Michigan State University’s online master’s degree programs in education and nursing continue to climb in the national rankings.
According to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Programs, released Wednesday, MSU’s online graduate programs in education came in at No. 13. That’s an improvement of five spots from last year and 10 spots from two years ago when it was No. 23.
Online graduate programs in nursing ranked No. 31. That’s up three spots from last year and 12 spots from two years ago when the program was No. 43.
Online education is becoming more popular as working adults, deployed service members, traditional college students and others are drawn to the flexibility of the programs, U.S. News says.
About 5.4 million students, or 1 in 4, took at least one distance education course during the fall of 2012, according to the most recent data released by the National Center for Education Statistics.
MSU’s College of Education offers five fully online master’s degree programs for students who want to pursue advanced professional study through distance learning whether they live in Michigan, elsewhere in the United States or even in another country.
This is U.S. News & World Report’s fourth annual ranking of online programs. Criminal justice programs were added this year, and MSU’s online graduate program in criminal justice came in at No. 26.
MSU’s online graduate program in business ranked No. 65. The ranking excludes MBA programs.