2023 Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 633 schools in the United States to see which ones had the most popular online graduate certificate programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.
Featured schools near , edit
Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:
Our 2023 rankings named Harvard University the most popular school in the United States for students working on their graduate certificate. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 1,869 students in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $19,755 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Out of the 633 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Capella University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Capella University is a large private for-profit school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 1,322 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 84% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Capella University is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Phoenix - Arizona helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular schools in the United States. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 1,107 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 69% were women.
Around 99% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 1,102 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 66% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 97% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DeVry University - Illinois. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. DeVry University - Illinois is a large private for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 821 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 97% took at least some of their classes online.
Arkansas State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. A-State is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 710 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Around 71% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 83% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Ball State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Muncie, Indiana, the large public school handed out 548 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.
George Mason University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. GMU is a public institution located in Fairfax, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 840 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 72% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 87% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #9, University of Maryland Global Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. University of Maryland Global Campus is a large public school located in Adelphi, Maryland that handed out 473 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 54% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.
East Carolina University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. ECU is located in Greenville, North Carolina and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 550 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 66% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 80% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Southern New Hampshire University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. SNHU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Manchester, New Hampshire. It awarded 582 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 64% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 95% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Grand Canyon University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the large private for-profit school awarded 426 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 82% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 96% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, American Public University System did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. American Public University System is a large private for-profit school located in Charles Town, West Virginia that handed out 404 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 35% were women.
American Military University is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
With a ranking of #14, University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, the large public school awarded 502 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 80% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 82% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Purdue University Global landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Purdue University Global is a large public school located in Indianapolis, Indiana that handed out 402 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Purdue University Global accumulate an average of $33,486 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 78% were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Purdue University Global. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Kennesaw State University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Kennesaw State University is a large public school located in Kennesaw, Georgia that handed out 428 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 88% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Maryville University of Saint Louis ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 352 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. This large public school is located in Columbia, Missouri, and it awarded 472 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
Around 67% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of West Georgia ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. University of West Georgia is a fairly large public school located in Carrollton, Georgia that handed out 368 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 85% were women.
Around 95% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Colorado State University - Fort Collins ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, the large public school handed out 368 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 67% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Read full report on Colorado State University - Fort Collins
University of Iowa ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. University of Iowa is a large public school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 1,262 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 58% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 33% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
George Washington University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 659 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $29,615 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 37% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
American College of Financial Services landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 295 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out The American College. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
American College of Education did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 293 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 78% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, American College of Education is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top most popular online list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management
Narrow Schools by Region
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular online schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.