Find the best online colleges in Alabama ranked by the academic success of faculty and alumni associated with the colleges and universities and their online degree programs. Faculty and alumni with influential ideas are the foundation of respectable online degree programs employers can trust.
The 54 colleges and universities in Alabama allow students to pursue associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in many fields all over the state. Some of the most notable degree areas include law, nursing, biology, history, engineering, and religious studies. If flexibility is what you need, Alabama has over 20 colleges and universities offering online degree programs.
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Students hoping to obtain a four-year degree at a larger university can attend one of the two largest — as well as rivalry — schools, the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Both schools’ tuition is about $11,000, though the University of Alabama’s student population, at nearly 36,000 students, is larger than Auburn’s. Students also have the option of attending one of Alabama’s 18 private higher education institutes, many of which have religious affiliations. Tuition costs and student populations range greatly among these schools, from $36,000 to $4,000 and nearly 15,000 students to less than 100, letting students factor in their budget with their class size demands.
Additionally, students who need more flexibility can take advantage of the satellite campuses, like at the University of North Alabama, or the 70 online degree programs offered at the University of Alabama, to easily obtain their degrees. For more information on higher education in Alabama, check out some of the state’s top programs and their corresponding career paths.
For die-hard football fans and lovers of sweet tea, obtaining a higher education degree in Alabama can seem like an obvious choice. The Yellowhammer State, however, is also home to a unique mixture of coastal, mountainous, and swamp environments, making it a great choice for students who love soaking up the outdoors.
Online master’s degrees offered by respected colleges and universities are generally respected by employers. The main thing to consider about your online master’s choices is whether the school name is well known and respected. In many cases, employers won’t know your degree was earned online. But even if they do, a degree from a respected college is automatically to your benefit.
We rank the colleges and universities in this list by the influence of their alumni and faculty. For master’s degree students, including online master’s degree students, having faculty who are influential in your field matters a lot. It’s a big indicator that you have the chance to get a quality education. And, knowing that you will join an alumni association with some impressive people is nice, too.
An online master’s degree costs about $40,000 for the average grad student. However, the cost of your online master’s degree will depend on the type of grad school you attend. In 2018-2019, the average cost for a year of tuition in a public grad school was $12,171. The average cost for a year of tuition in private, non-profit grad school was $27,776. An online master’s degree will usually cost about the same as a traditional master’s degree. Some schools will charge 5-10% more for online courses. This added cost pays for the technology and specialized training needed for online instruction. But getting a master’s degree online can also help you save money. The costs above don’t include expenses like housing, transportation, or certain campus fees. As an online grad student, you can save a lot of money by avoiding these added expenses. Many online master’s degree programs are also accelerated. Most master’s degree programs are designed to be completed in two years. But you may be able to earn your online master’s degree in as little as 12-18 months. Earning an accelerated online master’s degree can save you money on tuition.
Back to TopIf this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, the medium will likely require you to manage much of this experience independently. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, your ability to harness the technology at your fingertips, and your ability to focus on the lectures, lessons, and assignments at hand. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take it upon yourself to build relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
Back to TopIn most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript or resume differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st Century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
Back to TopThe advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Back to TopIf you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will require some adjustment.
While there is much that can be supplanted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing which can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual classroom setting. As you make the adjustment to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face is overcoming this difference in order to the get the most out of your classes. Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
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The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
72%
Student body
35K
Median SAT/ACT
1210/27
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
79%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/28
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
61%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1227/25
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
77%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/26
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
57%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1363/28
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
52%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
989/20
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
45%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/23
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
46%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/21
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
50%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1010/21
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
27%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/20
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
30%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/21
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
29%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
925/17
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
50%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1097/23
Tuition + fees
$21K
Acceptance
54%
Graduation
57%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1112/22
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
54%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/22
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
40%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
940/20
Tuition + fees
$8K
Student body
2K
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
25%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
14%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
100%
Student body
<1K
The 50 Best Online Master’s Programs in the US