Skip to content

8 Top Value Master’s Counseling Degrees in Florida

Top Counseling Schools - Best Value - 2016
Click the image for high resolution badge.

Welcome to our ranking of the eight top value master’s degrees in counseling in Florida.

If you’re thinking about earning your master’s or Ph.D. in counseling and you live in Florida, take a look at these top-ranked schools. As the largest of the Southern states, Florida boasts more graduate counseling degrees than almost any other state in the region. You’ll find plenty of unique options here, including one of the country’s only accredited career counseling programs and a dual M.S./Ed.S. program.

Click here to see the methodology we used for this best master’s in counseling degree ranking.


8. University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.A.
Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling, M.A.
Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.
School Counseling, M.A./M.Ed.

Website
It’s hard for just one person to change the world, but if you can change another person’s life, you’ve made their world and your own that much better. The University of Central Florida’s CACREP-accredited programs in Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling, and Counselor Education are a great way to gain the skills and experience you need to improve the lives of troubled students and mental health patients in an intimate way. These affordable master’s degrees in counseling provide cultural, psychological, and sociological insights that are an asset for interacting positively with people from all backgrounds.
Tuition and Fees: $18,294/yr
Score: 53

7. Barry University

Miami, FL

School Counseling, M.S.
Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling, M.S.
Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S.

Website
Diversity is the cornerstone of American exceptionalism and individuality, and that’s why Barry University’s Department of Counseling is committed to providing its counseling students with a multicultural educational environment and curriculum. Whether they choose to study Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling; or School Counseling, Barry students are able to develop their sensitivity and empathy for all peoples at the Dr. Maureen Duffy Family Enrichment Center, an on-site clinic devoted to the needs of the community. Unlike those students who are forced to seek internships to round out their top graduate degrees in counseling, Barry students gain hands-on experience in the field without ever leaving campus.
Tuition and Fees: $17,820/yr
Score: 53

6. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL

Counselor Education and Supervision, Ph.D.
School Counseling, M.Ed.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.Ed.

Website
Florida Atlantic University elevates the standards for counseling education with its array of accredited counseling graduate degrees in Florida. From master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling to a doctoral program in Counselor Education, FAU offers a wide range of CACREP-accredited programs that meet state- and nationwide requirements for multiple professional licensures. While all of FAU’s counseling programs are well known for balancing heavy interdisciplinary material that span the health and social sciences, they are most remarkable for their practicum capstone component, which provides advanced students with the opportunity to gain experience in their field under close faculty supervision.
Tuition and Fees: $12,271/yr
Score: 63

Featured Programs

5. Rollins College

Winter Park, FL

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.A.

Website
Counseling is a demanding occupation on its own, but it can be even harder to break into the field while you are already working another full-time job. Fortunately, the master’s counseling degree program at Rollins College is specifically designed to accommodate working professionals, operating via weekly evening classes and a team-based cohort education model that prioritizes cooperation over competition. But don’t think they take it easy on you in the classroom! With a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and a 200-hour service requirement in addition to required internships and clinical practicum experiences, a Rollins education is a rigorous as it is rewarding.
Tuition and Fees: $22,941/yr
Score: 68

4. Florida International University

Miami, FL

School Counseling, M.S.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S.

Website
Counseling is the art of human interaction, the science of the mind, and the work of a lifetime all rolled into one. At Florida International University, students who are up for the challenge of this higher calling are rewarded with an intensely practical education that puts them on the front lines of patient and student advocacy right from day one. In fact, due to the strict list of requirements and the commitment students must show toward both their clinical and in-school experiences, FIU advises them not to hold full-time jobs for the duration of this top counseling graduate degree.
Tuition and Fees: $17,337/yr
Score: 70

3. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Counselor Education and Supervision, Ed.D./Ph.D.
School Counseling, M.S./Ed.S.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S./Ed.S.
Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling, M.S./Ed.S.

Website
Earning a top Florida counseling degree ranking from U.S. News every year since 1998 (and placing in the top echelon nationally, too), the University of Florida is a recognized leader in counseling education throughout the country. For UF, quality of education and brand-name prestige go hand-in-hand: students in this competitive program enjoy every advantage the university has to offer, including a CACREP-accredited curriculum, influential faculty, and student counseling organizations such as UF Counselors for Social Justice and a chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, the international counseling honor society.
Tuition and Fees: $21,020/yr
Score: 94

2. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S./Ed.S.
Career Counseling, M.S./Ed.S.

Website
With one of only ten CACREP-accredited career counseling programs in the country, Florida State University without a doubt has one of the best counseling master’s degrees in Florida for students seeking a top-notch education in this important field. Yet FSU’s top counseling degree ranking is a measure not only of the scarcity of its programs, but also their quality. Career counseling students at FSU have the unique opportunity to learn from some of the most acclaimed faculty in the nation, all while earning two degrees (M.S. and Ed.S.) simultaneously. In fact, students gain some of their most valuable experience working alongside these professors in paid graduate assistantships.
Tuition and Fees: $18,759/yr
Score: 98

1. Stetson University

Deland, FL

School Counseling, M.S.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S.
Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling, M.S.

Website
Stetson University’s Department of Counseling Education offers a comprehensive selection of advanced counseling specialties that range from Clinical Mental Health Counseling to School Counseling. These top master’s degrees in counseling equip students to provide world-class human services to students and patients in a range of clinical, educational, and other rehabilitative settings through sociological theory courses, professional development, and ethical and multicultural training. With an education from Stetson, students go on to perform meaningful interventions in the lives of others through their work at hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, churches, and family counseling centers.
Tuition and Fees: $16,336/yr
Score: 100

This concludes our ranking of the best value graduate degrees in counseling in Florida.

Sources:
College Navigator
Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Academic Programs
Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators

Published May 2016