100+ Best Accredited Online Degree Programs

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Liberty University

Featured Program: Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration

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Southern New Hampshire University

Featured Program: Various Degrees in Nursing & Health Care

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Arizona State University - Online

Featured Program: Online Bachelor of Science in Medical Studies

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Today is an excellent time to begin a healthcare career. There will be millions of new jobs created in the US healthcare industry in the next decade. In fact, it’s estimated that there will be 3.8 million new healthcare jobs created by 2024.

This influx of demand is being driven by the huge Baby Boomer generation of 76 million people who are entering retirement. They also are living longer and wanting to be as active as when they were younger, so more healthcare services of all kinds are needed. And that means more healthcare workers are needed as well.

Clearly, this is a fantastic time to get going on your healthcare career. All you need to do is decide which area of healthcare interests you most. That is why we have taken the time to list what we think are the best online degree programs out there in five broad categories.

Nursing Degrees

Virtually all schools hold some sort of accreditation. But that’s not we’re looking for when trying to figure out the best nursing programs out there. What we’re after are nursing schools that have received department and program level accreditation from the agencies responsible for setting the standards for education in the different specialized areas of nursing:

• Nurse-Midwifery MSN Programs: Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME)
• Nurse Anesthesia MSN Programs: Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA)
• Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Other Clinical MSN Nursing Programs: The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Nurse Administration master’s programs -The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• General Nursing BSN Programs for RNs – The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)

Then we began the real work of combing through the hundreds of accredited programs to isolate the ones that are clearly the best. This wasn’t so much a comparison of programs as it was a process of trimming down a list of many great programs to find the ones we feel confident saying are the very best. We considered a few main key points:

Faculty – We looked for programs with professors and clinical instructors with years of nursing experience and certification in specialized areas of advanced practice who have contributed original peer-reviewed literature in the field of nursing.

Awards and Accolades – Previous recognition from respected professional organizations (like the esteemed Center of Excellence in Nursing Education through the National League for Nursing (NLN)) can be one of the best indicators of the overall quality of a program. This isn’t an absolute requirement for making our list, but it is something we considered in making our picks.

Student Outcomes – Where applicable and as information was available, we looked at program completion rates, student loan default rates, employment rates among recent graduates and certification exam pass rates for APRN roles where credentialing through a third-party agency is required for state licensure (Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwife, Nurse Anesthetist, Clinical Nurse Specialist).

Healthcare Degrees

This is a broad category that includes everything from graduate degrees in informatics, administration, public health, and social work to clinically-focused undergrad and grad degrees in areas like physician assistant studies, PTA, surgical technology, advanced practice nursing, SLP, imaging science and a lot more. As you can imagine, assessing a diverse array of non-clinical and practice focused degrees at both the graduate and undergraduate level is no easy task.

Sure, we only looked at programs that hold specialty department and program level accreditation where applicable, and all of the programs we considered have a long legacy of excellence and the name recognition that comes with that. But that still left us with a massive list. We went about working this list down to something more manageable by looking at the things we believe make for the best student experience and the most effective program for preparing healthcare leaders and clinicians:

Faculty – We looked for faculty with years of experience in healthcare and credentials in specialized areas of practice who have contributed original peer-reviewed literature in their field.

Research – We only selected programs housed in school that have made significant contributions to research in the same area of healthcare as the degree.

Student Outcomes – Where applicable and as information was available, we looked at program completion rates, student loan default rates, employment rates among recent graduates and certification exam pass rates for areas where credentialing through a third-party agency is either required or a standard practice for entering the profession.

Medical Degrees

For this category, we looked at a mix of programs that include everything from pre-med undergraduate degrees and terminal bachelor’s in technical areas, to specialized master’s degrees in vision science and optometry. Whether you’re a pre-med student getting your undergraduate education taken care of before going on to medical school, an undergrad preparing for a career as a medical assistant or surgical tech, or even a graduate student gearing up to earn your doctor of optometry before going on to earn NBEO certification and state licensure, you’re looking for much the same thing from your program: world-class faculty, a university that has made a name for itself by contributing research to the field, and a program with a proven track record for success.

Beyond standard quality markers like accreditation, we gave the most weight to these three points when selecting our favorite programs:

Faculty – We selected programs with professors and clinical instructors with extensive experience in their field of practice who have also contributed peer-reviewed literature.

Research – We only selected programs housed in a school that has made significant contributions to medical research in the same specialized area as the degree.

Student Outcomes – With the pre-med degrees, we considered how many students completed the program, and of those, how many went on to medical school. Where applicable and as information was available, we looked at program completion rates, student loan default rates, employment rates among recent graduates and certification exam pass rates for areas where credentialing through a third-party agency is either required or a standard practice for entering the profession practice as associates or going on to earn a doctorate in preparation for full licensure.

Mental Health Degrees

It takes an exceptional person to be able rise to the challenges that come with a career in counseling or clinical psychology, and we feel the programs they earn their degree through should be equally exceptional. We feature them all – from bachelor’s programs in general psychology and behavioral science that prepare students for the workforce or graduate studies, to master’s programs in specialized areas of clinical practice, I/O and other areas of applied psychology, child psychology, forensic psychology, and counseling that prepare professionals for the PsyD or other doctorate required for full authority licensure.

The challenge of being able to identify the best of the best when looking at such a diverse array of programs isn’t something we took lightly:

APA-Aligned Curriculum – In making our selections we only considered programs aligned with the American Psychological Association’s Principles for Quality Undergraduate Education in Psychology as laid out by APA Board of Educational Affairs (BEA). This means you can be sure every one of our selections incorporate APA recommendations for curriculum and instructional quality.

Faculty – We selected programs led by professors that we feel do an exceptional job of incorporating ABA BEA instructional recommendations by teaching to ethical standards, actively engaging students, promoting inquiry and critical thought, and incorporating diverse learning methods in the classroom.

Research – We gave special consideration to any program housed in a school that has made significant contributions to psychological research in the area the degree is in.

Physical Health Degrees

Maybe you’re looking to become an athletic trainer, or even a PE teacher. Maybe it’s a career in nutrition and dietetics that you’re after, whether as a state-licensed and nationally certified registered dietician or dietetic technician recognized by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Maybe you’d like to become a health coach and provide both personal training services and nutrition advice to clients. Whatever your specific goals might be, one this is for sure: if you want to make a serious career out of promoting health and wellness, you’re going to need a good degree to get you there.

Anybody drawn to a career that involves helping people live fuller, more healthy lives deserves some help finding the best programs out there. Of course, we wanted to start by looking at the highest quality programs available so we could then begin refining our list from there. This means we only considered programs in areas like kinesiology and exercise science that were accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).

We took it a step further by considering the other factors we feel are most important when it comes to selecting the best program:

Faculty – We selected programs with instructors with years of experience and credentials in athletic training and nutrition and dietetics.

Research – We gave special consideration to programs housed in schools that have made significant contributions to research in the areas of exercise and nutrition science.

Student Outcomes – Where applicable and as information was available, we looked at program completion rates, student loan default rates, employment rates among recent graduates and certification exam pass rates for areas like athletic training, personal training, health coaching and nutrition and dietetics where credentialing through a third-party agency is either required for becoming licensed or a standard practice entering the profession

Summary

Good luck in making your choice!