Murray State University earns top honors for online master’s degree programs
By Dani Ray | Mar 1, 2024
MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State University has been recognized as one of the best schools for online master’s degrees in 2024 by OnlineMastersDegrees.org (OMD).
Just 9 percent of U.S. colleges and universities earned the distinction.
Murray State’s online master’s programs earned top honors in the following subject areas: economics, dietetics, speech pathology, and communications.
OMD analyzed more than 7,700 accredited colleges and universities using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the institutions themselves. After the data was compiled, OMD’s data science team then applied a proprietary algorithm to rank all qualifying schools for each of the different master’s degree specialities. Primary data points included graduate student tuition, number of online programs, number of graduate students in online courses, student-to-faculty ratio, graduate student acceptance rate, academic counseling services and career placement services.
The rankings also consider value as it pertains to flexibility. Many master’s students need to balance work, family and other responsibilities, making online learning a must-have option for colleges. To be eligible, a college or university must hold active regional accreditation and have at least one partially online master’s program in the ranking subject.
“Murray State's graduate programs meet the needs of students who are looking to expand their knowledge, retool for a changing job environment or upskill for advancement,” said Murray State University Assistant Provost and Director of Online Learning Ashley Ireland. “Our online programs are taught by our world-class faculty, are priced to be affordable and are designed to meet the specific needs of our students.”
“With more students questioning whether a master’s degree is worth the investment, it is important to highlight the schools offering the best value,” said Kyle Darland, co-founder of OMD. “For the OMD rankings, this started with regionally accredited institutions with the lowest net costs. This includes tuition and fees but also looks at the amount of institutional aid their grad students receive. Overall cost is a major factor in most enrollment decisions.”
Find full rankings for each program:
Economics: onlinemastersdegrees.org/best-
Dietetics: onlinemastersdegrees.org/best-
Speech pathology: onlinemastersdegrees.org./
Communications: onlinemastersdegrees.org./
Visit murraystate.edu/online to learn more about online academic program offerings at Murray State University.