Missouri has always been a place for beginnings. As the Gateway to the West, the Show-Me State was the starting point of the Pony Express, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Oregon Trail.
For students on a journey to a college degree and their dream career, Missouri is still an excellent place to start. The state is home to a number of flourishing industries, including aerospace, agriculture, transportation, publishing, manufacturing, and financial services. In recent years, Missouri has also seen rapid growth in several science and technology fields. One of the largest biotechnology companies in the world, Monsanto, is headquartered in St. Louis, while health information services giant Cerner is based in Kansas City. Tourism represents another important component of the Missouri economy, particularly in larger cities and in the beautiful Ozark Mountains region in the south of the state.
Missouri provides outstanding opportunities for students who are preparing to earn a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree. Numerous statewide initiatives seek to encourage students to continue or return to their education.
Featured Online Programs
The Missouri Department of Higher Education anticipates that by 2018, 60% of Missouri's jobs will require postsecondary education, whether in the form of a two-year degree, four-year degree, advanced degree, or professional certificate. To accommodate the changing demands of the job market, the state has launched numerous programs to achieve "Missouri's Big Goal," which is for 60% of Missouri adults to hold a degree or professional certificate by 2025. The department has been especially active in promoting STEM fields in higher education, ensuring that Missouri students are well-prepared to thrive in both the local and global economy.
Students who plan to earn a college degree in Missouri have an exceptional array of choices. The state is home to 13 public four-year universities, 25 independent colleges, 10 technical colleges, 17 theological institutes, and over 150 proprietary and private career schools. The majority of these institutions offer at least some form of distance learning, whether it be a few online courses or a multitude of degree programs that students can complete without ever setting foot on campus.
Although online education is now a common feature of colleges and universities, not all distance learning programs are created equal. That's why we've compiled a list of the 25 very best online colleges in Missouri.
What are the best online colleges in Missouri?
To ensure an accurate and comprehensive ranking, we analyze a number of key metrics from reputable sources such as individual college websites, Payscale, U.S. News & World Report, and the National Center for Education Statistics' IPEDS database. These metrics fall into two main categories: student success and institutional excellence. Our student success analysis takes into account average financial aid packages, return on investment based on tuition costs, student indebtedness after graduation, and expected early career salary for graduates, among other important factors that impact a student's experience with a particular school. Institutional excellence can be a difficult thing to quantify, but we make this assessment through data points such as student-faculty ratio, graduation rate, test scores for incoming students, institutional reputation, and endowment size. This multi-faceted approach helps us create a ranking based on the true value that each college provides to its students.
Top 10 Best Online Colleges in Missouri
See our rankings methodology page.
