For graduate students, apart from completing their online degrees successfully, there is always a deep desire to graduate debt-free. Unfortunately, for many, this may be a distant dream. A college that offers completely free tuition, or for that matter a bachelor’s degree or completely tuition-free graduate programs, are generally hard to come by, which is why students look for financial aid and take out student loans, often resulting in student loan debt.
Forty years ago, the cost of attending a private college was the modern equivalent of $17,680 per year, and for a public college, it was $8,250. In thirty years, it grew to $38,720 for private colleges and $16,460 for public colleges. Fast forward to 2018-19, and those costs have risen to $48,510 for private and $ 21,370 for public colleges. So, if one is to look at the cost of education over the years, it is very obvious that it has gone up by leaps and bounds.
According to Fred’s data, in 2020, college graduates’ weekly wages were approximately 84 percent more than those of high school graduates. Hence, higher education remains a very smart investment. In this environment where education is such a big business, it is very difficult to find free online degree programs, r free education in general.
This guide digs deep into the area of free tuition to see if there are any free masters degree online, walks students through how to do a school search and find free master’s programs, along with finding ways to reduce the cost of online degrees.
There are several variants of ‘free college education’ that are available for students to explore. Many of these can either make degree programs almost completely tuition-free or at least bring down the overall costs of education. Here are a few:
Alternatively or additionally, some universities may offer a rebate program for military service and naval academy students, while others may run an on-campus work program for a professional studies certificate or an online master’s degree.
Free college tuition is relatively hard to come by. This is because several factors influence and affect tuition fees, and most colleges find it nearly impossible to mitigate costs and offer free tuition. Here are some key factors that affect free college tuition:
Prospective students looking for free post-secondary education should:
In generic terms, most employers do not care about where the bachelor’s degree or master’s degree is from, as long as the candidate shows the necessary skills required for the job. If the candidate has attended some Ivy league school and not a tuition-free college, those degrees will stand out and be of more value.
There are a few ways one can get a tuition-free master’s:
When prospective students do a school search for free online master’s degrees, they may or may not come across free offerings so easily. This is because programs in some disciplines, such as computer science, liberal arts, or business administration, may have more free programs, while other disciplines may not. Moreover, colleges providing flexible degree programs, trusted partner programs, and online courses, are bound to have a wider selection of free offerings, than those that do not.
When looking for a free online master’s degree, students should check for academic excellence and school rankings. Additionally, it is always recommended to choose an accredited college or program to qualify for better jobs and higher pay, after graduation.
Here are some universities that offer accredited free masters degree online programs:
Since the School’s founding in 1917, Stanford University’s faculty, students, and alumni have solved education’s greatest challenges and improved lives through learning, discovery, and driving change in practice and policy. Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education offers free master’s degrees online for qualifying candidates with a Master’s Degree in Policy, Organization, and Leadership (POLS) studies that can be completed for free in several ways. POLS is a nine-month, cohort-based master’s program. A diverse cohort of students gains the knowledge, theory, and hands-on experience necessary for effective leadership in a wide range of education enterprises. Through online classes, graduate coursework, and capstone field projects with partner sites, students hone critical analysis, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Stanford takes advantage of its strategic position as a global hub of innovation to develop mission-driven professionals. Here are a few ways that qualifying students can make this into a free master’s degree online.
Source – Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System & University Data
*Tuition rates are for in-state and per year. Program specific rates may apply.
**NA – data not available
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