead is a small public university located in the suburb of Moorhead. A Best Colleges rank of #763 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means MSU Moorhead is a great university overall.

There were approximately 37 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at MSU Moorhead in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program make about $48,510 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in student counseling from Minnesota State University - Moorhead

10
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
33 Student Counseling Degrees Awarded
$54,800 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #340 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Drake is a great university overall.

There were about 33 student counseling students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent data year. Student Counseling degree recipients from Drake University get an earnings boost of approximately $3,003 over the typical earnings of student counseling majors.

More information about a degree in student counseling from Drake University

Best Student Counseling Colleges by State

Explore the best student counseling schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 412
Missouri 283 438
Kansas 266 225
Iowa 264 191
Nebraska 238 226
North Dakota 210 52
South Dakota 204 25

View All Rankings >

One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, Student Counseling has other similar majors worth exploring.

Student Counseling Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Counselor Education/School Counseling & Guidance Services 1,643
Other Student Counseling & Personnel Services 131
College Student Counseling & Personnel Services 59

View All Student Counseling Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 10,585
Teacher Education Subject Specific 5,052
Educational Administration 4,789
General Education 3,338
Special Education 2,740
Curriculum & Instruction 2,140
Instructional Media Design 606
Other Education 538
Teaching English or French 529
Educational Assessment 174

View All Student Counseling Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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