2023 Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. 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.
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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. Harvard is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It awarded 1,869 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Harvard accumulate an average of $19,755 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 53% were women.
Around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Capella University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Capella University is a large private for-profit school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 1,322 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 84% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Capella University are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
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. UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,107 graduate certificates 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. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,102 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 66% 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.
You’ll be in good company if you attend DeVry University - Illinois. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. DeVry University - Illinois is a private for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 821 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 61% 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.
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. Located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the fairly large public school handed out 710 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 83% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #7, Ball State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Ball State is located in Muncie, Indiana and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 548 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
Around 91% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
George Mason University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. 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.
Around 87% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Maryland Global Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Located in Adelphi, Maryland, the large public school handed out 473 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 54% 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 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. ECU is a large public school situated in Greenville, North Carolina. It awarded 550 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 66% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 80% took at least some of their classes online.
Southern New Hampshire University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Manchester, New Hampshire is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 582 students in 2020-2021.
Around 64% of those degree recipients were women.
Around 95% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Grand Canyon University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. This large private for-profit school is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and it awarded 426 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 82% were women.
Around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
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. Charles Town, West Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 404 students in 2020-2021.
Around 35% of those degree recipients 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.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. This large public school is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it awarded 502 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 80% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 82% took at least some of their classes online.
Purdue University Global did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #16 on the list. Purdue University Global is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 402 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Purdue University Global accumulate an average of $33,486 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 78% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Purdue University Global are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
Kennesaw State University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Kennesaw, Georgia, the large public school handed out 428 graduate certificate awards 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 88% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #18, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 352 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 87% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 91% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. University of Missouri - Columbia is a large public school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 472 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2019-2020 about 67% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of West Georgia did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in Carrollton, Georgia, the fairly large public school handed out 368 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 85% were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 95% took at least some of their classes online.
Colorado State University - Fort Collins landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. This large public school is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and it awarded 368 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 51% were women.
In 2019-2020 about 67% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Iowa landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. 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.
During the 2019-2020 year, about 33% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
George Washington 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 #23 on the list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 659 students in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from GWU accumulate an average of $29,615 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 37% took at least some of their classes online.
American College of Financial Services did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #24 on the list. American College of Financial Services is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania that handed out 295 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at The American College are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
American College of Education ranked #25 on this year’s Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 293 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 78% 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.
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