Rehabilitation Counseling major
Rehabilitation Counseling: courses, careers, and where to study
Rehabilitation Counseling prepares you to help people with disabilities and chronic conditions reach independence and employment goals through assessment, counseling, and coordinated services.
Rehabilitation Counseling studies how to help individuals with physical, cognitive, psychiatric, developmental, or sensory disabilities, as well as people recovering from illness or injury, reach their fullest physical, mental, social, educational, and vocational potential. Coursework grounds you in the medical and psychosocial aspects of disability, patient evaluation and standardized testing, individualized rehabilitation program planning, and the counseling theories and techniques used in adjustment to disability. You learn job analysis, vocational assessment, career and employment placement, case management and service coordination, the disability law and benefits systems that shape what is possible (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, state vocational rehabilitation programs, and Social Security work incentives), and the professional standards and ethics that govern practice. Where clinical mental health counseling centers on diagnosing and treating emotional and behavioral conditions, this field focuses on functional capacity, accommodations, independent living, and connecting people to the work, services, and supports that fit their abilities and goals.
Most practitioners enter through a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling, often building on a bachelor's in psychology, human services, social work, or a related field; a bachelor's can open the door to case management and direct-support roles. Many states regulate the broader title of counselor, and many employers and state vocational rehabilitation agencies prefer or require the national Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) credential, so requirements vary by setting and jurisdiction. Graduates work in state vocational rehabilitation agencies, hospitals and rehabilitation centers, mental health and substance use programs, schools and transition services, veterans services, and community nonprofits. A program is preparation for this work, not a guarantee of a job, and pay, hiring, and demand vary with employer, region, funding cycles, credentials, and experience; confirm the licensure or certification rules that apply where you intend to practice.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of rehabilitation counselors, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $46,110 and projects employment to grow about 1.4% from 2024 to 2034; a master's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Rehabilitation Counseling maps to CIP 51.2310, Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling/Counselor, within the HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to counsel and assist disabled individuals and recovering patients in order to achieve their greatest physical, mental, social, educational, and vocational potential. Includes instruction in patient evaluation and testing, rehabilitation program planning, patient support services and referral, job analysis, adjustment psychology, rehabilitation services provision, patient counseling and education, applicable law and regulations, and professional standards and ethics.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Rehabilitation Counseling is awarded as
Of the 919 Rehabilitation Counseling credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate<1%4
- Associate<1%4
- Bachelor's17%155
- Graduate82%756
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Medical and psychosocial aspects of disability and chronic illness
- Patient evaluation, standardized testing, and vocational assessment
- Individualized rehabilitation program planning and case documentation
- Counseling theories and techniques for adjustment to disability
- Job analysis, career development, and employment placement
- Case management, service coordination, and referral
- Disability law, benefits systems, and reasonable accommodations
- Independent living skills and assistive technology
- Professional standards, ethics, and a supervised practicum or internship
Typical careers
- Rehabilitation Counselor
- Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
- Case Manager
- Job Placement Specialist
- Disability Services Coordinator
- Independent Living Specialist
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 rehabilitation counselors median $46,110).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Rehabilitation Counseling, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $105,620 | 27,400 | +17.3% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Rehabilitation Counselors | $46,110 | 10,000 | +1.4% | Master's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 2 of these 2 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Rehabilitation Counseling does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Rehabilitation Counseling major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Rehabilitation Counseling program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Rehabilitation Counseling department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Rehabilitation Counseling program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Rehabilitation Counseling credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonWI · 60
- California State University-Los AngelesCA · 48
- The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyTX · 48
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVA · 40
- Auburn UniversityAL · 37
- Winston-Salem State UniversityNC · 36
- University of Arkansas at Little RockAR · 34
- San Diego State UniversityCA · 30
- Southern University and A & M CollegeLA · 29
- West Virginia UniversityWV · 29
- East Carolina UniversityNC · 28
- University of North TexasTX · 27
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Rehabilitation Counseling credentials were awarded
2 states have a distinct enough set of Rehabilitation Counseling colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Rehabilitation Counseling schools by state
- Rehabilitation Counseling in California
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Florida
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Georgia
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Illinois
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Maryland
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Massachusetts
- Rehabilitation Counseling in New York
- Rehabilitation Counseling in North Carolina
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Pennsylvania
- Rehabilitation Counseling in Texas
Related majors
Substance Abuse Counseling
Substance Abuse Counseling prepares you to help people prevent and recover from drug and alcohol addiction through individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and treatment planning.
Social Work
Social Work prepares graduates for licensed direct practice with individuals, families, and communities, combining behavioral sciences with field placements and an explicit ethical framework.
Psychology
Psychology majors study human cognition, behavior, and emotion, preparing graduates for clinical, research, business, and human-services careers (and graduate school in clinical, counseling, and I/O psych).
Human Services
Human Services prepares you to help individuals, families, and communities reach social services, blending social-science coursework with case management, advocacy, and referral skills.
Recreational Therapy
Recreational therapy trains you to prescribe leisure, arts, adaptive sports, and outdoor activities as clinical treatment that restores function for people with illness, injury, or disability.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Rehabilitation Counseling degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Community & Social Service careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Rehabilitation Counseling degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Rehabilitation Counseling path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.