Cal State Fullerton’s online master’s degree programs in education, business and engineering rank among the top distance education programs in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s latest annual rankings.
U.S. News announced its 2020 Best Online Master’s Programs today (Jan. 14), with the College of Education’s fully online master’s programs moving up to No. 20 — from 38th in 2019 — out of 223 ranked programs in the nation. CSUF’s programs for educators are No. 2 in California, behind sister campus San Diego State University, and tied with Ohio State University and the University of North Texas.
“We’re exceptionally proud to climb to the 20th spot in the nation, which places us among the top 10% of education programs,” said Lisa Kirtman, dean of the College of Education. ”This recognition serves as a great reward for the targeted efforts that the college has made to provide a just, equitable and inclusive education for all of our students.”
In 2002, the College of Education began offering the university’s first online degree program — the master of science in instructional design and technology. The college now offers a range of options, including a fully online master of science in education with concentrations in elementary curriculum and instruction, secondary education, special education, and literacy and reading. The college launched a fully online master of science in educational technology program in fall 2018.
The university’s online master’s in business program ranks 15th out of 131 programs in the U.S., and is the No. 2 ranked program in California behind USC. This category does not include the MBA. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics has been offering the master of science in information technology program since 2005.
To meet the demand for professionals in the field, the college offers the program with two concentrations: information technology management and data science. This year’s ranking is tied with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science offers two fully online graduate programs, which rank 29th in the nation out of 70 ranked master’s in engineering programs. The college has offered the master of science in software engineering program since 2004, and in 2012, introduced the master of science in environmental engineering program.
The engineering programs rank third in California, and tied with the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
For the 2020 edition, U.S. News assessed more than 1,600 online degree programs — an all time high. The rankings measure overall academic quality and are across varying disciplines. New this year, the publication ranked 242 programs across 18 more specialized focuses, such as MBA finance and nursing family practice. Also included are the best academic programs for military veterans and active service members ranking.
Blended learning programs that routinely combine courses in brick-and-mortar classrooms with online education are not included. U.S. News also updated the methodology this year to give credit to schools that provide online help with course registration, admissions counseling and building a resume.
For more information about CSUF’s rankings, visit here or for more about the 2020 Best Online Programs, visit the U.S. News website.