Best Online Master’s Programs in Vermont 2023

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

Find the best online colleges in Vermont 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.

Norwich University 87%
University of Vermont 64%
Champlain College 62%

University of Vermont 16 to 1
Champlain College 14 to 1
Norwich University 13 to 1

Norwich University $44,020
Champlain College $42,984
University of Vermont $16,392

Norwich University $20,264
Champlain College $14,310
University of Vermont $12,294

Champlain College
Norwich University
University of Vermont

Champlain College 62%
University of Vermont 64%
Norwich University 87%

Norwich University 13 to 1
Champlain College 14 to 1
University of Vermont 16 to 1

University of Vermont $16,392
Champlain College $42,984
Norwich University $44,020

University of Vermont $12,294
Champlain College $14,310
Norwich University $20,264

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

Colleges and Universities in Vermont

Vermont is home to five public universities and colleges. Among these is the state’s largest school, the University of Vermont in Burlington. This college serves almost 13,000 students and boasts alumni like Ben Affleck and John Dewey. The majority of the higher education institutes in Vermont are private schools. Tuition at these schools ranges greatly, from $17,000 to $57,000. Though it is the most expensive private school in the state, Landmark College in Putney is especially unique as its student population is made up entirely of students diagnosed with learning disabilities, attention disorders, and autism. Students here can earn degrees in fields like psychology, studio art, and life science while participating in a more intimate, student-centered learning environment.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Almost all of Vermont’s schools could be considered small schools, serving student populations of 5,000 or less. Included on this list are three religiously affiliated schools, like Saint Michael’s College in Colchester. While tuition in Vermont tends to be costly, the state offers several loan forgiveness programs to qualifying dentists, physicians, nurses, and lawyers who work for nonprofits.

While many travelers come to Vermont for its famous maple syrup and stunning fall foliage, they’ll stay for the state’s bounteous farmers markets, wineries, and artisan foods. The magnificent green mountains, pristine skiing resorts, and rugged hiking trails are also major draws for visitors and residents alike. Students aiming to earn their degree while enjoying the outdoors and eating locally-sourced meals can attend one of Vermont’s 22 higher learning institutes.

Learn more about Vermont’s higher education opportunities by checking out the state’s array of picturesque colleges and universities.

What are Vermont’s Colleges & Universities?

Vermont’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 Vermont'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 Vermont

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

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Annual Salary

92370Psychologists, All Other

111990Personal Financial Advisors

133810Computer Hardware Engineers

139670Actuaries

184950Chief Executives

Best Online Master’s Program in Vermont 2022

#1
University of Vermont
Burlington , VT
#1 Best Grad Schools in Vermont 2023 #1 Best Public Colleges in Vermont 2023 #1 Best Research Universities in Vermont 2023 #1 Best Colleges in Vermont 2023
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
77%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1255/28
Online Master's Degrees
Master of Educational Leadership

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Curriculum and Instruction

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Higher Education and Student Affairs

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Public Health

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

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Compare school
#2
Norwich University
Northfield , VT
#4 Best Private Colleges in Vermont 2023 #4 Best Small Colleges in Vermont 2023 #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Vermont 2023 #5 Best Colleges in Vermont 2023
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
62%
Student body
4K
Online Master's Degrees
Master of Accounting

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in History

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Civil Engineering

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

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in Diplomacy

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in International Relations

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in Military History

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in Strategic Studies

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Public Administration

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

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

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

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

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Compare school
#3
Champlain College
Burlington , VT
#4 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2023 #6 Best Private Colleges in Vermont 2023 #6 Best Small Colleges in Vermont 2023 #6 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Vermont 2023
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
68%
Student body
3K
Online Master's Degrees
Master of Healthcare Administration

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

Concentrations

Business Management
Data Science
Digital Forensics and Incident Response
Healthcare Information Security Management
Software Engineering and Project Management

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Leadership

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Concentrations

Advanced Management Specialization
Employment Law Specialization
Healthcare Administration Specialization
Human Resource Management Specialization
Information Security Risk Management Specialization
Leadership Specialization
Positive Organization Development Specialization

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MS in Organization Development and Human Relations

Concentrations

Employment Law
HR Management
Leadership
Positive Organization Development

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Digital Forensic Science

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Master of Information Security

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Compare school
#4
Northern Vermont University
#3 Best Online Associate Degrees in Vermont 2023 #6 Best Online Colleges in Vermont 2023
Online Master's Degrees
MA in Education

Concentrations

Digital Media Instruction

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
MA in Leadership Studies

Required Credits: 30-36
Completion time: 2-3 years
Format: Online
Compare school

Best Online Master’s Programs in Vermont 2023

Top Online Master's Programs in Vermont

Featured Programs

Colleges and Universities in Vermont

What are Vermont’s Colleges & Universities?

Vermont’s Best Overall

Median Salaries of Top Careers in Vermont

Best Online Master’s Program in Vermont 2022

University of Vermont

Online Master's Degrees

Norwich University

Online Master's Degrees

Champlain College

Online Master's Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Concentrations

Northern Vermont University

Online Master's Degrees

Concentrations

Vermont’s Best Grad Programs in Your Area Interest