Best Online Colleges in Alabama for 2024

Get detailed info on Best Online Colleges in Alabama and their online degrees, financial aid and scholarships, acceptance rate, tuition and fees.

Alabama is one of the significant southern states in the US. It has many institutes providing online courses. The learning has reached many people within and outside the state. The state has built a system of online learning in the youth of Alabama. It has connecting classrooms, statewide programs for the students like you, and it offers the virtual classes. It gives admittance to the courses along with various electives.

The initiative called Alabama Access Distance Learning Initiative has spread the online coursework and classes to various areas in Alabama and other regions of the world. Alabama participates in the Southern Regional Education Board which gives the state better access to participate in the work with colleges, policymakers, and schools, to change and improve the quality of education in Alabama. It also keeps a record of acceptance rates of colleges and the tuition fee. The programs offered have various specializations and students have an option to choose programs from around 74 institutes.

Opportunities for college education in Alabama

The state has around 39 Public Universities, 18 Private-for-Profit, 20 Private-non-profit universities which offer online education. The total number of enrollment in 2016 was 28,446. The degrees granted during 2015-2016 were 12,880 Associate's Degrees, 31,123 Bachelor's degrees, 12,074 Master's Degrees and 2,432 Doctorate Degrees according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Alabama has increased the funding for education by 3.4%, which is higher than the other states in the US, which proves that the state cares for the development of higher education. The state provides various financial aids for the students. 

The colleges in Alabama are developing and increasing, and have kept their standards high in terms of quality of online education and curriculum. The colleges offer various Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Masters and Doctorate Degrees along with other short-term courses. The colleges offer accredited degrees and are continuously expanding online courses in order to provide the best education. 

Alabama has many online colleges which offer different varieties of courses for students with a diverse curriculum. It is working continuously towards achieving great heights.

Following are the Best Online Colleges in Alabama in 2019

Troy University
#

1 Troy University

Troy, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 72%

Average Financial Aid: $9,658

Acceptance Rate: 91.00

Total Programs Offered (88)


36

Education Programs

16

Business Management Programs

8

Interdisciplinary Studies Programs

28

Other Programs


Troy University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and offers programs in undergraduate, graduate and certificate levels. It supports the US military members and families, military-affiliated and veteran students with dedicated support.

Troy Online has awarded 19,908 online degrees till date and is still growing. It is known for offering 130 years of quality and affordable education. There are 70 programs which it offers online.

It gives one on one attention from instructors, flexible course delivery as all the world-class resources can be accessed from home. Also, education is affordable as many scholarships are provided.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
#

2 The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Birmingham, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 85%

Average Financial Aid: $8,609

Acceptance Rate: 58.00

Total Programs Offered (92)


21

Health Science Programs

17

Nursing Programs

15

Business Management Programs

39

Other Programs


The University of Alabama at Birmingham is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

It is one of the 14 colleges and universities to be called the Diversity Champions. It offers undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs in various fields.

It provides 60 percent of full-time undergraduates with some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship is $5,250.

The university has recognized faculty in 50 master’s and 37 doctoral degree programs which are spread across 100 different research centers. It provides an online course in 4 categories which are

Online - Most of the content is delivered online with a few potential meetings.
100% - No on-campus meetings.
Distance Accessible - Online as well as periodic on-campus initiatives.
Blended - Half of the content delivered online and remaining via on-campus meetings.

The University of Alabama
#

3 The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 64%

Average Financial Aid: $14,883

Acceptance Rate: 53.00

Total Programs Offered (64)


21

Education Programs

7

Nursing Programs

7

Human Services Programs

29

Other Programs


The University of Alabama is one of the leading Public Education Center that provides a variety of courses in Bachelors, Masters, Doctors degrees.

It has around 39000 students out of which 33,305 are undergraduate and rest are transferred in-enrollment and graduate enrollment. The faculty strength of the university is around 1960 (Full-time and Part-time) who are highly qualified in their respective areas. Each faculty for every 23 students which provides close interactive sessions.

Its athletic team is called the ‘Alabama Crimson Tide’ which includes men’s team and women’s team, which has won SEC titles and a national championship along with 9 awards given by the Associated Press and rest by the Coaches poll.

Internships are provided for valuable and learning in the domain of Advertising and Public Relations, Communication Studies, Creative Media, and many more. It has multiple recruiters, some of them are Adam Roper, Sara Livingston, Michele Moore, Julian Katz and several other recruiters who visit the campus.

Auburn University (AU)
#

4 Auburn University (AU)

Auburn, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 66%

Average Financial Aid: $9,001

Acceptance Rate: 81.00

Total Programs Offered (98)


36

Education Programs

18

Engineering Programs

8

Business Management Programs

36

Other Programs


Auburn University is an excellent, comprehensive, public, land-grant university. It embodies around 28,290 students which include undergraduates, graduates, and professionals.

Auburn offers an online program which uses a variety of delivery modes with the goal of providing convenient access to services and information. The faculty strength is 1,330 out of which 90% have a terminal degree. The student-faculty ratio of Auburn is 19:1.

The amount that students pay in tuition and required fees represents a sizeable and important investment in their future. About 60% of the freshmen are awarded a scholarship.

The students have more than 300 clubs and organizations to indulge themselves with various extracurricular activities. The school mascot ‘Aubie’ has represented the university at events ranging from football games to grand openings and has been a 9-time UCA National Mascot Champion.

Jacksonville State University (JSU)
#

5 Jacksonville State University (JSU)

Jacksonville, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 84%

Average Financial Aid: $8,907

Acceptance Rate: 53.00

Total Programs Offered (44)


16

Education Programs

7

Nursing Programs

5

Public Administration Programs

16

Other Programs


Jacksonville State University is a public university which has the friendliest campus in Alabama. It provides various academic courses and degrees which include Bachelor’s and Master’s, Education Specialist, and Doctorate degrees.

The total enrollment of students in JSU is 9811 in which around 8000 have applied for undergraduate degrees and the rest 1000 applied for postgraduate degrees.

The faculties available is around 480 in which some of them registered for full-time and some part-time. JSU offers a unique kind of environment and opportunities for study, friendship, enhancement of skills like leadership, team building, etc.

They have had a record-breaking academic semester result in the year 2018 and they have achieved a cumulative 3.29 GPA. It supports more than 80% of its students by providing financial aid. In 2017, around 80 million US dollars were assigned for scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment.

Its athletics team, ‘Gamecocks’ along with the university football team achieved national attention.

Columbia Southern University (CSU)
#

6 Columbia Southern University (CSU)

Orange Beach, Alabama


Institution Type: Private For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 92%

Average Financial Aid: $4,081

Acceptance Rate: Request Info

Total Programs Offered (115)


40

Business Management Programs

29

Safety Programs

13

Criminal Justice Programs

33

Other Programs


Columbia Southern University is a private institution which provides online education programs for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level of students. It focuses on affordable and good online quality of education.

It has been accredited by the Distance Education Accreditation Commission (DEAC). The faculties in the university sum up to around 1000. The cost per hour for an undergraduate course is $220.00, for a graduate course is $300 and for a doctoral course, it is $375.

It also provides scholarships, loans and is a part of (FSA) Federal Student Aid that is administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

Minimum GPA required for taking admission in CSU is GPA 3.0. It provides benefits for military students, such as the GI Bill, GoArmyEd, Military training credits transfer, Tuition services, and career development counseling.

University of North Alabama (UNA)
#

7 University of North Alabama (UNA)

Florence, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 86%

Average Financial Aid: $6,034

Acceptance Rate: 56.00

Total Programs Offered (23)


5

Education Programs

4

Sociology Programs

3

Criminal Justice Programs

11

Other Programs


The University of North Alabama is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCC). It offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate majors, minors and concentrations which is on-campus, online or both. There are around 270 faculty members who are dedicated to their areas and to the students.

The financial aid given by the college is in the form of scholarships, student loans, grants, private loans, etc. The average tuition for in-state students is $7,774 and for out-of-state students is $13,870.

It also offers an Army ROTC program for the military students. This program includes Army ROTC scholarship as well. The tuition fee is divided into a monthly payment plan that enables students and families to spread all or part of annual expenses over equal monthly payments.

University of West Alabama (UWA)
#

8 University of West Alabama (UWA)

Livingston, Alabama


Institution Type: Public

Financial Aid Percentage: 84%

Average Financial Aid: $5,322

Acceptance Rate: 53.00

Total Programs Offered (44)


28

Education Programs

5

Psychology Programs

4

Business Management Programs

7

Other Programs


The University of West Alabama is a public university that provides various online degrees and certificates in bachelors, masters, educational specialists and educational doctorates.

It has around 4600 student enrollments and among them, 2100 applied for undergraduate, 270 for undergraduate transfer-in enrollment and rest have applied for the graduate program. The total number of faculties present is 235 in which few are assigned for fulltime and remaining are for part-time.

It has a very reasonable tuition fee for both in-state and out-state students. Also, 80% of the students at the University of Alabama get a chance to receive grants, scholarships, and loans that help the students to make their education easier.

The minimum average GPA requirements for admission in this university is 3.23 GPA for all students.

Heritage Christian University (HCU)
#

9 Heritage Christian University (HCU)

Florence, Alabama


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $9,781

Acceptance Rate: 33.00

Total Programs Offered (5)


4

Theology Programs

1

Arts Program


Heritage Christian University is a private bible college that is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). It offers programs for undergraduate and graduate students both in-class and online.

The average tuition fee is around $9,792. HCU with the help from Cash Course (online resource from the National Endowment for Financial Education) improves students well-being. It gives many scholarships for the students such as Legacy Scholarship, Undergraduate and Graduate Online Student Scholarship, High School Honors Scholarship, etc. on fulfilling the given criteria.

Its Department of Student Affairs (DSA) aims at enhancing student’s spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical well-being.

It is a military friendly school which assists veteran students in pursuing educational objectives by certifying enrolment for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Faulkner University
#

10 Faulkner University

Montgomery, Alabama


Institution Type: Private Not-For-Profit

Financial Aid Percentage: 100%

Average Financial Aid: $10,589

Acceptance Rate: 45.00

Total Programs Offered (22)


4

Theology Programs

4

Psychology Programs

3

Criminal Justice Programs

11

Other Programs


Faulkner University is a private, Christian liberal arts university, situated in Alabama. It is accredited by the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). It offers programs in graduate and undergraduate degrees. It also provides more than 7 online degrees and certificates for students. Around 3300 students apply every year to study at this university.

The total instructional faculty sum up to 120 and out of which 65.8% have an either doctorate or terminal degree.

The minimum GPA requirement for taking admission here is 3.13 GPA. It provides various benefits to online students and gives them a chance to choose their wide area of subjects, according to their suitable time.

The undergraduate students have to complete 160 hours of compulsory community services as deemed mandatory by the university.

The athletic team of the university is famous by the name ‘Eagles’.