Best Online Master’s in School Counseling Programs of 2026

If you’re passionate about helping K-12 students make plans for college and achieve success, a master’s in school counseling could be a great fit.

School counselors help students decide what classes to take and what their goals are for high school graduation.

Online master’s programs in school counseling can help you develop advanced counseling skills, enabling you to meet students on their level and help them through academic and social challenges. As an online student, you can take courses from your home and earn practicum hours in your community.

Before you apply to any online master’s in school counseling programs, consider cost, length, application requirements, accreditation, and jobs you can apply for once you graduate. Programs can also vary in how flexible they are, so see which ones best fit your schedule.

Master’s programs in the social sciences, such as master’s in school counseling programs, cost around $23,000 for two-year programs and around $35,000 for three-year programs. These rates are based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for the 2019-20 school year, and they represent the cost of tuition without financial aid.

Financial aid, including grants and scholarships, reduced this cost to around $21,000 for two-year master’s degrees and to around $32,000 for three-year master’s degrees. Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to see if you qualify for financial aid.

Most full-time master’s in school counseling programs take between 18 and 24 months to complete. Part-time students generally need closer to three years to graduate, while some distance learners can graduate sooner by enrolling in accelerated programs.

Some programs take a bit longer. For example, Duquesne University’s school counseling master’s program takes 2.5 years to complete, while Wright State University’s school counseling program takes three years.

You may be familiar with institutional accreditation, but what about programmatic accreditation? This type of accreditation ensures that your counseling program, rather than your entire school, has the resources and qualifications to provide you with a quality education that employers will recognize and respect.

When researching online master’s in school counseling programs, look for accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). This accrediting agency has been recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which oversees accreditation through a review process.

You can also search the websites of your desired programs to learn about their accreditation statuses. Otherwise, you can simply visit the CACREP website to find accredited online master’s in school counseling programs.

With an online master’s degree in school counseling, you’ll find yourself eligible for a variety of helping professions related to counseling and mental health.

Of course, you can work as a school and career counselor, supporting students’ academic, social, and professional success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), educational, guidance, and career counselors — a group that includes school counselors — earn a median annual salary of $65,140 as of May 2024. Additionally, employment for these professionals is projected to grow by 4% between 2024 and 2034.

Related careers include therapy and counseling roles, such as marriage and family therapists, who earned a median annual salary of $63,780 in 2024, according to the BLS. These professionals also have a positive job outlook, as the BLS projects employment for these roles to grow by 13% between 2024 and 2034.

According to the BLS, substance use, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors earn a median annual salary of $59,190 as of May 2024. These are also the fastest-growing roles in our table below, as the BLS projects employment for these positions to grow by 17% from 2024 to 2034.

The highest earners of the group, however, are social and community service managers, who earned a median annual salary of $78,240 in 2024, as per the BLS. This is accompanied by a projected employment growth rate of 6% between 2024 and 2034.

Yes, earning a master’s in school counseling degree can be worth it, as it can provide many personal and professional benefits. According to the BLS, school and career counselors enjoy higher-than-average median annual salaries and projected job growth.

The knowledge and training you’ll obtain in a master’s in school counseling program can also help prepare you for careers in other fields, sometimes involving management positions.

“School counseling is worth it on many levels,” says Amanda Sterk, who has an MS in counseling and an Ed.D. in interdisciplinary leadership and works as a director of college and career counseling at Method Learning. “Many teachers seek to be school counselors after a few years of teaching, as they love working with students but may not want to teach all day, and they like the more varied schedule.”

Another way to determine whether an online master’s in school counseling degree is worth the effort and resources is to determine the degree’s return on investment for you. Compare how much you’ll pay for college versus the salary you’ll earn and the growth potential.

A master’s in school counseling degree, whether earned online or on campus, will make you eligible to apply for related doctoral programs. Depending on your professional interests, you might pursue a Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision, an Ed.D. in counselor education, or a Ph.D. in psychology or higher education.

An accredited doctoral program can prepare you for advocacy, leadership, training, teaching, and supervision roles. For example, with a doctorate in counselor education and supervision, you can find a career as a counseling leader in educational, mental health, and human services settings.