Liberty University University’s Snapshot

100+

Online master’s programs

~$565

Per credit hour

~$20k

Typical total cost

8 wk

Terms · 6 starts/yr

Key policies

Institution type

Private, nonprofit (Baptist-affiliated)

Regional accreditation

SACSCOC

Admissions model

Rolling — no application deadlines

GRE/GMAT required

Not required

Military rates

~$275/credit

Notable Programmatic Accreditations

  • ACBSP
  • CACREP
  • CSWE
  • CCNE
  • ATS
  • NSA/DHS CAE-CD
Written By - OMC Admin
Last Updated: May 15, 2026
Liberty University

Start Here: Compare Liberty by What Matters Most

  • Compare faith integration → Christian worldview embedded across all programs and coursework
  • Compare affordability → ~$565 per credit standard tuition with one of the lowest military tuition rates among major online universities
  • Compare accreditation → SACSCOC regional accreditation plus CACREP, CSWE, CCNE, ATS, and ACBSP programmatic credentials
  • Compare program breadth → 100+ online master’s programs across business, counseling, divinity, healthcare, education, criminal justice, and more
  • Compare alternatives → SNHU, Grand Canyon University, WGU, and Eastern University

Liberty’s online operation is among the largest in the country, enrolling tens of thousands of online graduate students. It is explicitly nonprofit — a distinction worth noting because Liberty is occasionally confused with for-profit institutions due to its scale and marketing presence. The university’s faith integration is not a soft cultural feature; it is a structural component of every program’s curriculum, which makes institutional fit a primary decision factor for prospective students.

What Liberty University Is Known For

Liberty’s online master’s reputation is built on a specific combination of factors that matter differently depending on what a student needs:

Massive program scale.

With over 100 online master’s programs spanning business, education, counseling, criminal justice, nursing, divinity, public health, cybersecurity, and more, Liberty offers one of the broadest program menus of any single institution. Few universities — including Southern New Hampshire University — match the sheer variety.

Explicit Christian worldview integration.

Every program at Liberty incorporates Christian principles into coursework. This is not optional or compartmentalized — it is embedded in assignments, discussions, and program design. For students who want faith woven into their graduate education, this is a defining strength. For students who prefer secular academic environments, it is a defining constraint.

Military-friendly pricing and support.

Liberty offers one of the most generous military tuition discounts among major online universities: approximately $275 per credit hour for active-duty service members, veterans, and eligible military family members. The university also provides dedicated military support services and flexible scheduling designed for deployment and PCS cycles.

Strong counseling and divinity programs.

Liberty’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling holds CACREP accreditation, which is the gold standard for counseling licensure eligibility. Its Master of Divinity is ATS-accredited and one of the largest online M.Div. programs in the U.S. These are among Liberty’s most respected and distinctive offerings.

Affordable tuition relative to breadth.

At roughly $565 per credit hour for most programs, Liberty’s pricing is competitive with other large-scale online universities and significantly below many private institutions offering comparable program variety.

8-week accelerated course format.

Courses run in compressed 8-week terms with rolling start dates, allowing students to begin almost any month and progress through programs at a steady pace without waiting for traditional semester starts.

Online Master’s Programs by Subject

Liberty’s online master’s catalog is organized below by subject area. Each program entry includes key data points — credit hours, cost, accreditation, and format details — to support direct comparison.

Liberty’s business programs are accredited by ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs). ACBSP is a recognized business accreditor, though it is distinct from AACSB — the accreditation most frequently cited by top-ranked business schools. Students whose career goals or employers specifically require AACSB-accredited programs should verify whether ACBSP meets their needs. The MBA program offers one of the widest concentration selections available among online MBAs.

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA) — 45 credits | $25,425 est. total | ACBSP | 18–24 months | 18 concentrations including Finance, Healthcare Management, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, and Digital Marketing | No GMAT required (waiver available) | Fully online
  • MS in Accounting — 36 credits | $20,340 est. total | ACBSP | 12–24 months | Designed to help meet CPA exam credit-hour requirements | Fully online
  • MS in Management — 36 credits | $20,340 est. total | ACBSP | 12–24 months | Concentrations in Executive Leadership, Healthcare Management, Human Resources, Nonprofit Leadership, Public Administration | Fully online
  • MS in Sport Management — 36 credits | $20,340 est. total | 12–24 months | Concentrations in Sport Administration, Sport Marketing & Media, Outdoor Recreation & Tourism | Fully online
  • MS in Project Management — 36 credits | $20,340 est. total | 12–24 months | Curriculum aligned with PMI standards | Fully online

How Liberty University Compares

Liberty occupies a distinct position in the online master’s landscape: it combines massive scale with explicit faith integration. Here’s how it stacks up against comparable institutions across the dimensions that matter most.

Liberty vs. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

SNHU is the closest secular parallel to Liberty in terms of scale, rolling admissions, and competitive tuition. Both are nonprofit, and both offer extensive online master’s catalogs. The fundamental difference is institutional culture: SNHU is secular, while Liberty requires Christian worldview integration in every program. For students who want faith in their coursework, Liberty is the clear choice. For students who prefer a secular environment or whose employers may scrutinize faith-based credentials, SNHU is the natural alternative. SNHU’s business programs also hold ACBSP accreditation, placing them on a similar footing in that regard.

Liberty vs. Grand Canyon University (GCU)

Grand Canyon University is also a large, faith-based university with a substantial online master’s portfolio. However, GCU is interdenominational and generally integrates faith less prescriptively than Liberty’s Baptist-rooted approach. GCU transitioned from for-profit to nonprofit status in recent years, while Liberty has long operated as a nonprofit. Liberty offers a broader total number of online master’s programs and has deeper offerings in divinity and ministry. GCU may appeal to students who want a Christian context but prefer lighter-touch faith integration.

Liberty vs. Western Governors University (WGU)

Western Governors University operates on a fundamentally different model: competency-based, self-paced, with flat-rate tuition per six-month term. Liberty uses a traditional credit-hour structure with 8-week instructor-led courses. WGU is secular and focused on career-changers and working professionals in education, business, IT, and healthcare. Liberty is faith-based with a broader liberal arts, ministry, and counseling portfolio. Students who thrive with self-paced learning and want to accelerate based on prior knowledge will prefer WGU. Students who prefer structured class schedules and want faith integrated into their studies will prefer Liberty.

Liberty vs. Eastern University

Eastern University is a much smaller Christian institution rooted in a social justice-oriented theological tradition. Eastern offers far fewer online master’s programs and is more selective in scope. Liberty is much larger, theologically more conservative, and offers dramatically more program variety. Eastern may appeal to students who want a smaller, more intimate Christian academic community with progressive theological emphasis.

DimensionLibertySNHUGCUWGU
Institutional typePrivate nonprofit, faith-basedPrivate nonprofit, secularPrivate nonprofit, faith-basedPrivate nonprofit, secular
Online master’s programs100+100+75+20+
Faith integrationMandatory, all programsNonePresent, lighter-touchNone
Tuition per credit~$565~$627~$570Flat-rate ~$4,295/term
Military discount~$275/creditVariesVariesLimited
AdmissionsRolling, accessibleRolling, accessibleRolling, accessibleRolling, accessible
Course format8-week terms8-week terms8-week termsCompetency-based, self-paced
Business accreditationACBSPACBSPACBSPACBSP

Liberty University is

Best For

Liberty is an especially strong fit for these student profiles:

  • Students who want faith explicitly integrated into graduate education. If having a Christian worldview embedded in your coursework, discussions, and assignments is important to you — not just as an extracurricular but as a structural element — Liberty delivers this more consistently than most competitors.
  • Active-duty military, veterans, and military spouses. Liberty’s ~$275/credit military tuition rate cuts program costs roughly in half. Combined with rolling start dates, 8-week terms, and dedicated military student support, it is one of the most accommodating options for students managing deployment cycles or frequent relocations.
  • Working professionals who need maximum scheduling flexibility. Rolling admissions every eight weeks, fully asynchronous coursework for most programs, and no standardized test requirements make Liberty accessible for students who cannot align with traditional academic calendars.
  • Students seeking counseling, ministry, or divinity degrees from a Christian institution. Liberty’s CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, COAMFTE-accredited Marriage & Family Therapy program, and ATS-accredited Master of Divinity are among its most credentialed and reputable offerings. Students pursuing pastoral, chaplaincy, or faith-integrated counseling careers will find strong alignment here.
  • Budget-conscious students who want broad program selection. At ~$565/credit for most programs, Liberty is priced competitively for a private nonprofit with SACSCOC accreditation and this level of program variety. Students who want to explore multiple concentration options within a single institution will appreciate the breadth.

Not a Best Fit For

Liberty is not the right fit for every student. These are specific scenarios where another institution would likely serve you better:

  • You prefer a secular academic environment. Faith integration at Liberty is not optional — it is woven into course content, assignments, and discussion forums across every program. If you want a graduate education that does not include religious framing, institutions like SNHU or Western Governors University offer comparable scale and pricing without faith components.
  • You need AACSB-accredited business programs. Liberty’s business school holds ACBSP accreditation, which is a recognized accreditor, but it is not AACSB. For students whose target employers, promotion boards, or career goals specifically require or strongly prefer AACSB-accredited programs , Liberty’s MBA and business degrees will not satisfy that requirement.
  • You are pursuing an academic or research-intensive career path. Liberty is not an R1 research university. Students seeking faculty positions, research fellowships, or doctoral program admission at research-intensive institutions may find that Liberty’s credentials carry less weight in those specific contexts compared to degrees from R1 universities.
  • You want competency-based or self-paced learning. Liberty’s programs use structured 8-week terms with instructor-led courses and fixed assignment deadlines. Students who prefer to accelerate through material based on prior knowledge, or who thrive with fully self-paced models, should consider WGU instead.
  • Your licensing board or employer requires specific programmatic accreditations that Liberty may not hold. While Liberty holds strong accreditations in counseling (CACREP), social work (CSWE), nursing (CCNE), and divinity (ATS), some programs — such as the MPH (not CEPH-accredited) and the MA in Professional Counseling (not CACREP-accredited) — lack the specialized accreditations that certain states, licensing boards, or employers require. Always verify accreditation requirements for your target career before enrolling.

These five programs represent areas where Liberty offers distinctive strength, recognized accreditation, or standout value:

This is arguably Liberty’s single strongest online master’s program. CACREP accreditation places it among a select group of online counseling programs that meet the licensure eligibility standard most states require. Six concentration options — including Addictions & Recovery, Marriage & Family, and Military Resilience — allow specialization within a highly credentialed framework. The 60-credit, 24–36-month program does require in-person practicum and internship hours. Best for students pursuing LPC or equivalent licensure who want faith-integrated counseling training. Students comparing clinical psychology programs nationally should note this CACREP distinction.

Admissions Snapshot

Liberty’s admissions model is designed for accessibility, not selectivity:

  • Admissions type: Rolling — applications accepted year-round with new 8-week terms starting approximately every eight weeks
  • GRE/GMAT: Not required for the majority of programs (some doctoral or advanced programs may have exceptions)
  • Typical GPA expectation: Most programs require a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5–3.0, depending on the specific program. Some programs accept conditional admission for applicants below the threshold.
  • Application process: Online application, official transcripts, and program-specific requirements (e.g., clinical programs may require prerequisite courses or background checks). No application fee for most programs.
  • Transfer credits: Liberty generally accepts up to 50% of a program’s credit hours in transfer from regionally accredited institutions, though policies vary by program.
  • Program-specific exceptions: Clinical counseling (CACREP), MSW, MSN, and Marriage & Family Therapy programs have additional requirements , including prerequisite coursework, background checks, and practicum placement arrangements.

Overall, Liberty’s admissions are among the most accessible of any regionally accredited university offering this volume of master’s programs. Students who want to explore other online master’s programs that don’t require the GRE will find that Liberty’s approach is consistent with a broader industry trend.

Tuition & Cost Overview

Liberty’s tuition structure is straightforward, with a consistent per-credit rate across most programs and a significant military discount:

  • Standard online tuition: ~$565 per credit hour
  • Military tuition rate: ~$275 per credit hour (active-duty, veterans, and eligible family members)
  • Fees: Minimal additional fees for most programs; some clinical programs may have lab, practicum placement, or background check fees
  • Financial aid: Federal financial aid (FAFSA) available; institutional scholarships and employer tuition reimbursement partnerships also offered

Estimated total cost ranges:

Program lengthStandard rateMilitary rate
33 credits (e.g., MSW Advanced Standing)~$18,645~$9,075
36 credits (most master’s programs)~$20,340~$9,900
45 credits (MBA, MPH)~$25,425~$12,375
60 credits (Clinical Counseling, MSW, MFT)~$33,900~$16,500
78 credits (Master of Divinity)~$44,070~$21,450

How this compares: Liberty’s standard rate is broadly competitive with other large nonprofit online universities. SNHU charges approximately $627 per credit; GCU charges approximately $570. WGU’s flat-rate model (~$4,295 per six-month term) can be cheaper for students who accelerate, but more expensive for those who don’t. Liberty’s military rate is among the lowest in the industry, making it one of the most cost-effective options for eligible service members and veterans. Students exploring financial strategies should also review student loan forgiveness programs that may apply to graduates in public service or nonprofit roles.

Visit Liberty University’s official online programs page

These OMC ranking pages are directly relevant to prospective Liberty students: