Best Online Master’s Programs in Kentucky 2023

By James Barham
Reviewed By AI Staff

Published: May 11, 2022
Updated: Sep 8, 2023

Key Takeaways

Online colleges in Kentucky offer a wide range of online master’s degrees that are perfect for busy working professionals.
The online master’s programs at the best Kentucky online colleges provide an education that is equal to a traditional master’s degree.
Kentucky’s online colleges give graduate students a convenient and flexible way to complete their online education.

Top 10 Online Master's Programs in Kentucky

University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
Western Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Murray State University
Northern Kentucky University
Kentucky State University
Morehead State University
Bellarmine University
University of the Cumberlands

Western Kentucky University 98%
Eastern Kentucky University 98%
University of Kentucky 94%
Morehead State University 90%
Bellarmine University 86%
Murray State University 85%
University of the Cumberlands 85%
Northern Kentucky University 80%
University of Louisville 75%
Kentucky State University 65%

University of the Cumberlands 20 to 1
University of Louisville 19 to 1
Western Kentucky University 19 to 1
Northern Kentucky University 18 to 1
Murray State University 17 to 1
University of Kentucky 16 to 1
Eastern Kentucky University 15 to 1
Morehead State University 15 to 1
Kentucky State University 14 to 1
Bellarmine University 13 to 1

Bellarmine University $44,920
University of Louisville $12,174
University of Kentucky $11,247
Western Kentucky University $10,992
Northern Kentucky University $10,008
University of the Cumberlands $9,875
Eastern Kentucky University $9,452
Morehead State University $9,082
Murray State University $8,040
Kentucky State University $7,700

Bellarmine University $13,652
University of Louisville $13,524
University of Kentucky $12,311
Western Kentucky University $12,140
Morehead State University $10,260
Eastern Kentucky University $9,900
Northern Kentucky University $9,900
Murray State University $8,982
Kentucky State University $7,560
University of the Cumberlands $4,282

University of the Cumberlands
Bellarmine University
Morehead State University
Kentucky State University
Northern Kentucky University
Murray State University
Eastern Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
University of Louisville
University of Kentucky

Kentucky State University 65%
University of Louisville 75%
Northern Kentucky University 80%
University of the Cumberlands 85%
Murray State University 85%
Bellarmine University 86%
Morehead State University 90%
University of Kentucky 94%
Eastern Kentucky University 98%
Western Kentucky University 98%

Bellarmine University 13 to 1
Kentucky State University 14 to 1
Eastern Kentucky University 15 to 1
Morehead State University 15 to 1
University of Kentucky 16 to 1
Murray State University 17 to 1
Northern Kentucky University 18 to 1
University of Louisville 19 to 1
Western Kentucky University 19 to 1
University of the Cumberlands 20 to 1

Kentucky State University $7,700
Murray State University $8,040
Morehead State University $9,082
Eastern Kentucky University $9,452
University of the Cumberlands $9,875
Northern Kentucky University $10,008
Western Kentucky University $10,992
University of Kentucky $11,247
University of Louisville $12,174
Bellarmine University $44,920

University of the Cumberlands $4,282
Kentucky State University $7,560
Murray State University $8,982
Eastern Kentucky University $9,900
Northern Kentucky University $9,900
Morehead State University $10,260
Western Kentucky University $12,140
University of Kentucky $12,311
University of Louisville $13,524
Bellarmine University $13,652

Table of Contents

Find Kentucky’s most highly ranked online colleges 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.

Featured Programs

Kentucky’s Top Online Colleges

Students who wish to attend traditional and online colleges in the state have plenty of excellent options. Traditional students and distance learners alike have an array of affordable, accessible, and reputable undergraduate and graduate degrees to choose from.

Between community colleges, technical schools, and universities, Kentucky has 24 public schools. The community colleges and technical schools average $4,000 for tuition, and tuition for public universities ranges from $8,000 to $12,000. Online students pay the same in state tuition rates when enrolling in these public options.

Prospective students planning to attend private colleges can choose from 26 schools, 21 of which are religiously affiliated. The cost to attend private schools tends to be higher, reaching $42,000 in Kentucky. There are, however, some affordable private options with tuition rates as low as $9,000.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

The largest and top-rated public university is the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky has over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students and costs about $12,000. UK offers a wide range of traditional and fully online programs in areas like political science, chemistry, and literature.

Students who attend either the University of Louisville or Western Kentucky University will become part of a friendly basketball rivalry. Both of these universities also offer highly regarded undergraduate and graduate programs in fields like mathematics, communications, business, and history.

Eastern Kentucky University is also among the top public colleges in Kentucky, with more than 14,000 students enrolled in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs.

In addition, Kentucky encourages graduating education students to apply for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program. This financial aid program awards $5,000 to $17,500 toward Federal Stafford loans to those remaining in the profession.

Kentucky has it all—associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. In this article, we will look at top-ranked graduate programs at the top online colleges that the state of Kentucky has to offer.

The best online colleges in Kentucky are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Kentucky’s Colleges & Universities

Kentucky’s Best Overall

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.

Frequently Asked Questions About Online Master’s Degrees in Kentucky

An online master’s degree costs about $40,000 for the average graduate 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.

Getting a master’s degree at most online colleges 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 programs are also accelerated. Most master’s 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 from many online colleges. Earning an accelerated online master’s degree can save you money on tuition.

If 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 colleges, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

In 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 degrees from online colleges as evidence of valuable 21st Century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

The 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, which are 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 a master’s degree from any of the online colleges in our ranking to be a major advantage.

If you are a graduate 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 schools 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 programs offered in online colleges, 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.

How do we determine Kentucky's best online master's degree programs?

Methodology

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.

Median Salaries of Top Careers in Kentucky

The following graph depicts the average salaries of top occupations in different industries in Kentucky.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Annual Salary

100540Computer and Information Research Scientists

103350Physicists

129540Personal Financial Advisors

192590Chief Executives

198900Nuclear Engineers

online college student watching a synchronous online lecture

Best Online Master’s Programs in Kentucky 2023

Key Takeaways

Top 10 Online Master's Programs in Kentucky

Featured Programs

Kentucky’s Top Online Colleges

Kentucky’s Colleges & Universities

Frequently Asked Questions About Online Master’s Degrees in Kentucky

How much does an online master’s degree cost?

What can I expect from courses at online colleges?

Do employers respect master’s degrees from online colleges?

What are the advantages of online degrees and online classes?

What are the disadvantages of online degrees and online classes?

Median Salaries of Top Careers in Kentucky

Best Online Master’s Program in Kentucky

Online Master's Degrees at University of Kentucky

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at the University of Louisville

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Western Kentucky University

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Eastern Kentucky University

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Northern Kentucky University

Concentrations

Concentrations

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Murray State University

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Morehead State University

Online Master's Degrees at Bellarmine University

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Master's Degrees at Kentucky State University

Online Master's Degrees at the University of the Cumberlands

Kentucky’s Best Online Master’s Programs by Major