Florida online degree programs do well in latest U.S. News rankings

Divya Kumar, Tampa Bay Times
Updated ·2 min read
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Florida schools continued to place high in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of online programs, according to results released Tuesday.

For online bachelor’s degrees, the University of Florida ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row and the University of Central Florida ranked No. 8.

In a related category that ranks programs on how well they serve veterans, the University of Florida also ranked No. 1 for online bachelor’s degrees, while Daytona’s Embry-Riddle University ranked No. 2.

More than 1,800 programs submitted data for evaluation across disciplines including psychology, business, education, criminal justice, engineering and nursing. The rankings were based on criteria such as engagement, faculty credentials, technology, peer assessment and the profile of entering students.

“The success of UF’s online degree programs exemplifies the university’s commitment to high-quality offerings across platforms,” Joe Glover, UF’s provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, said in a news release.

In a separate release, University of Central Florida President Alexander Cartwright said the school has had a history of trying to reach students from different backgrounds.

“Our recent rankings show we continue to be among the best in the nation for online programs — providing flexibility and increasing opportunity for students to succeed in critical, high-wage jobs that support our local and state economies,” he said.

UCF also tied for No. 1 among online bachelor’s programs in psychology.

UF tied for the No. 1 spot for online master’s programs in education and for bachelor’s programs in business.

For online master’s of business administration programs, UF ranked No. 4 and the University of South Florida ranked No. 19, up 63 spots over the last five years.

Florida State University ranked No. 5 among online master’s programs in information technology and No. 5 among online master’s programs in criminal justice.

For online nursing master’s programs, UCF ranked. No. 10.

For a full list of rankings, click here.

(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information on the University of Florida’s online bachelor’s programs in business. The university tied for the No. 1 spot in that category.)