2023 Most Popular Doctor's Degree Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school or bootcamp that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Most Popular Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 1,181 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Doctor's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named University of Southern California the most popular school in the United States for students working on their doctor’s degree. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 1,914 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at USC. In 2019-2020 about 82% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Florida helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular schools in the United States. UF is a public institution located in Gainesville, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,778 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 54% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UF. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,773 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 55% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UMN Twin Cities. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 65% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the large public school handed out 1,562 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 51% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since U-M does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 74% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #6, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their doctor’s degree. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,723 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 54% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Ohio State does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 76% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. Columbia is located in New York, New York and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,502 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 52% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that Columbia does offer online graduate classes in some areas. 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.
New York University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in New York, New York, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,489 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 53% were women.
One thing to take note of is that NYU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 79% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. Located in Seattle, Washington, the large public school awarded 1,479 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 55% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UW Seattle. In fact, around 7% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Harvard University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 1,444 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Harvard, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 96% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #11, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the large public school awarded 1,425 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
UIC does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2019-2020 year, about 95% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Capella University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the large private for-profit school awarded 1,437 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 77% were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out Capella University. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Nova Southeastern University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. NUS Florida is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,622 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 65% were women.
NUS Florida does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 52% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Rutgers University - New Brunswick is a large public school located in New Brunswick, New Jersey that handed out 1,366 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 58% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Rutgers New Brunswick. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 23% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. UW - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,462 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
UW - Madison does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 75% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,348 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 49% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UCLA. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 1,460 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 49% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Texas A&M College Station. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. UT Austin is located in Austin, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,290 doctor’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UT Austin does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 66% took at least some of their classes online.
University of California - Berkeley came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, the large public school awarded 1,187 diplomas to qualifed doctor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 45% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UC Berkeley does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 90% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #20, Boston University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their doctor’s degree. Boston University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 1,170 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Boston U does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 23% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the large public school handed out 1,144 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UNC Chapel Hill. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 77% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Pennsylvania landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree programs. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctor’s degrees to 1,254 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 55% were women.
UPenn does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 74% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Stanford University ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in Stanford, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,105 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 40% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Stanford, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 10% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Temple University ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Temple University is a large public school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 1,184 doctor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Temple does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 72% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #25, George Washington University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,086 doctor’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 55% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at GWU. In 2019-2020 about 37% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Doctor's Degree Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Doctor's Degree 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 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.
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