Best Online Master’s Programs in Rhode Island 2026

Badge for BEST ONLINE MASTER'S IN RHODE ISLAND

By Dr. James Barham
Reviewed By Academic Influence Staff

Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Find the best online colleges in Rhode Island 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.

Top Online Master's Programs in Rhode Island in 2026

Brown University
University of Rhode Island
Providence College
Roger Williams University
Salve Regina University

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

Colleges and Universities in Rhode Island

Of the three public schools, the University of Rhode Island is the largest, having more than 15,000 students in attendance. The main campus is located in Kingston, and the tuition rate is $14,000. The most prestigious school in the state is Brown University, a private Ivy League institution located in Providence. Over 9,000 students study on this campus in fields like biophysics, ethnic studies, and public health. Tuition is more expensive at about $55,000, but the school boasts a 96% graduation rate.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Of the eight private schools, two are religiously affiliated. Both Salve Regina University and Providence College have under 5,000 students, though the tuition fees are more expensive at $40,000 and $51,000, respectively. Whether you seek an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Rhode Island also offers a unique opportunity for graduates. As a financial incentive to pursue a career or start a business in Rhode Island in the technology, engineering, design, or other sectors, the Wavemaker Fellowship program defrays student loan payments for up to four years.

Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state, but it has more than 400 miles of coastline, giving it the nickname The Ocean State. With sandy beaches and colonial towns, this state offers relaxation and history. Rhode Island also has 11 public and private higher education institutions with an average tuition of just over $12,000.

Meet your academic goals at one of the higher learning centers in Rhode Island. Check out the top programs to see which school fits your needs.

What are Rhode Island’s Colleges & Universities?

Rhode Island’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

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.

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 college, 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 online degree 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-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.

If 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.

How do we determine Rhode Island'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.

Best Online Master’s Program in Rhode Island 2023

Last Year’s Ranking:
1. Brown University
2. University of Rhode Island
3. Providence College
4. Roger Williams University
5. Salve Regina University
#1
Brown University
Providence , RI
#10 15 Colleges with the Happiest Freshmen #17 50 Best Private Colleges and Universities for Undergrads 2026 #17 50 Best Private Grad Schools 2026 #20 50 Best Colleges and Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2026
Tuition + fees
$75K
Acceptance
5%
Graduation
96%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1545/34
Career Outlook for degree at Brown University
Cost of Degree: $67,006
Expenses: $19,418
Starting Salary: $99,974
Cost Recoup Time: 9 years
Paid back at 15% of annual salary
Online Master's Degrees
Master of Public Health (MPH)

Required Credits: None Reported
Completion time: 2 years
Format: Online
Compare school
#2
University of Rhode Island
Kingston , RI
#1 Best Public Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #2 Best Research Universities in Rhode Island 2026 #2 Best Colleges in Rhode Island 2026
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
72%
Student body
21K
Career Outlook for degree at University of Rhode Island
Cost of Degree: $17,450
Expenses: $18,586
Starting Salary: $73,439
Cost Recoup Time: 6 years
Paid back at 15% of annual salary
Online Master’s Degrees
MS in Supply Chain Management and Applied Analytics

Required Credits: 30
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
PSM in Cybersecurity

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MLS in Library and Information Studies

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MS in Healthcare Management

Required Credits: 30
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MS in Dietetics

Required Credits: 33
Completion time: 14 months
Format: Online
MS in Oceanography

Required Credits: 30
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
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#3
Providence College
Providence , RI
#6 The Best Catholic Colleges and Universities Ranked for 2026 #11 50 Best Christian Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities 2026 #1 Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #1 Best Christian Colleges in Rhode Island 2026
Tuition + fees
$66K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
86%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1320/30
Career Outlook for degree at Providence College
Cost of Degree: $12,210
Expenses: $19,792
Starting Salary: $90,260
Cost Recoup Time: 5 years
Paid back at 15% of annual salary
Online Master's Degrees
Master of Healthcare Administration

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Nursing

Concentrations

Nurse Educator
Adult Gerontology

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Accounting

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Organizational Leadership

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Sports Management

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Clinical Mental Health

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
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#4
Roger Williams University
Bristol , RI
#3 Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #4 Best Private Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #6 Best Colleges in Rhode Island 2026
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
67%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/26
Career Outlook for degree at Roger Williams University
Cost of Degree: $22,694
Expenses: $20,940
Starting Salary: $77,127
Cost Recoup Time: 7 years
Paid back at 15% of annual salary
Online Master’s Degrees
MA/MS in Cybersecurity

Required Credits: 30
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MS in Criminal Justice

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MS in Leadership

Required Credits: 33
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MPA in Public Administration

Required Credits: 43
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
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#5
Salve Regina University
Newport , RI
#17 The Best Catholic Colleges and Universities Ranked for 2026 #2 Best Christian Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #4 Best Small Colleges in Rhode Island 2026 #4 Best Grad Schools in Rhode Island 2026
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
73%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1245/27
Career Outlook for degree at Salve Regina University
Cost of Degree: $12,795
Expenses: $22,986
Starting Salary: $73,336
Cost Recoup Time: 6 years
Paid back at 15% of annual salary
Online Master’s Degrees
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Concentrations

Cybersecurity Issues in Business
Entrepreneurial Enterprise
Nonprofit Management
Social Ventures
Healthcare Administration

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: 18-24 months
Format: Online
MS in Innovation and Strategic Management

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: 18-24 months
Format: Online
MS in Administration of Justice and Homeland Security

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: 18-24 months
Format: Online
MA in International Relations

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: 18-24 months
Format: Online
MS in Healthcare Administration

Required Credits: 36
Completion time: 18-24 months
Format: Online
MSN in Nursing

Required Credits: 48
Completion time: None Reported
Format: Online
MA in Rehabilitation Counseling

Required Credits: 48
Completion time: 2 years
Format: Online
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Rhode Island’s Best Grad Programs in Your Area Interest

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Best Online Master’s Programs in Rhode Island 2026

Top Online Master's Programs in Rhode Island in 2026

Featured Programs

Colleges and Universities in Rhode Island

What are Rhode Island’s Colleges & Universities?

Rhode Island’s Best Overall

Best Online Master’s Program in Rhode Island 2023

Last Year’s Ranking:

Brown University

Career Outlook for degree at Brown University

Online Master's Degrees

University of Rhode Island

Career Outlook for degree at University of Rhode Island

Online Master’s Degrees

Providence College

Career Outlook for degree at Providence College

Online Master's Degrees

Concentrations

Roger Williams University

Career Outlook for degree at Roger Williams University

Online Master’s Degrees

Salve Regina University

Career Outlook for degree at Salve Regina University

Online Master’s Degrees

Concentrations

Rhode Island’s Best Grad Programs in Your Area Interest