The traditional on-campus life is unique, exciting, full of opportunities, but not for everyone. Many students want to enjoy the high-quality education offered by an international university, but without the need to move to another country.
Luckily, the number of online Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees offered by universities has increased significantly over the last years and this trend shows no sign of stopping.
But what if you want to study online at the best universities out there? Is there a way to do so from the comfort of your home? And if the answer is yes, which online universities are just as good as on-campus schools? Let’s find out!
Find online Bachelor’s degrees
To create a ranking with the best online universities that are as good as their on-campus counterparts, we’ve used a simple methodology:
- First, we’ve looked at the top-ranked universities in the QS Rankings
- Then we’ve checked which ones also offer online degrees
Before checking out these top-ranked universities offering online courses, keep one thing in mind: the type and number of degrees they offer vary.
At some of these universities, you’ll find more online short (or preparatory) courses and only a few full-time degrees. At others, you won’t find any short courses but plenty of online Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the US
- University of Oxford, the UK
- Stanford University (Summer Sessions), the US
- University of Cambridge, the UK
- Harvard University, the US
- Imperial College London, the UK
- University College London (UCL), the UK
- National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
- University of Pennsylvania, the US
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
- The University of Edinburgh, the UK
- Columbia University, the US
- University of Michigan, the US
- Johns Hopkins University, the US
- The Australian National University, Australia
- The University of Manchester, the UK
- University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the US
- King’s College London, the UK
- University of Sydney, Australia
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the US
You should periodically have a look at the online study programmes offered by these universities. New courses will be introduced as the institutions look at the demand and find ways to offer their students an online experience that’s just as good as the on-campus one.
Don’t forget about the difference between blended and fully online courses. During a blended programme, you will do most of the work at home, but you’ll also have to attend on-campus classes. And if your university is on another continent, this can be a problem.
Fully online degrees don’t have this limitation. Everything — classes, courses, seminars, exams — take place online, and you can graduate from anywhere in the world.
Learn more about blended and hybrid learning.
Bonus tip: the list we’ve compiled is not exhaustive. Many other top-ranked universities also offer online degrees, and you can easily find them on our website: Distancelearningportal.
For example, here are other excellent online universities we recommend:
- Northeastern University, the US
- University of Winnipeg, Canada
- University of South Wales, the UK
- University of Newcastle, Australia
- Utrecht University, the Netherlands
- University of Pisa, Italy
- EU Business School, Spain
Learn about ways to make your online degree more affordable.