Online Education by Discipline: a Graduate Student's Guide
The transition into the digital age has led to the rise of distance learning. When it comes to graduate online degree programs, however, experts say some academic disciplines are adopting this new form of education more quickly than others.
When considering whether an online graduate degree is the right step for your career path, it's important to understand the opportunities available in your field, especially as online education becomes more prevalent.
" Employers' perceptions of online degrees is improving," says Meg Benke, an expert in distance and online education and a professor at SUNY Empire State College. "There's more recognition that it's hard work, especially for the adult learner also working full time."
According to survey data released by Aslanian Market Research and the Learning House, Inc., a company that helps colleges and universities develop and deliver online degree programs, business fields had the highest enrollment for online graduate-level degree and certificate programs among respondents in 2014, followed by education and teaching, and then health-related professions, particularly nursing. Meanwhile, law and medicine are among the fields that have been slower to accept online education, Benke says.
[Compare online and on-campus graduate programs.]
When determining whether to pursue an online graduate degree, it's also important to understand employers' perceptions of online degrees in various fields. Still, in general, a school's reputation is usually more important than the form of education itself, Benke says.
"I think if you're going to get your MBA from Duke or your MBA from Duke online, people will look at it as an MBA from Duke," Benke says.
Take a look at the information below to get a more complete picture of how common online education is in different graduate fields of study.
Business
Business has historically been the most popular discipline in online graduate education, Benke says. In Learning House's 2014 data, for example, the company found that business programs attracted about 28 percent of online students at the graduate level.
Enrollment in online graduate business programs saw a steady increase for many years, Benke says, but those numbers have started to flatten, possibly because of the growing popularity of certificate programs.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Whitten, director of graduate career services at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, notes that employers are more accepting of online degrees now than they were in the past.
"Now that employers understand that it really is the same program -- the same quality and academic rigor they are looking for -- it's more widely accepted," she says.
[Convince your employer to pay for your online degree.]
Medicine, Nursing and Health-Related Fields
Nursing is a field that embraced distance learning in the past through, for example, the use of satellite schools. Therefore, it isn't too surprising that the field has been quicker to accept online learning, especially given the fact that it allows for more flexibility in your class schedule during the week, says Christine Pintz, associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies at The George Washington University School of Nursing.
"The other piece about nursing that's different from other professions is that nurses work different shifts and their schedules change from week to week sometimes," Pintz says. "Employers appreciate the fact that they know their nurses are getting more education but it's not really having an impact on their schedule."
Some schools have also launched blended programs in health-related fields, Benke says. These are predominantly online but may include a requirement on campus or at a residence.
The exception is medical schools, which are experimenting with integrating online components into traditional, in-person courses but aren't offering completely online degrees, Benke says. Stanford University's medical school is among the institutions experimenting with a flipped classroom approach, in which students watch video lectures at home and then use class time for more engaging activities, says Charles Prober, senior associate dean for medical education at the school.
Law
Juris doctor law programs have been slower to turn to online education, though there are some master's and certificate programs out there.
In January of 2015, William Mitchell College of Law, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, will become the first ABA-accredited hybrid law school in the country when it launches its new program, which is partially on campus and partially online. No existing similar programs in the U.S. are ABA-accredited.
Greg Duhl, academic director of the William Mitchell hybrid J.D. program, says the legal profession is being somewhat "resistant to change."
"I think a challenge is convincing employers and students that it's just as rigorous if not more so than traditional programs," Duhl says, adding that since the program is new, he expects it to face some scrutiny.
[Learn why online law schools have yet to pass the bar.]
Engineering
Compared to other academic disciplines, engineering has been somewhat slower to adopt online learning, Benke says.
Still, Nancy Rubin, executive director of online and distance education at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, says she has seen increased interest in online engineering classes, specifically among working professionals looking to enhance their skill sets with a master's degree or certificate.
Employers have also been viewing online engineering courses favorably, Rubin says, though the reputation of the school itself is usually more important.
"These students add a different dynamic from other students because they bring real-world experience to the classroom, compared to other students who aren't working professionals," Rubin says.
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