Can You Get a Bachelors Degree Online?

Yes. Accredited institutions in every sector offer bachelors degrees delivered entirely online, in most majors, and the degree is the same credential a campus student receives. The share of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online has grown to the point that several of the largest universities in the country, by enrollment, are primarily online institutions. The question is no longer whether an online bachelors degree is possible. It is which programs are genuinely fully online, and how to choose among the schools that offer them.

This guide covers what is and is not available fully online, how to verify a specific program, and how to compare the institutions that offer it.

Schools to compare

The institutions below are public and private nonprofit universities that enroll most or all of their undergraduates fully online, including the online divisions of several state university systems. They are shown as a comparison starting point, not a ranking. Each card links to the school’s federal cost data.

Editorial comparison, not a sponsored listing; sponsored listings on this site appear in labeled widgets (see our advertising disclosure). CollegeNPC.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by any institution shown. Figures are federal reporting and vary by student, program, and year; confirm current costs with each school.

What a fully online bachelors degree looks like

The credential is the same. At an accredited institution, an online bachelors degree has the same credit total, the same major requirements, and the same diploma as the campus version. Transcripts record courses and grades, not delivery format.

The delivery differs. Fully online programs are typically asynchronous, with weekly deadlines rather than meeting times, though some run live sessions. Exams are proctored remotely by webcam or at testing centers. Advising, tutoring, and library access are delivered online. Adult-serving institutions usually run shorter terms with more frequent start dates than campus programs, covered in the start dates guide.

The institutions differ most. Some universities run online programs as an extension of the campus, with the same faculty and calendar. Others are built entirely around distance students. The share of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online, reported to the federal government by every institution and shown on the school cards throughout this section, tells you which kind of school you are looking at.

Which majors are available fully online

Widely available fully online: business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, management, information technology, cybersecurity, computer science, psychology, criminal justice, communications, healthcare administration and management, public health, human services, social work at the bachelors level, general studies and liberal arts, history, English, political science, and most education degrees that do not lead directly to licensure.

Usually hybrid or campus-based: nursing pre-licensure programs (RN-to-BSN programs for existing nurses are widely online), most engineering degrees, chemistry, biology and physics with lab requirements, fine and performing arts, architecture, and teacher preparation programs that require student teaching. Hybrid versions of many of these exist, with coursework online and labs, clinicals, or placements arranged locally.

The bachelors degrees by major pages show, from federal completions data, which primarily online institutions actually award each of nineteen majors. The line moves every year, and it varies by institution. The only reliable answer for a specific major is the program page and a direct question: “Is every component of this degree, including any lab, practicum, or capstone, deliverable without attending in person?”

How to verify a program is legitimate and fully online

1. Verify institutional accreditation in the U.S. Department of Education’s DAPIP database, not on the school’s website. The accreditation guide covers the two-minute check.
2. For licensed fields, verify programmatic accreditation with the relevant board in the state where you intend to work.
3. Confirm delivery format for the specific program, including residencies, proctoring, and placements.
4. Confirm state authorization. Institutions must be authorized to enroll online students in your state; most are through a reciprocity agreement, with exceptions covered in the online colleges near me guide.
5. Check the share of undergraduates fully online on the school’s page here, which tells you whether the institution is built for distance students.

Choosing among the schools that offer it

Once a program passes verification, the decision comes down to the same figures for every school: net price for your income bracket, the share of students who finish, and median debt at graduation, all from federal reporting on each school’s page here. The hub guide walks through the five questions in order, and the situation-specific guides cover working adults, transfer credit, degree completion, and how fast a degree can realistically be finished.

Next steps

1. Confirm the major you want is deliverable fully online at two or three accredited candidates.
2. Verify each institution in the DAPIP database.
3. Get a written transfer credit evaluation if you have any prior credit.
4. Compare finalists on net price and completion rate using their school pages here and the comparison tool.

Data on this page: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS published charges (2023-24) and average net price (2022-23), and College Scorecard outcomes, retrieved 2026-08-13. Every figure renders from the site data pipeline; definitions, survey years, and refresh cadence are on the methodology page.