Counseling Degrees & Licenses in South Dakota
Counseling Schools Search
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“For those seeking a master’s in counseling, I would advise you to keep your options open as it concerns both study and experience. Don’t limit yourself to just the books in the program, challenge your preconceived notions, and identify the assumptions you’re bringing into your studies.”
David Teachout, MS, MA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Life Weavings and Open Mind Health
South Dakota has requirements similar to those of North Dakota for regulating counseling degrees and licenses. The South Dakota Department of Social Services, the agency that manages licensure, requires applicants to have a master’s degree in counseling from a CACREP-accredited school (or a regionally accredited school that requires at least 48 credits). The Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accreditation is bestowed on programs that are at minimum 60 credits (or 90 quarter-hours) along with a 100-hour counseling practicum and a 600-hour supervised internship.
CACREP accredits master’s and doctoral degree programs in counseling and its specialties in the United States and throughout the world. CACREP certifies all counseling specialties, including rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, clinical mental health counseling, marriage and family counseling, and addiction counseling.
Marriage and family counseling programs can also be accredited by COAMFTE, or the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. While South Dakota requires that marriage and family therapists have a degree from an accredited school, their licensing board does not require it to be from a COAMFTE-approved school. There are currently no COAMFTE-approved programs in South Dakota.
South Dakota’s licensing FAQs explain that the state has a two-tier counselor license system consisting of an LPC (licensed professional counselor), which must be achieved before the applicant can qualify for the LPC-MH (Mental Health). To get the LPC, the applicant must have a minimum 48-credit master’s degree in counseling from an accredited institution, a board-approved LPC Plan of Supervision on file, at least 2,000 hours post-graduate supervised experience, 100 hours of supervision, and a passing score on the National Counselor Examination (NCE).
Requirements are similar for the LPC-MH, which requires a Plan of Supervision on file, at least 2,000 hours of direct client contact in a clinical setting, and 100 hours of supervision, and a passing score on the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE).
The Board issues marriage and family therapist licenses (LMFT) separately. To get the LMFT. applicants must have at least a 48-credit master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from an accredited institution, an approved LMFT Plan of Supervision on file, 1,700 hours of post-graduate supervised experience in conjunction with 200 hours of supervision, and a passing score on the Marital and Family Therapy Examination. An approved Plan of Supervision must be provided to the state before supervision can begin. Passing the exams is required prior to the approval of a Plan of Supervision.
Read on for accredited schools offering programs for counseling degrees and licenses in South Dakota.
Online Counseling Programs Based in South Dakota
Browse a complete listing of online counseling programs in South Dakota, ranked by in-state (resident) tuition, from most affordable to least. Out-of-state students should refer to the non-resident tuition numbers.
These numbers reflect the estimated tuition cost of the entire program, calculated by multiplying the published per-credit tuition rate (for the latest academic year) by the total number of credits that must be completed.
Please click on any school of interest for a full-page school profile containing complete program details.
| School | Programs | Tuition (resident) |
Tuition (non-resident) |
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| University of South Dakota |
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| Northern State University |
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Meet the Expert: David Teachout, MS, MA
David Teachout is a licensed mental health therapist with a rich and diverse career spanning nearly 20 years. His experience as a therapist, social worker, advocate, and subject matter expert has allowed him to work with a wide range of populations, from children in foster care to incarcerated adults and veterans. With a master’s in both mental health counseling and forensic psychology, Teachout provides mental health therapy and coaching through Life Weavings and Open Mind Health. He also shares his insights and knowledge through his blog, Humanity’s Values.
CounselingSchools.com: How has graduating with a master’s in counseling enhanced your career?
Teachout: Without a master’s in mental health counseling, I wouldn’t have a career in mental health. It initially opened the door for being a social worker with the elderly in in-patient care, then, with full state licensure, was the educational background needed to provide mental health counseling both in community mental health and my own private practice.
As well, the master’s program provided an appreciation for how much further study was needed even as the career started, identifying a counseling theory that I wanted to understand more fully and pointing me in the direction of other areas of study to provide a more well-rounded therapeutic experience to clients.
CounselingSchools.com: What is one piece of advice you would give to a prospective master’s in counseling student?
Teachout: For those seeking a master’s in counseling, I would advise you to keep your options open as it concerns both study and experience. Don’t limit yourself to just the books in the program, challenge your preconceived notions, and identify the assumptions you’re bringing into your studies.
For experience, look into different job opportunities rather than immediately thinking you’re just going to do individual therapy. The human condition is not bound to a single therapeutic bond and you’ll best serve your patients in the future by expanding your empathy and humility through having varied life experiences.
Traditional Counseling Degree Programs in South Dakota
Northern State University – School of Education
Northern State University is a public university that was established in 1901. The school has two counseling programs with specializations in clinical mental health or school counseling.
The NSU counseling program leads to a master’s of science in education degree, which allows the graduates to work in K-12 school settings or pursue clinical mental health counseling certification and licensure in South Dakota. A forensic counseling specialization can be added to the degree in clinical mental health counseling with the completion of 72 total credits.
- Location: Aberdeen, South Dakota
- Duration: 60 credits (two years plus two summers); forensic counseling is 72 credits
- Accreditation: CACREP
South Dakota State University – School of Education, Counseling & Human Development
South Dakota State University is a public research university founded in 1881. It is the state’s largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually operating university in South Dakota. The school offers five masters of science degrees in counseling and human resource development.
The student can choose from a clinical mental health counseling specialization, a college counseling specialization, a marriage and family counseling specialization, a rehabilitation counseling specialization, or a school counseling specialization. The clinical mental health counseling specialization meets the requirements of the South Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners.
Upon graduation, marriage and family counseling specialization students are eligible to take the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination. The MFT program meets the requirements of the South Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners.
Students in the rehabilitation counseling program are eligible to begin the process for the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor certification by taking the CRC exam after completion of coursework.
All master of science graduates are eligible for National Certified Counselor certification by taking the NCE within six months of graduation (before or after). Graduates are eligible for training supervisee status upon completion. Students can choose to complete their degree with a thesis, a research paper, or coursework only.
- Location: Brookings, South Dakota
- Duration: 60 credits for all programs, except college counseling, rehabilitation counseling, and school counseling, which are 48 credits
- Accreditation: CACREP accredits all programs except marriage and family counseling, which received CACREP accreditation in 2024, but needs a progress report: the rehabilitation program is accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE)
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota is a public research university established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of South Dakota as a state. It is the state’s oldest public university. The school offers several counseling-related programs.
Students can choose from a master of arts in counseling and psychology in education in which they can specialize in school counseling or clinical mental health counseling. A master of arts in addiction counseling and prevention, through the School of Health Sciences, is offered online only. This addictions program is one of only eight accredited master’s programs in the nation. The addiction MA has 33- and 45-credit tracks, depending upon the student’s addiction credentials and academic background.
A counseling and psychology in education counseling degree is available for students who plan to pursue an EdS or PhD specializing in counselor education, human development and educational psychology, or school psychology.
Occupational therapy is offered as a doctorate program. Also, an addiction counseling and prevention and disaster mental health program are offered as graduate certificates.
- Location: Vermillion, South Dakota
- Duration: The addiction counseling and prevention program is 33 or 45 credits; the counseling and psychology in education program is either 60 or 64 credits
- Accreditation: All degree programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); the addiction counseling and prevention program is accredited through the National Addiction Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC); all school-related programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP); the school psychology program is accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP); all the counseling program’s degrees are accredited by CACREP
How Much Do Counselors Make in South Dakota?
These numbers represent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from May 2024—the latest data available as of September 2025.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
| United States | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Number employed | 342,350 | 880 |
| Average annual salary (mean) | $71,520 | $54,930 |
| 10th percentile | $43,580 | $44,020 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $65,140 | $52,450 |
| 90th percentile | $105,870 | $68,190 |
Marriage and Family Therapists
| United States | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Number employed | 65,870 | 70 |
| Average annual salary (mean) | $72,720 | $50,120 |
| 10th percentile | $42,610 | $37,670 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $63,780 | $51,190 |
| 90th percentile | $111,610 | $59,930 |
Rehabilitation Counselors
| United States | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Number employed | 88,930 | 400 |
| Average annual salary (mean) | $51,260 | $53,640 |
| 10th percentile | $34,480 | $39,280 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $46,110 | $48,950 |
| 90th percentile | $77,200 | $77,770 |
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors
| United States | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Number employed | 440,380 | 1,510 |
| Average annual salary (mean) | $65,100 | $55,890 |
| 10th percentile | $39,090 | $40,410 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $59,190 | $53,400 |
| 90th percentile | $98,210 | $74,250 |
All Other Counselors
| United States | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Number employed | 33,340 | No data available |
| Average annual salary (mean) | $58,070 | No data available |
| 10th percentile | $36,610 | No data available |
| 50th percentile (median) | $49,830 | No data available |
| 90th percentile | $91,420 | No data available |
Counseling Professional Associations & Resources in South Dakota
- South Dakota Counseling Association
- South Dakota School Counselor Association (SDSCA)
- South Dakota Board of Examiners – Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
- South Dakota Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals
- South Dakota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (SDAMFT)
- South Dakota Mental Health Counseling Association
- The Dakota Association for College Admission Counseling
School Counseling Licenses in South Dakota
| Licensing Authority | Eligibility & Details | Renewal Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota Department of Education | The South Dakota Department of Education issues School Counselor Education Specialist Endorsements and Mentor School Counselor Endorsements. The requirements for a basic endorsement are:
School counselors can upgrade to a mentor school counselor endorsement once they have completed three years of work experience. |
School counselor endorsements issued in South Dakota are valid for five years. To renew, counselors must submit a completed application and pay a renewal fee. Counselors must complete six education-related transcripted credits and an approved training on suicide awareness and prevention. Earning or renewing the National Certified School Counselors (NCSC) certificate through the NBCC meets all continuing education requirements. |
Vanessa Salvia
WriterVanessa Salvia is an Oregon-based freelance writer and editor with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. As fun as rigorous studies in math and science were, Vanessa took an independent path and developed a prolific career covering lifestyle and healthcare topics for magazines and newspapers, important industries such as concrete construction and building waterproofing, and even hard science. You can get in touch at Sage Media and Marketing.