2024 Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools in California
Ranked #20 in popularity,
student counseling is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 30 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,978 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
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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
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 combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on student counseling students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other student counseling students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for student counseling to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized student counseling related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for student counseling students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The student counseling school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Student Counseling Master's Degree Schools in California.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Student Counseling in California
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for student counseling students seeking a a master's degree.
10 Top California Schools for a Master's in Student Counseling
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in student counseling. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the student counseling program report average early career income of $43,485.
More information about a master’s in student counseling from University of Southern California
It's difficult to beat Saint Mary's College of California if you wish to pursue a master's degree in student counseling. Located in the 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 earn a boost of approximately $4,163 above the average income of student counseling graduates.
More information about a master’s in student counseling from Saint Mary’s College of California
Loyola Marymount University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in student counseling. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the student counseling program make about $51,108 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a master’s in student counseling from Loyola Marymount University
It is difficult to beat Fresno Pacific University if you want to pursue a master's degree in student counseling. Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fresno.
Those student counseling students who get their master's degree from Fresno Pacific University earn $17,401 more than the typical student counseling student.
More information about a master’s in student counseling from Fresno Pacific University
Located in the city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a very large student population.
Those student counseling students who get their master's degree from California State University - Los Angeles earn $7,117 more than the typical student counseling grad.
More information about a master’s in student counseling from California State University - Los Angeles