Online Graduate Programs & Schools in California

What Are Online Graduate Degrees?

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Online graduate programs offer students and working professionals the opportunity to earn online master's degrees and doctoral degrees -- completely online. Earning a graduate degree online means students have the flexibility and opportunity to balance academic goals with family or career demands.

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Top 3 Reasons to Pursue Online Graduate Programs

There are many reasons a student may choose to pursue a graduate degree program online. Often times convenience and flexibility are factors that may influence the decision to select an online degree over a campus based program. But beyond the format decision, there are many other reasons students decide to continue their education. According to the 2023 Online College Student Aslanian Market Research Report, the top 3 reasons are:

1. New career aligned with personal interests (23% of respondents).
2. New career to earn more money (24% of respondents).
3. Salary increase within current profession (20% of respondents).

What Types of Online Graduate Degrees Are There?

Online graduate degrees include online masters programs, online graduate certificates and online doctoral degree programs, there are also different features that can determine what type of degree you may pursue.

• Types may be defined by the subject you are pursing, Master of Arts (MA), MBA, DNP (doctor of nurse practitioner), Masters in Counseling Psychology, etc.
• Accelerated programs – some schools offer accelerated programs where students are required to dedicate more time in a shorter window to graduate sooner. For example, our sponsored school, Northcentral University offers an accelerated MBA that may allow students to graduate in 12 months.
• Bridge programs – some schools offer programs that combine earning multiple levels of degrees at once. When taken together, these degrees are earned faster than when taken separately. Many nursing programs are offered this way. For example an BSN to DNP. or an RN to MSN
• Direct entry programs – Direct entry programs are also found in the nursing arena. For students who are looking to enter into a new career such as nursing and have an undergraduate degree in a different subject, there may be specialized programs that prepare the student for this transition.

How Credible Are Online Degrees?

The first step in determining credibility for any school is to determine if the graduate school is accredited or not. Check to see if the online school is regionally accredited. Not all online schools are regionally accredited—though the vast majority are. Beyond the school being accredited, students should also research if their program of interest has specific programmatic accreditation. If the answer is yes, it is a good idea to lean toward those schools that have that specific graduate program accreditation. Degrees earned from regionally accredited online schools are just as respected and accepted as degrees earned from traditional graduate schools .

Is Accreditation Important for Online Degrees?

Some online graduate schools are completely devoted to online learning and offer online graduate programs exclusively. Other universities may make their traditional programming available as an online graduate degree. Regardless of which type of school is offering the program you are interested in, it is important that you confirm that the school is regionally accredited. Why is accreditation important? Among many reasons, two stand out as very important:

1. Funding: As a grad student, you will not be eligible for federal funding if the school you are attending is not an accredited online graduate school. Main types of financial aid include the Pell Grant, the Federal Perkins Loan, and Stafford Loans. For example, as a grad student, you may be eligible for up to $8,000 per year through the Federal Perkins Loan.
2. Quality of education: Accrediting agencies exist to ensure schools provide a quality education to students. Online Graduate Programs that are not accredited will not have the benefit of this oversight. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes several regional accrediting agencies, as well as the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).

GradSchools.com partners with only accredited schools so you can be comfortable searching our site for your online graduate degree.

DID YOU KNOW? According to the 2023 Online College Student Aslanian Market Research Study, online college students were primarily influenced by in-person events like campus tours or class audits during their search for an online program.

How Do I Choose an Online Graduate School ?

With the variety of online graduate programs, there are a few features and prerequisites you might evaluate when choosing with online graduate school to attend. These are:

• Decide how specialized you want to be. For example, you may want to keep your options open and simply pursue an Master of Business Administration. Or, you may want to get more specific and pursue a degree that focuses on Marketing, Healthcare, Public Health, Cybersecurity or some other area.
• What are you going to use the degree for? If your desire is to focus on research it may be more appropriate to pursue accredited Online Doctoral Programs vs an Online Masters programs
• Are you looking for an accelerated program or program that may accept life experience for credits? Ask colleges you are interested in if they offer these options
• Do you want to avoid taking entrance exams such as the GRE or GMAT? Look for schools that advertise their programs as such
• Look for fully accredited online colleges and universities

Beyond the fields of study listed above, you will find the most popular online graduate program majors:

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DID YOU KNOW? According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), individuals holding doctoral degrees typically earn a median annual salary approximately 25% higher than their counterparts with master’s degrees, amounting to approximately $86,372 more.

Are All Online Graduate Programs Formatted the Same?

Online graduate programs are not all formatted the same way. A traditional graduate school may offer ‘live’ classes at one of their campuses that online graduate students can ‘attend’ by logging in synchronously (at the same time) to be able to participate. Or, a completely online grad school may have asynchronous coursework where students pace themselves. There could also be a mixture of these two formats. Ultimately, each university, whether it is a brick and mortar graduate school or an online graduate school, has different ways of formatting their online grad programs.

Online Graduate Programs FAQs

Can I get my master’s degree online?

Yes, there are many online master degree programs to choose from.  Most online master degree programs are offered through accredited programs and offer the same diploma as a traditional campus degree.

How online is the graduate program?

Some programs may be entirely online (100%), while others may be partially online, which might entail campus visits, residency or intensives. (e.g. online MFT programs).

How long to complete an online degree?

Some online graduate degree programs may be full-time, others part-time. You might also find online graduate degrees that are offered in an accelerated format to appeal to executives (e.g. Accelerated online MBA programs).

What if there are lab requirements?

In online grad programs where a laboratory or supervised practicum is required, students may be able to complete the requirements in their community (e.g. Online MSW programs).

What are the tech requirements for online programs?

Your computer is your access to online discussion, online resources (E-Books, video, your course management system and email). You may be required to update your software, meet specific hardware requirements or have a working email address. In terms of tech support, this should be stipulated by a graduate school and you should be able to access this information ahead of enrollment.

How do I contact my professor?

There are usually provisions for contacting faculty. An online student may be paired with a faculty member, to reach out via email, telephone, online chat or whatever is predetermined by your university and program.

Where is the library?

An online graduate school may have agreements with your local library or have online resources. Some programs may supplement with textbooks.

Is an online graduate degree easier?

Online does not mean easier. It is a learning format that works best for self-motivated students.

Are online graduate programs accredited?

Many online graduate programs are accredited but some are not. All GradSchools.com partner schools are accredited but it is always a good idea to research on your own and double check. For those earning a degree from a lesser-known online school, researching accreditation is especially a good idea given the number of scams on the internet.

GradSchools.com offers 76 Online Graduate Programs in California