Finding a new path can feel daunting, but we live in a day and age when information travels fast — making online graduate degree programs an excellent option for quickly reshaping a daily grind into something more promising. Though there are plenty of great second careers that don't require a single further day of school, these programs can help jump-start a completely different dream career with relative painlessness.
Texas-based Lamar University, at $235 a credit for all students, offers a range of graduate programs, though its most renowned program is in education. The emphasis options include educational administration, teacher leadership, digital learning and leadership, and more. The accelerated nature of many of these programs allows students to earn degrees in just 16 months.
Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, is the third-oldest public institution of higher learning in Texas. Whether you're in state or out of state, each credit hour will cost $245, landing it on the more affordable side. Sam Houston offers a wide range of master's programs, including a communication studies, sociology, public administration, as well as an MBA in banking and financial institutions. The timeline for classes and method of administering tests varies by department. When you graduate, neither your transcript nor degree will say "online" anywhere on it.
The University of Arkansas is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top 30 online graduate programs in the nation for engineering, and is at least $100 less per credit than any other such schooling, coming in at $250 per credit. There are a range of other graduate programs too, including food safety, food law, human environmental sciences, and social work. Faculty for online classes are the same that you would have on the Fayetteville campus.
Midway University is a Kentucky liberal arts college offering a range of graduate degrees, including health care administration, sports management, and nursing education. Cost per credit starts at $250 and there are five opportunities per year to start the eight-week accelerated semesters. Online courses are offered asynchronously, which means you can perform coursework on your schedule but within a set time frame.
Related: 35 Hobbies That Pay Off in Jobs
Southern Utah University's online accounting graduate program is rated one of the best in the country for value, with graduate credits starting at $300. Its available graduate programs include arts administration, business administration, music education, and communication.
Starting at $315 per credit hour, the University of the Cumberlands based in Kentucky offers more than 15 master's programs, including education and information technology, business administration, criminal justice administration, and more — including a few doctorate programs. The classes run in eight-week terms, with timed exams administered through the Blackboard Online Learning System.
For those looking to go into nursing, the University of Southern Indiana is a top-40 rated online program that costs $325 per credit for all students, regardless of residency. Master's offerings include clinical nursing, family nursing, acute care, family psychiatric mental health nursing, nursing education, and nursing management and leadership. There are also doctoral and other postgraduate options. (Students must verify that their state recognizes online nursing programs, and if students move into a state with different requirements, they may not be able to continue with the program — with the exception of active military.)
At $360 for non-residents and $230 for residents, Oklahoma State University Is a fairly inexpensive option regardless of your location. It offers programs including agricultural education, entrepreneurship, human development, and nutritional sciences. Graduate certificates are available in business data mining, entrepreneurship, business sustainability, and marketing analytics.
While $500 per credit hour isn't wildly inexpensive, at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, it covers all materials and university fees, and master's degrees can usually be finished with 30 to 39 credit hours. Master's degrees on offer include English, gerontology, curriculum instruction, and more. Programs are in four-week, eight-week, or 16-week formats.
Students interested in engineering and engineering management will find South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's online degree flexible and affordable. Though each credit hour costs $610, the university estimates that it costs only about $20,000 for a student to complete a degree. There are three online master's degrees, and some classes are live-streamed or recorded to get the closest thing possible to an in-person experience.
