College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools

356 Colleges in the United States
12,244 Master's Degrees
$44,092 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a master's degree in student counseling, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #20 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 356 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for student counseling students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,244 master's degrees in student counseling during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Student Counseling School for Your Master's Degree

Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools The student counseling master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality student counseling program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for student counseling students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Student Counseling Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.


 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Student Counseling in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in student counseling. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Student Counseling

1

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in student counseling needs to look into University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program make around $43,485 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Southern California

2
10 Annual Graduates

Teachers College at Columbia University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in student counseling. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in student counseling from Teachers College at Columbia University

3
Seattle U crest
Seattle University
Seattle, WA

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in student counseling has to look into Seattle University. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling degree program at Seattle University earn $16,608 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Seattle University

4

University of Missouri - Columbia is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a master's degree in student counseling. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a very large student population.

Those student counseling students who get their master's degree from University of Missouri - Columbia make $4,258 more than the typical student counseling student.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Missouri - Columbia

5

Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus make $5,163 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Virginia - Main Campus

6

UGA is a very large public university located in the city of Athens.

After graduating, student counseling master's recipients usually make an average of $44,159 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Georgia

7
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

Student Counseling master's degree recipients from New York University receive an earnings boost of approximately $2,722 above the average income of student counseling majors.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from New York University

8
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Maryland - College Park

9
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, student counseling master's recipients generally make about $42,874 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Vanderbilt University

10
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

UF is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program make an average of $42,986 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Florida

11

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling degree program at George Washington University earn $9,314 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from George Washington University

12

Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Student Counseling master's degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University receive an earnings boost of about $12,142 over the typical income of student counseling graduates.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Johns Hopkins University

13
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA

William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg.

Students who graduate with their master's from the student counseling program report average early career wages of $41,092.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from William & Mary

14

Located in the large suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Student Counseling master's degree recipients from Saint Mary's College of California receive an earnings boost of about $13,366 over the typical earnings of student counseling graduates.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Saint Mary’s College of California

15

Located in the large suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling major at Montclair State University earn $2,280 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Montclair State University

16
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC

Clemson is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Clemson.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program earn about $40,773 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Clemson University

17

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the student counseling program report average early career earnings of $40,891.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Indiana University - Bloomington

18

Located in the large city of Seattle, SPU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Student Counseling master's degree recipients from Seattle Pacific University earn a boost of approximately $19,089 above the typical income of student counseling graduates.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Seattle Pacific University

19

Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program earn an average of $42,444 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Kansas State University

20

Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling program at Concordia University, Chicago get $16,686 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Concordia University, Chicago

21

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Master's recipients from the student counseling major at Loyola Marymount University make $7,016 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Loyola Marymount University

22

Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fresno.

Master's recipients from the student counseling major at Fresno Pacific University get $26,604 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Fresno Pacific University

23
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the student counseling program make an average of $42,908 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from Boston University

24

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Student Counseling master's degree recipients from California State University - Los Angeles earn a boost of approximately $16,320 over the average income of student counseling majors.

More information about a master’s in student counseling from California State University - Los Angeles

25

Located in the large suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in student counseling from Azusa Pacific University

Rest of the Top Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools

26
27
28
29
30
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
31
32
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

33
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

33
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
35
36
37
38
39
Capella University crest
Capella University
Minneapolis, MN
40
41

42
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

43
44
45
46
47
48
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
49
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
50

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 356 different United States student counseling schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Whitworth University Spokane, WA
52 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
53 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Student Counseling students that almost earned our Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
54 Concordia University, Irvine Irvine, CA
55 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
56 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
57 Angelo State University San Angelo, TX
58 Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR
59 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
60 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
61 Manhattan College Riverdale, NY
62 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA
63 Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ
64 Fordham University Bronx, NY
65 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
66 DePaul University Chicago, IL
67 University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO
68 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
69 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
70 North Dakota State University - Main Campus Fargo, ND
71 Wilmington University New Castle, DE

Student Counseling by Region

View the Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

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

Student Counseling Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Counselor Education/School Counseling & Guidance Services 11,039
College Student Counseling & Personnel Services 931
Other Student Counseling & Personnel Services 274

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 29,374
Educational Administration 28,511
Special Education 21,797
Teacher Education Subject Specific 17,998
General Education 17,801
Curriculum & Instruction 16,825
Instructional Media Design 6,799
Teaching English or French 3,450
Other Education 1,705
Multilingual Education 849

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options