2025 Best Mental & Social Health Services Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Ranked #16 in popularity, mental & social health services is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 18 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of mental & social health services. Combined, these schools handed out 2,934 master's degrees in mental & social health services to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Mental & Social Health Services School for Your Master's Degree

The mental health services master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality mental health services program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 mental & social health services students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other mental & social health services 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 much debt mental & social health services students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized mental & social health services related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for mental & social health services students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Mental & Social Health Services Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Mental & Social Health Services in the Plains States Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in mental & social health services.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Master's in Mental Health Services

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

37 Annual Graduates

$61,488 Median Starting Salary

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a great choice for students pursuing a master's degree in mental & social health services. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Those mental & social health services students who get their master's degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities receive $12,049 more than the average mental health services graduate.

More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD

82 Annual Graduates

$47,863 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of South Dakota if you wish to pursue a master's degree in mental & social health services. USD is a moderately-sized public university located in the distant town of Vermillion.

Soon after graduation, mental health services master's recipients usually make around $47,863 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from University of South Dakota

3

University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

14 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in mental & social health services needs to look into University of Iowa. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from University of Iowa

4

Winona State University
Winona, MN

74 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Winona State University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in mental & social health services. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from Winona State University

5

Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN

30 Annual Graduates

Minnesota State Mankato is a large public university located in the city of Mankato.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from Minnesota State University - Mankato

6

University of Mary
Bismarck, ND

28 Annual Graduates

UMary is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Bismarck.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from University of Mary

7

University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, MO

71 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from University of Missouri - Columbia

8

Washburn University
Topeka, KS

17 Annual Graduates

$52,595 Median Starting Salary

Washburn University is a moderately-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Topeka.

Master's recipients from the mental & social health services major at Washburn University get $3,156 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from Washburn University

9

Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE

99 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Bellevue, Bellevue University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from Bellevue University

10

Bethel University Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN

24 Annual Graduates

Bethel University Minnesota is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Paul.More information about a master’s in mental & social health services from Bethel University Minnesota

Best Mental & Social Health Services Colleges by State

Explore the best mental & social health services schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	193	232
Minnesota	174	1,608
Iowa	154	49
Kansas	149	79
Nebraska	123	9
North Dakota	115	28
South Dakota	89	85

View All Rankings >

Mental & Social Health Services Related Rankings by Major

Mental & Social Health Services is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Mental Health Services Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor	1,719
Clinical/Medical Social Work	577
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	484
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	138
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	11
Other Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	5

Majors Similar to Mental Health Services

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Nursing	7,167
Health & Medical Administrative Services	1,566
Public Health	1,075
Allied Health Professions	1,054
Communication Sciences	737
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	734
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	464
Medical Illustration & Informatics	318
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	230
Alternative Medicine & Systems	111

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.