America's Top Online Colleges 2025

America's Top Online Schools 2025

Online learning continues to expand in the United States as colleges and other education providers seek to attract students who live outside the immediate area and working adults drawn to the flexibility of online classes. Studies suggest online learning has yet to reach its peak and is expected to grow in coming years.

For those looking to further their knowledge—from individual non-degree courses for the curious or for professional development to a full academic degree—online schools offer customized opportunities to people in all stages of life. With so many choices and no physical location to visit, finding the right program can be challenging.

To help you find the best fit for your goals, Newsweek and global data research firm Statista are proud to present America's Top Online Learning Schools 2025.

Our listing ranks the top 250 colleges that offer online undergraduate and graduate programs, including those such as New York University, University of Cincinnati and San José State University. We've also honored the top 100 online learning providers —institutions other than universities that provide access to their own or third-party online courses, like Aceable Agent, NASM and WebCE.

The research is based on an online survey of over 10,000 individuals in the U.S. who have used online courses to obtain an academic degree or acquire knowledge and skills for their job or hobbies. Schools are ranked based on organization, support, price, reputation, success, recommendation, practical relevance and overall satisfaction.

We hope this guide provides a valuable starting point for those seeking to enhance their knowledge, education or career.

LICENSING

If your facility is listed in the America's Top Online Colleges ranking, click here to learn more about the licensing options.

If your facility is listed in the America's Top Online Learning Providers ranking, click here to learn more about the licensing options.

METHODOLOGY

For the fourth time, Newsweek and Statista are awarding institutions that offer online learning courses or online college/university degrees to adult learners in two top lists:

• America's Top Online Colleges (colleges and universities that offer online degree programs to learners who want to obtain an academic degree, including hybrid programs with online and offline courses or exams)

• America's Top Online Learning Providers (institutions other than a university or college and platforms that provide access to their own or third-party online courses)

The rankings are based on an online survey among U.S. residents who have used online learning service offers to obtain an academic degree or acquire knowledge and skills for their job (professional development) or hobbies (personal development) via online courses.

Between June 3, 2024, and August 7, 2024, Statista surveyed more than 10,000 individuals in the United States. Survey respondents indicated which institutions they used to obtain an online degree or where they attended an online course. In the next step, respondents shared their experiences by rating the institutions regarding several criteria. Finally, respondents could indicate how satisfied they were with the organization and to what extent they would recommend it to others.

User reviews and additional institutional indicators were transformed into score values and aggregated towards a final score. To receive an award, institutions needed an above-average total score value. The awarded institutions received either five stars if their final score value is above the median score of all awarded institutions or four stars if their score is below this threshold.

The top lists were created through an elaborate process: Participants' responses as well as the final selection of institutions in each list, were carefully reviewed. Statista makes no statement about the quality of education institutions or learning providers that are not included in the lists, and their reputation is not disputed.

For the full methodology, download this file.

Disclaimer

The selection of the institutions and the definition of the evaluation criteria were based on independent journalistic criteria of Newsweek and Statista. The evaluation was carried out by the statistics and market research company Statista. Newsweek and Statista make no claim to the completeness of the institutions examined.

The ranking only includes institutions that qualify according to the criteria described in this document. A position in the ranking is a positive recognition based on an extensive survey. Furthermore, events following September 27, 2024, were not a subject of this list. As such, the results of this ranking should not be used as the sole source of information for future deliberations. The information provided in this ranking should be considered in conjunction with other available information.

The quality of institutions that are not included in the ranking is not disputed.

About Statista R

Statista R is a world leader in the creation of company, brand, and product rankings and top lists, based on comprehensive market research and data analysis: Statista R recognizes the best. With a team of over 100 expert analysts and in cooperation with more than 40 high profile media brands across all continents, Statista R creates transparency for consumers and business decision makers and helps companies build trust and recognition across a plethora of industries and product categories. Visit r.statista.com for further information about Statista R and our rankings.

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