What is the best school that offers Online-Only Master's Degrees?

[Thorne]

The title says it all. I know about Harvard Extension School's ALM and Johns Hopkins Flexible MBA programs, but both require a short residency.

That got me to thinking; however, if both Harvard University and JHU offer DL programs, what else is out there from some of the better schools? I'm not yet worried about cost (though I won't be attending Johns Hopkins due to the $60k tuition), so this is just a venture of curiosity.

[sanantone]

Columbia and Stanford have online degree programs. Yale has the distance physician assistant program. When comparing JHU and all of these I just listed, Harvard Extension does not belong in this group. Harvard Extension is no the same as Harvard College or any of the other prestigious schools in the university. They have open admissions, and the professors teaching the courses might even be different. Your diploma and transcript will also notate that you earned your degree from Harvard Extension whereas people who attend online at these other schools will have the same degrees as on-campus students.

[bluebooger]

the Yale program is interesting but its not completely online

https://paonline.yale.edu/curriculum/on-...mmersions/

it requires 3 five day immersions

Boston University has some stuff
https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/

https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/gradu...rs-degree/

https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/gradu...analytics/

[BrandeX]

Columbia and Stanford have online degree programs. Yale has the distance physician assistant program. When comparing JHU and all of these I just listed, Harvard Extension does not belong in this group. Harvard Extension is no the same as Harvard College or any of the other prestigious schools in the university. They have open admissions, and the professors teaching the courses might even be different. Your diploma and transcript will also notate that you earned your degree from Harvard Extension whereas people who attend online at these other schools will have the same degrees as on-campus students.

http://disq.us/p/hb430a

My degree says Harvard University on it

However, afaik, it does say "Extension School" directly under that.

There have been some efforts to change this.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/4...y-degrees/

At a town hall meeting, Lambert said the degrees granted by the Extension School are “inconsistent with what the programs actually are,” but acknowledged that changing the name is “going to take time.”

[sanantone]

the Yale program is interesting but its not completely online

https://paonline.yale.edu/curriculum/on-...mmersions/

it requires 3 five day immersions

Boston University has some stuff
https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/

https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/gradu...rs-degree/

https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/gradu...analytics/

That's why I called it a distance program. Well, I mostly called it a distance program because no licensing program in healthcare is completely online. You have to complete clinical rotations or internships at a site.

http://disq.us/p/hb430a

However, afaik, it does say "Extension School" directly under that.

There have been some efforts to change this.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/4...y-degrees/

And, if you attended the prestigious Harvard College, your degree will come from Harvard College. Harvard University is at the top of every diploma, but the school you earned your degree from is also on there.

[SolarKat]

Georgia Tech
Penn State
University of Edinburgh
University of Massachusetts
Northeastern
Rutgers
University of Illinois - Chicago
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Texas Tech
Mizzou

...it kind of depends on the degree you're seeking. I wouldn't pay for a UMass masters degree in Art History, but I'd definitely pay for their Engineering masters, because they're well known for that. So "best schools" is somewhat subjective.

[sanantone]

Georgia Tech
Penn State
University of Edinburgh
University of Massachusetts
Northeastern
Rutgers
University of Illinois - Chicago
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Texas Tech
Mizzou

...it kind of depends on the degree you're seeking. I wouldn't pay for a UMass masters degree in Art History, but I'd definitely pay for their Engineering masters, because they're well known for that. So "best schools" is somewhat subjective.

There are dozens of schools like this (top 200) that offer online programs. There are so many, it's kind of pointless to list them. It might even be safe to assume that about half of the national universities in the top 200 offer online programs. Texas A&M (#74) is another one and is higher-ranked than Texas Tech (#176). UT Austin and UT Dallas are also ranked higher and offer online programs. What's rarer is finding schools in the top 30 that offer online programs.

I believe UNC and Duke offer online or mostly online MBA programs that are extremely expensive. USC offers an online masters in social work; I don't know if they have other online programs. Northwestern University has online programs.

An even more difficult task would be finding top liberal arts colleges that offer online programs. Looking at the list, nothing in the top 50 pops up in my memory as offering an online program, but some might. I just haven't checked.

Edit: Vanderbilt is currently developing online programs.

[sanantone]

I looked at the top 100 universities and counted over 32 that have online programs from my memory. I'm sure there are more; these are just the ones I've heard about. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the colleges and universities that are 100-200 have online programs.

[Thorne]

. . .Harvard Extension does not belong in this group. Harvard Extension is no the same as Harvard College or any of the other prestigious schools in the university. They have open admissions, and the professors teaching the courses might even be different. Your diploma and transcript will also notate that you earned your degree from Harvard Extension whereas people who attend online at these other schools will have the same degrees as on-campus students.

Understood, I'll have to really reconsider. I've heard both good and bad things about HES (including post-graduation), and knew about the difference between an ALM in Extension Studies and a regular Harvard degree, but I honestly didn't think it would be a huge problem here in Texas. Though, admittedly, I'd rather not pay $35k for a piece of paper that won't do any better than a $9k piece of paper from another institution.

[Thorne]

Boston University has some stuff

https://www.bu.edu/online/programs/gradu...rs-degree/

Very interesting! Thanks for the info.