Find the best online colleges in Florida 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 state of Florida offers a wealth of options for students seeking both traditional and online degree programs. With more than 40 public and 50 private schools, prospective students can earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from an extremely wide variety of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Florida.
Colleges in Florida are also uniquely affordable, with the state average tuition of $6,360 falling well under the national average. Among the most popular disciplines in Florida are anthropology, nursing, law, religious studies, and earth sciences. Many of these valuable degrees are available through online courses and fully online degree programs.
Indeed, nearly 40 colleges and universities in Florida offer online degrees. These online degree programs offer flexibility, convenience and accessibility. Make sure to choose an online degree program with accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Among the largest colleges in Florida is Miami Dade College. This public college is home to over 165,000 students across eight campuses and 21 outreach centers as well as various excellent online degree programs. Miami Dade College also offers an extremely affordable in-state tuition of $3,000.
Students seeking a religious school can choose from 21 colleges and universities that are grounded in Judeo-Christian, Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, and Christian principles. Ranked as the top two schools, the University of Florida (UF) and Florida State University (FSU) both have large student populations, with just over 45,000 at UF and just under 39,000 as FSU. Both are also affordable, with tuition at $6,000 and $7,000, respectively.
At $50,000, the University of Miami is the most expensive private college in the state and has graduated influential people such as Gene Roddenberry, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne The Rock
Johnson. Florida also offers its nursing students up to $4,000 in financial aid through their Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
Coastal cities, sandy beaches, orange groves, and vibrant flowers - it’s no wonder Florida is called The Sunshine State. Home to the famous Everglades National Park and Disney World, Florida also boasts 90 higher education institutes.
With so many options for both traditional and online colleges in Florida, this state has a lot to offer higher education students. Check out Florida’s best degree programs and top career paths.
As of July 2023, Florida has a 2.6% unemployment rate, which is a lower-than-national-average rate.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Florida’s annual mean wage is $55,980. However, an individual’s salary potential depends on several factors, like academic degree, work experience, and industry.
Earning a master’s degree from one of the best online schools in Florida often opens up higher paying job opportunities and quicker career advancement. In fact, according to Bloomberg, a master’s degree increases your salary potential by a whopping 22% on average.
Students in Florida who are interested in attending online schools will find it helpful to know that the state’s top industries include technology, healthcare, business administration, public policy, and finance.
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.
Key Point: 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.
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.
Back to TopAn 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 from one of the online colleges in Florida 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 taking online courses, you can save money on these types of 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 also save you money on tuition.
If this is your first time taking online courses, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, online courses 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 degree programs and 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 courses 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 online learning, some students may find that there is nothing that 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 online learning experience. Fortunately, we’ve got some great tips for online education beginners.
Back to TopThe following graph depicts the average salaries of top occupations in different industries in Florida.
Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
48K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
28%
Graduation
84%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/30
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
83%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1285/29
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
75%
Student body
63K
Median SAT/ACT
1250/27
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
67%
Student body
49K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Tuition + fees
$5K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
55%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/23
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
66%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
35%
Graduation
55%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/22
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
61%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
63%
Student body
4K
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
41%
Student body
6K
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
52%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/24
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
19%
Student body
8K
Tuition + fees
$22K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
67%
Student body
29K
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
56%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
46%
Student body
9K
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
41%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/18
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
50%
Student body
3K
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
46%
Graduation
24%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
956/17
Tuition + fees
$15K
Graduation
15%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
45%
Graduation
51%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
58%
Student body
2K
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
43%
Graduation
18%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
999/19
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
39%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/22
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
56%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/21
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
100%
Student body
<1K