2023 Most Popular Master's Degree Schools
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 1,984 schools in the United States to see which master'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.
Featured schools near , edit
Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Western Governors University to be the most popular school for students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 22,759 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out WGU. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Grand Canyon University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit institution located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14,378 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 78% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Grand Canyon University, 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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Lynchburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 10,231 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.
Liberty University 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 97% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9,128 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 56% were women.
One thing to take note of is that USC does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 82% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. NYU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 9,064 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at NYU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #7, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Columbia is located in New York, New York and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8,527 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 57% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Columbia. In 2019-2020 about 91% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Southern New Hampshire University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Manchester, New Hampshire is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 7,381 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 65% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at SNHU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #9, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 6,960 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 56% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Johns Hopkins. In fact, around 85% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Phoenix - Arizona came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 6,550 students in 2020-2021.
Around 74% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UOPX - Arizona. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 99% took at least some of their classes online.
Capella University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Capella University is a large private for-profit school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 6,772 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 83% of those degree recipients were women.
Capella 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.
Northwestern University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 5,216 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Northwestern does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 2% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Boston University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 5,175 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 59% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Boston U does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 23% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #14, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. This large public school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 4,916 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that U-M does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 74% took at least some of their classes online.
Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large public school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 4,903 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 68% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, ASU - Skysong is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
University of Pennsylvania landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. UPenn is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 4,816 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
UPenn does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 74% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 4,812 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UIUC. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Georgia Tech is a large public school situated in Atlanta, Georgia. It awarded 4,762 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 27% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Georgia Tech. In 2019-2020 about 88% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. Located in Arlington, Texas, the large public school handed out 4,902 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 66% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UT Arlington does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 65% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Harvard University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 4,670 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 53% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Harvard. 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.
George Washington University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools ranking. GWU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 4,602 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at GWU. 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.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. This large public school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 4,293 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 56% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UW Seattle. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 7% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #23, National University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. La Jolla, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 4,339 students in 2020-2021.
Around 68% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since National University does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 48% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Maryland Global Campus ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools list. Adelphi, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 4,148 students in 2020-2021.
Around 52% of those degree recipients were women.
UMGC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #25, University of Florida did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the large public school awarded 4,096 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UF, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Master'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:
Narrow Schools by Region
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Master'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.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
GradDegree.com provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© GradDegree.com – All Rights Reserved.