The University of North Carolina Pembroke ranks number one on GetEducated.com's Best Buy list for their distance master's in public administration with concentrations in criminal justice or emergency management. State residents will pay a remarkably low rate of about $3,925 for the entire distance master's while non-residents can expect to pay significantly more ($21,898).
East Carolina University ranked number two at $4,290 (NC); $14,781 (Others), with Troy University of Alabama taking the number three spot at $5,190 for all online degree seekers regardless of their state of residency.
By comparison, the average cost for a distance master's in this career area came in at just over $13,000.
A complete list of GetEducated.com's Top 15 Ranked Best Buys in Online Masters in Justice Studies can be viewed at the clearinghouse's website at http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_cj.asp
"Several higher education cost trends are apparent in the data," comments Vicky Phillips, chief analyst, and GetEducated.com's founder. "The public's best buys continue to come from public university systems, especially those in the South. The most expensive options come from private colleges, notably the for-profit systems, who are heavily invested in charging higher tuition to recoup high advertising costs."
The University of Phoenix, America's largest for-profit online college, failed to make the Best Buy list. Phoenix ranks as one of the two most expensive options for online study in the area of justice. A master's of administration in criminal justice through distance learning at Phoenix costs just over $23,000, almost five times more than the top ranked best buy on the list.
Boston University also rated as an expensive option at just over $23,000.
While cost is the number concern that plagues college students many online learners also express an interest in locating their most "prestigious" option for online study. The more prestigious the degree, the more students are willing to pay. GetEducated.com's new free downloadable guidebook profiles a total of 26 name-brand regionally accredited schools that consumers can choose from.
"Students seeking a high quality name brand distance degree program in the area of justice won't be disappointed," says Phillips. At $13,250 Michigan State University ranks 13th, offering a reasonably priced option from the first college in America to offer a master's degree in justice studies. The Michigan program was launched in 1935 and offers elearners the opportunity to earn the same degree as awarded to residential learners. The Michigan master's program also offers an increasingly popular new major in Homeland Security.
Other prestigious options include the University of Cincinnati, whose faculty in criminal justice has been ranked number one among research-tier universities by the Journal of Criminal Justice. Cincinnati's distance degree mirrors their residential degree. "It's a nationally top ranked program that until recently could only be enjoyed by Ohio residents," comments Phillips. "Degrees of this nationally competitive quality are thankfully becoming more and more common in distance delivery mode."
Consumers can cost compare all their accredited online degree options by downloading a FREE copy of the clearinghouse's new ebook: GetEducated.com's Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools, Criminal Justice, Law & Legal Degrees, at http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlgs_cj.asp
In addition to helping consumers find their best buys in online degrees GetEducated.com's web site has been named by Newsweek's consumer reporting team as "the source" for weeding out phonies among online degrees.
GetEducated.com is owned by higher education professionals whose mission is to help consumers get educated about quality online degrees. The site analyzes, evaluates, ranks, rates, and compares distance degree options nationwide including the online MBA, and distance masters in education, engineering, and computer science.
About: Founded in 1989, GetEducated.com, LLC is the safest place in cyberspace to shop for an online degree ™. The clearinghouse publishes a series of 100% free ebooks to online colleges and issues online degree ratings and rankings based on nationwide surveys.
CONTACT: Goldie McPike, Information Services, GetEducated.com, LLC, Essex Junction, VT. 05456. 802-899-4866. Website: http://www.geteducated.com
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