Best Online Colleges in Michigan of 2025

University Headquarters (HQ) is an industry-leading, independent educational organization that provides independent college rankings using a proprietary formula to create first class, unbiased rankings. The team at University HQ strives to provide accurate and trustworthy rankings that highlight the best programs in Michigan.

Featured Online Programs

Are you thinking about attending an online college in Michigan? The state is home to many academic institutions that offer remote learning programs. Students can choose from a wide variety of degree programs at the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s levels. Some schools even offer online PhD and doctorate degrees in some subject areas.

Enrolling in an online degree program in Michigan can be very rewarding and professionally beneficial. Employment opportunities will ultimately depend on the type of degree earned, but graduates are generally more competitive in the job market, especially when compared to candidates who lack higher education. Individuals with degrees are often perceived as better qualified and capable in the workplace, which can offer a greater sense of security and may lead to more advancement opportunities. Graduates also tend to make more money, especially those with higher-level degrees.

As of February 2022, the civilian labor force in Michigan was 4,804,200. Of these employable individuals, 4,576,200 had jobs and 228,000 did not. This makes the state’s unemployment rate for the state 4.7%. This is down significantly from the year before when unemployment was 6.3%. In fact, Michigan has seen a consistent decline in unemployment rates since hitting a record high in April 2020. Prior to this, the unemployment rate was 3.8%.

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Online Higher Education in Michigan

For the 2020-2021 academic year, there were a total of 501,836 students enrolled at Michigan colleges and universities. This includes 426,507 undergraduate and 75,329 graduate school students. Most attended school full-time, with only 185,076 enrolled part-time.

Notably, just under half of Michigan students were enrolled in online degree options exclusively, with 218,455 opting to take classes 100% virtually. An additional 161,731 were also taking some online classes. Only 121,650 students were not enrolled in any distance learning opportunities. This means that over 75% of undergraduate and graduate students in the state took at least one online class during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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In 2022, the average cost of undergraduate tuition and fees was $7,112 per academic year for Michigan residents. Rates were higher for students from other states, however, who paid an average of $12,438 for the same period. This trend also applies to graduate students, with in-state students paying an average of $17,123 and out-of-state students paying an average of $24,821. Those attending private graduate schools can expect to pay an average of $18,598, regardless of residency status.

Other costs include living expenses, books, and supplies. In 2022, the average living costs of Michigan colleges and universities is $12,899 for students staying on campus and $12,922 for students staying off campus. The average cost of books and supplies is $3,545 for both groups, as drastic increase from the year before when it was only $1,222.

Enrolling in online college and university programs in Michigan is one potential way to save on higher education expenses. This is because some schools charge less for remote learning. Distance learners also do not have to pay the parking and activity fees often required of traditional students. Additionally, most institutions offer the same financial aid opportunities for online students. This means those interested in attending classes remotely should plan to complete and submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms to their school’s finance department.

Our School Rankings Methodology

College and university rankings are an excellent resource for prospective students trying to decide which academic programs to pursue. The information provided can help ensure the degrees selected align well with professional goal, as well as with personal aspirations.

Using a proprietary ratings system, our team ranks Michigan schools that offer online college programs. This system increases accuracy and ensures results are applicable to every type of student.

Some of the data types utilized to generate our rankings include:

Average Graduate Salary
Graduation Rate
Net Price
Reputation
Retention Rate
Student-to-Faculty Ratio

Additionally, our data collection process is solely focused on properly accredited colleges and universities offering credible online courses in the state. Our team performs extremely thorough investigations and assessments to develop the list of top online programs available in Michigan. In order to help students make the best decisions possible, we also carefully consider the overall the quality and affordability of each institution before adding it to the list.