Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.S.

Preparing counselors for every client, every setting, every challenge.

Mental health counseling is intimate, high-stakes work. The counselor who enters a session—with a teenager in crisis, a veteran managing trauma, a family at a turning point—needs to stand on more than solid coursework. They need grounding in experience.

The M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is built around that reality. Before you ever see a client in the field, you have practiced these scenarios. And the demand for highly trained professionals is not slowing down: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects above-average employment growth for mental health counselors through 2034.

Priority Application Deadline: January 15 | More admissions information
Join us for an info session September 22 or October 21!

Why Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Syracuse?

Syracuse prepares counselors thoroughly. As you begin to enter professional practice, you have already worked through critical scenarios by way of internships, practicums, and clinical simulations, receiving in-depth feedback on your authentic interactions. That level of preparation runs through everything we do.

• High-touch preparation is built into the program’s structure. Students receive individual and group supervision from highly qualified University-based supervisors, licensed professional fieldwork site supervisors, and faculty. This supervision exceeds Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) minimum standards and emphasizes best practices in supervision for student clinical development. Supervision involves in-depth taped review and comprehensive feedback of students’ clinical work.
• Live simulations before you enter the field. Through the Center for Experiential Pedagogy and Practice, students have the opportunity to work through structured counseling scenarios with trained actors, a far more robust regimen than role-playing with classmates or interacting with AI. Whether addressing the challenges of adolescents, students, veterans, or families, you will practice hard conversations before they count.
• Outcomes that speak for themselves. 90% of our graduates are employed or enrolled in further graduate studies within 6 months, and 100% of our graduates that have taken the National Counselor Examination over the past five years have passed.
• Faculty at the forefront of education research. Syracuse is an R1 research institution, and our faculty have received recognition for teaching excellence and are leaders in national and international professional organizations. Syracuse offers master’s degree students genuine access to faculty scholarship, and the program is committed to preparing students who may be interested in future doctoral study.
• A vibrant peer community. Master’s degree program students are collaborate with students across the School of Education, including those in our Social Work program. Along with students in our School Counseling and Counseling and Counselor Education programs, they actively participating in the award-winning Chi Sigma Iota international honor society and regularly host professional development programs.

“I was drawn to SOE due to its emphasis on preparing students to work with diverse populations. It has instilled in me knowledge of multicultural and social justice counseling skills, provided me with a vast array of resources, placed me in a practicum site that is properly training me, and given me a cohort of fellow students that I can rely on.”
Briana Lee Lavin ’22, G’24

Who Should Apply?

• Eecent graduates from varied backgrounds – from art, business, or finance as much as psychology, social sciences, or education. No matter your background, if you are ready to commit to a rigorous curriculum and in-person clinical training program, this program is your path to New York State LMHC licensure eligibility and a career in mental health counseling.
• Mid-career professionals ready to make counseling your life’s work, this program was built for your transition. There are no restrictions on career background; what matters is your commitment to the people you will serve. Coursework is structured on a one-day-per-week schedule, with classes offered in the late afternoon and evening to complement the intensive fieldwork and clinical placement commitments.

Program at a Glance

The Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a 60-credit program of study. Most students complete the program full-time in 2 years (including summer), although careful planning with an advisor can allow for part-time study while working. The rigorous curriculum, close supervision structure, and clinical training environment are designed for in-person engagement, and that investment in your preparation shows in the outcomes.

• A curriculum built for the breadth of practice: Core courses address theories of counseling, multicultural and social justice dimensions of practice, assessment, career development, crisis counseling, substance use, family systems, and psychopathology.
• Gold-standard accreditation: CACREP accreditation is the recognized standard for professional counselor preparation and a requirement for licensure reciprocity across most states.
• 700+ hours of supervised clinical experience: Directly supervised field experience across community mental health centers, health care systems, higher education counseling, and other settings provide extensive exceeds CACREP minimums.
• High-fidelity clinical simulation: As part of our intensive clinical preparation model, students have the opportunity to participate in live simulations that use trained actors in structured pre-practicum scenarios.
• Path to full licensure: Graduates meet NYS educational requirements for the Limited Permit and eligibility as a Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). Graduates also satisfy National Certified Counselor (NCC) education requirements, and those who go on to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE) have a consistently excellent pass rate.

More information on academic requirements available in the Syracuse University Course Catalog.

What Our Graduates Do

An M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Syracuse prepares graduates for a broad spectrum of practice. Graduates work as licensed mental health counselors across settings including:

• Community mental health centers and outpatient clinics, serving individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan in publicly funded and nonprofit behavioral health settings.
• Private practice, providing individual and group therapy as an independent licensed clinician.
• College and university counseling centers, supporting student mental health, crisis intervention, and wellbeing on campus.
• Integrated behavioral health care systems and hospitals, working alongside physicians, social workers, and other providers in medical and psychiatric settings.
• Veterans Affairs clinics and military behavioral health settings, serving active duty personnel, veterans, and military families managing trauma, transition, and mental health challenges.
• Virtual counseling and telehealth platforms, delivering evidence-based mental health services remotely to clients across diverse communities and geographies.
• Residential treatment and crisis stabilization programs, providing intensive support to individuals in acute mental health or substance use crises.