Student Counseling

Types of Degrees Student Counseling Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many student counseling graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	12,244
Graduate Certificate	1,178
Doctor’s Degree	418

What Student Counseling Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, student counseling majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Student Counseling Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in student counseling should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Student Counseling Majors

student counseling majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Student Counseling Majors

A major in student counseling will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Student Counseling Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with student counseling:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors	12.6%	$56,310

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Student Counseling?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 20th most popular in the country with 12,244 students graduating with a master’s in student counseling in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 83% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of student counseling majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	392
Black or African American	1,449
Hispanic or Latino	2,305
White	6,837
International Students	199
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,062

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Student Counseling. About 1.6% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• Taiwan
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia

How Much Do Student Counseling Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that student counseling students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $42,986 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $40,076 (25th percentile) and $47,059 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to student counseling.

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to student counseling is $60,160. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Student Counseling

Some degrees associated with student counseling may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for student counseling careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	6.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.3%
Master’s Degree	94.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.2%

Online Student Counseling Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 489 schools offered some type of student counseling program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	4	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	89	20
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	533	57
Post-Master’s	128	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	89	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Is a Degree in Student Counseling Worth It?

The median salary for a student counseling grad is $60,160 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 51% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $405,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Student Counseling

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to student counseling.

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific	34,451
Special Education	25,158
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Curriculum & Instruction	19,784
Instructional Media Design	8,387
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Educational Assessment	1,215
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Umary.marketing under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.