The ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ unleashes the potential of its students with high-quality degrees, faculty with strong academic and industry expertise, and multiple educational pathways that best position students for success while advancing Florida’s workforce needs.

See how ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ ranks in U.S. News & World Report‘s latest rankings for 2024.

Online programs are a vital pathway for the approximately 73% of students enrolled in college who are considered nontraditional students. These students work a full-time job, are parents, are veterans or are working adults taking care of aging parents. They are completing a bachelor’s degree or looking to advance their career with a graduate degree. High-quality online programs fit their demanding work and home life β€” they can earn degrees, gain skills employers are seeking and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow while staying employed and supporting their families.

Today, U.S. News & World Report again recognized the quality of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s online degrees, ranking the university No. 8 in the nation for overall Best Online Bachelor’s Programs. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ tied for No. 1 in the country for the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in Psychology and ranked No. 7 for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans.

Of the 17 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ national online rankings from U.S. News, nine programs made the top 10 and four others were ranked in the top 15.

β€œΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ has a long history of leveraging innovation to increase the accessibility of high-quality degree programs that help students from all backgrounds unleash their potential and the potential of our community,” ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Alexander N. Cartwright says. β€œOur recent rankings show we continue to be among the best in the nation for online programs β€” providing flexibility and increasing opportunity for students to succeed in critical, high-wage jobs that support our local and state economies.”

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online brings convenience and flexibility, with more than 100 fully online degree programs and 200 full-time faculty teaching online programs that reach more than 6,000 online students each year from around the country and the world. That includes in-demand programs such as healthcare, engineering, criminal justice, hospitality and education.

By focusing on excellence, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ produces a skilled workforce to meet the needs of its community, Florida and beyond β€” including as the top source of talent nationwide for the aerospace and defense industry. U.S. News & World Report has recognized ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s growing national reputation in its annual ranking of high-quality online degree programs, as well as its Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools lists.

Highlights from the U.S. News online rankings include:

For the No. 1 ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in Psychology, Department of Psychology Chair Florian Jentsch credits the hard work of faculty, teaching assistants and staff for creating what he calls an β€œinnovative, robust and educationally sound” degree program. β€œIn psychology at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½, nearly all faculty are involved in offering the online bachelor’s program,” Jentsch says.

Several programs have risen sharply in the rankings in a short time, including Overall Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs, which has soared into the top 10 just five years after being ranked No. 66. The increase is a reflection of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty’s drive to meet the demand for high-quality advanced degrees to address nursing shortages in Florida and across the country.

Dorothea Ballai, a 27-year-old registered nurse who lives in Stuart, says she initially was drawn to ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s online programs because of their high rankings. The flexibility she found in ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s master’s in nursing leadership and management program solidified her decision to enroll.

β€œThe program has been so flexible and helpful, which allows me to work full-time. Because of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ I’ve been able to further my education in a way I didn’t think I’d be able to. I was very thankful for that opportunity,” Ballai says. β€œThe faculty are extremely phenomenal and so supportive. You can tell they want everyone to succeed. Even at a distance, I’ve always felt supported as an online student.”

Similarly, the university ranked No. 13 in the country for Best Online Graduate Criminal Justice Programs, having climbed 26 spots from No. 39 in 2018. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ tied at No. 37 in overall Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs β€” an extremely competitive category β€” after rising 42 spots in just one year.

Rankings of best online programs for student veterans have risen in several categories, including Best Online Bachelor’s Programs, which moved up five spots since 2018. focuses on the student experience and student success by providing intentional academic advising and career counseling for student veterans, active military and military-connected students who receive support professional staff and from peer mentors who understand the unique challenges they face.

The rise in rankings is a result of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s deep experience with online learning.

β€œOur dedicated faculty’s hard work and commitment to students are key to providing the high-quality online programs ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ is known for,” says Tom Cavanagh, vice provost for Digital Learning at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½. β€œBy leveraging innovative technology and cutting-edge teaching practices, they create engaging learning environments that empower our students to learn, thrive and graduate with life-changing degrees.”

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ began offering online classes in 1996 β€” long before most universities β€” and has continually fine-tuned its course offerings and kept pace with new instructional technology. Every faculty instructor who plans to teach online is paired with an instructional designer to learn the most effective way to deliver an online course. Through the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Center for Distributed Learning (CDL), all instructors receive over 80 hours of training in digital teaching before their first online course.

From admission to graduation, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online students also have success coaches who work with them as counselor and guides though their fully online academic experience. A success coach is a specially trained, motivational partnerβ€―who provides frequent and proactive engagement to co-developβ€―strategies and skills to help students meet their academic,β€―career and personal goals.

Davon Miller, a published author who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, chose ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online because of the flexibility to work at his own pace.

β€œMy ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online experience has been great. I love that ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online provides students a success coach to ensure that we’re on top of things and it allows us to connect with someone from the university and not feel distanced, as the success coach encourages us and keeps us informed on happenings within ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½,” Miller said. β€œΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Online also gives me the opportunity to not only connect with individuals within the Orlando area but others who may be located across the nation and world, allowing me to have relationships in places I’d never expect to find.”