With graduate school rating, however, it is not nearly so simple. You see, graduate school ranking is not an absolute. In undergrad, no matter what you are studying, you have to take a wide variety of different classes with different professors. In graduate school, however, you study under a principal adviser with a comparatively small community of fellow academics. This is why graduate school rankings tell you so little. The important detail is not how good the graduate school is, but whether that particular program is right for you. Sometimes it comes down to one or two professors. As a matter of fact, it can be almost impossible to make an informed decision.

Whether you are looking to go to graduate medical school, law school, or some other program, I recommend that you don’t put too much reliance on ranking. Don’t get me wrong – graduate school rankings are important for the first stage of decision-making. After all, you want to go to a  reputable institution! Nonetheless, a higher ranking graduate school is not necessarily better than a lower one. The important thing is to find a school that emphasizes what you want to learn.

In my case, going to anthropology graduate school, it came down to choosing a particular professor I wanted to study with. Although I wasn’t particularly crazy about the school she taught at, I had read many of her writings and was quite impressed with the work she was doing. I through graduate school rankings to the wind and applied to that program. I have never regretted it.

Perhaps one of the best examples of the quality you can expect from online degree programs it the University of Florida. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the University of Florida has consistently ranked among the U.S. News and World Report’s list of top schools. And the pharmacy school at the University of Florida is currently ranked number 11 out of only sixty-two schools in the nation to obtain an accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and is the highest ranked school to offer a Doctor of Pharmacy degree online. The online degree program in pharmacy is also the largest of it’s kind boasting over one thousand alumni.

But the University of Florida is not the only one to gain national attention for the quality of its online program offerings. The University of Cincinnati has been ranked as the #3 top ranked criminology school in the nation, and it is the only one of its kind to offer a Master of Science in Criminal Justice online. The program has some of the most visible faculty in the field of criminal justice available. And according to a study conducted by the Journal of Criminal Justice, The University of Cincinnati was ranked number one in the nation for most published faculty. They have also ranked in Money Magazine’s top 100 for educational value.

Eastern Kentucky University is also among the distance education providers to boasting rights when it comes to offering top notch programs. Having one of the top undergraduate programs in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology in the nation, Eastern Kentucky University has been dedicated to lifelong learning since 1906.

The University of Saint Mary, who has been offering online education for over a decade, is also among the top ranking academic providers. The University of Saint Mary the only school in the region to be named a “Best Value College” by the Princeton Review which also listed the University of Saint Mary as “Best Midwestern College” for the past three years in a row. The dedication to serving students and offering them a quality educational experience is evident in the online degree programs offered by the University of Saint Mary.

If these universities are any indication, we can expert to see the trend in online education continue to grow, offering students an ever growing pool or degree opportunities. And as more and more people become familiar with the online classroom format, more universities are bound to jump on board and expand their offerings as well. So no matter what degree or program you are looking for, odds are you will find a national recognized program from a well established university so that you can feel good about the degree you have worked so hard to earn.

Online Degree Programs:

Online degree programs offer many advantages such as flexibility and cost savings. Learning can take place at anywhere in the world, individual student can choose where, when and how to study.

Online programs are offered at different levels ranging from Certificate program, Diploma program, Associate degree, Bachelor degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master degree to Doctorate degree. Subject areas include business, psychology, nursing, education, sociology, information technology and so on.

Top 10 Online Universities:

According to “The Best and Worst Online Degree Programs” 2007, the top ten online universities in the world are as follows:

(1) The University of London (UoL)

(2) The University of South Africa

(3) The University of Phoenix

(4) The University of Texas

(5) University of South Australia (UniSA)

(6) University of Southern Queensland (USQ)

(7) The University of Maryland University College

(8) Golden Gate University

(9) Ellis College of NYIT

(10) Stanford University

The University of London is ranked number one in the world for its outstanding online degree programs. It offers more than 100 online and distance qualifications through the University of London External Programme. Students studying through the External Programme are examined to the same standard as full-time on-campus students.

The University of South Australia is the leading provider of distance education in Australia. With more than 32000 on campus and offshore students, it is now the largest university in South Australia.

Prospective students are advised to check the accreditation and reputation of online universities and colleges before enrolling into a program of study.

Please refer to the relevant guides for more information on the latest university ranking and world university ranking.