Counseling

The graduate degree that leads to licensure as a mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist or school counselor in Florida. ⚠⚠⚠ It is not a psychology degree and it is mostly not in a psychology department: 285 of Florida's roughly 372 counselling master's seats sit under COUNSELOR EDUCATION, which is an education code. ⚠⚠ Eight Florida public institutions, all universities — against 27 state colleges teaching undergraduate psychology.

The degrees this program covers

⚠⚠⚠ THE LMHC MASTER'S IS NEARLY TWICE A NORMAL MASTER'S. Section 491.005(4), F.S. requires a minimum of an earned master's degree from a mental health counseling programme accredited by CACREP consisting of at least 60 SEMESTER HOURS, including 33 semester hours of graduate coursework covering a minimum of 3 semester hours in EACH of eleven named content areas: counseling theories and practice; human growth and development; diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology; human sexuality; group theories and practice; individual evaluation and assessment; career and lifestyle assessment; research and program evaluation; social and cultural foundations; substance abuse; and legal, ethical and professional standards. ⚠⚠ Plus at least 700 hours of university-sponsored supervised clinical practicum, internship or field experience, of which at least 280 hours must be DIRECT CLIENT SERVICES — and then at least 2 years of post-master's clinical experience supervised by a licensed mental health counselor. ⚠ Most master's degrees are 30 to 36 hours. Budget for 60, and for two more years after it. ⚠⚠⚠ LOOK IN THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, NOT PSYCHOLOGY. Florida's counselling master's degrees are coded 285 under Counselor Education (13.1101) at 8 institutions, 57 under Mental Health Counseling (51.1508) at just 2, and 30 under Marriage and Family Therapy (51.1505) at 4. ⚠ A psychology major hunting for a graduate counselling programme inside a psychology department will mostly not find one. The course prefix tells the same story: MHS is carried by 9 Florida public universities and exactly ONE state college. ⚠ This site's CIP tree does not yet carry 51.15, so this programme claims the counselor education code alone; the other two are named here so the seats are visible.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Mental Health Counselor and Therapist

⚠⚠ 18 percent growth from 2025 to 2035 and about 50,500 openings a year — against 6 percent for social workers and 6 percent for health education specialists. ⚠⚠⚠ And the numbers behind it are brutal: Florida awards 6,228 psychology bachelor's a year against roughly 372 counselling master's seats, the licensure master's is 60 semester hours rather than the usual 30 to 36, two more supervised years follow it, and the median is $59,350.

School Counselor

⚠⚠⚠ A Florida school counsellor carries 432 students. ASCA recommends 250 and the national average is 376 — so Florida runs 56 above the country and 182 above the standard. ⚠⚠ The credential is a Department of EDUCATION certification, not a Department of Health licence, which is the distinction that separates this from mental health counselling even though both mostly come out of the same master's code. ⚠ $64,330 median, 31,000 openings a year.

Careers that name this program, but not as a route

Early Childhood Educator

⚠ Named for the school counselling route: staff who want to stay with children and earn considerably more move toward school-based roles, which need a master's and a Department of Education certification. ⚠⚠ Florida's school counsellor caseload is 432 students, so go in informed.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Psychology 10 Florida schools

⚠⚠⚠ The feeder, and the ratio is the thing to see before choosing a major. Florida awards 6,228 psychology BACHELOR'S a year at 10 universities and 27 state colleges teach the prefix — against roughly 372 counselling master's seats. ⚠ About seventeen psychology graduates for every counselling master's place, and the licence needs the master's.

Social Work 9 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The adjacent licence, regulated by the SAME Florida chapter (491) and often the better-paid route. Social workers overall earn $61,780 against mental health counselors' $59,350, healthcare social workers $67,880, and the macro track $71,900. ⚠ The MSW is 61 credit hours at FSU against the LMHC's statutory 60 — comparable length, wider exit.

Public Health 14 Florida schools

⚠ Named because behavioural health at population scale — prevention, substance use programmes, community mental health planning — is public health work, and the two fields share employers in county health departments and community mental health centres.

Teacher Education 37 Florida schools

⚠⚠ Named because the counselling degree lives in the college of education, and school counselling is the branch of it Florida numbers at 13.1101 alongside counselor education generally. ⚠ A school counsellor route runs through certification as well as licensure, which is a different set of requirements from the LMHC.

Criminal Justice 46 Florida schools

⚠ Shared territory rather than a route: substance abuse and behavioural disorder counselling is heavily employed in drug courts, corrections and diversion programmes. ⚠⚠ A criminal justice degree earns nothing toward the LMHC, but the employment overlap is real and worth knowing about.

Child Care and Early Learning 39 Florida schools

⚠ Named for the school counselling side: early childhood staff who want to stay with young children and earn considerably more frequently move toward school-based roles, which need a master's and a Department of Education certification.

Instructional Design and Educational Technology 10 Florida schools

⚠ Named only because both sit in colleges of education and students confuse the departments. They are unrelated work: counselling is licensed clinical or school practice, instructional design is unlicensed and portfolio-driven.

Florida public institutions offering this program

8 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Certificate (<12 weeks), Doctorate (professional practice), Doctorate (research/scholarship), Master's, Post-master's certificate, Postbaccalaureate certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Florida Atlantic University

Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Post-master's certificate

Florida Gulf Coast University

Master's

Florida International University

Master's

Florida State University

Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Post-master's certificate

University of Central Florida

Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of Florida

Certificate (<12 weeks) · Doctorate (professional practice) · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Post-master's certificate · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of North Florida

Master's

University of South Florida

Master's

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 22 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.