Academics

U.S. News ranks Penn State as a top provider of online education

Penn State was ranked in the top 10 of six categories in U.S. News & World Report's 2018 Best Online Programs, the most of any institution in the country. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State again received the most top-10 rankings of any institution in the country in U.S. News & World Report’s list of the leading online degree programs.

U.S. News’ 2018 Best Online Programs, released Jan. 9, ranked Penn State World Campus in the following categories:

  • No. 4, online graduate engineering
  • No. 5, online graduate business
  • No. 7 (tie), online bachelor’s degrees
  • No. 8 (tie), online graduate computer information technology
  • No. 8 (tie), online graduate education
  • No. 10, online MBA

World Campus also had the most top-10 placements in the 2017 rankings.

U.S. News developed the rankings by weighing information provided by each institution about faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, student engagement and peer reputation. For graduate programs, U.S. News also considered admissions selectivity.

U.S. News also ranked Penn State World Campus in six categories in its Best Online Programs for Veterans rankings, which are based on the same factors as the Best Online Programs rankings and an institution’s ability to make college more affordable through the GI Bill or other grant-in aid programs designed for military students.

The veterans rankings are:

  • No. 1, online graduate education
  • No. 3, online graduate business
  • No. 3 (tie), online graduate computer information technology
  • No. 4, online graduate engineering
  • No. 6 (tie), online bachelor’s programs
  • No. 6, online MBA

Penn State was one of the first universities to offer online programs, launching the World Campus in 1998. Today, Penn State offers more than 150 online degrees and certificates to more than 14,000 students from around the globe.

Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information about the bachelor’s and graduate degree programs offered online.

Last Updated November 5, 2020

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