PreK-12 Education Makes Top-10 in Most Popular Online Programs

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/19/09
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Business administration and psychology top the list of most in-demand degree programs for online education, but preK-12 education holds two spots on the top-10 list, according to a survey by eLearners.com.

Online business administration degrees, whether undergraduate or graduate, were the most popular programs searched for or inquired about on eLearners.com, followed by psychology and nursing degrees. But education holds both the No. 4 slot (early childhood education) and the No. 7 slot (K-12 education).

The site, which is part of EducationDynamics, provides a searchable database of colleges and universities that offer online classes.

The company said the search for online degrees hit dramatic highs in 2008. In November 2008 eLearners.com witnessed a 138 percent increase in unique visitors searching for online degree programs compared to the same period in 2007. eLearners.com created its 2008 list of the most popular online degree programs by looking at the top searches and inquiries made by prospective students on its site.

The top online degree programs for 2008, according to the survey, are:

  1. Business Administration and MBA
  2. Psychology
  3. Nursing
  4. Early Childhood Education
  5. Accounting
  6. Criminal Justice
  7. K-12 Education
  8. Health Administration
  9. Engineering
  10. Management

"As people retool to make themselves more competitive, they are turning to online education in record numbers for the flexibility, and seeking business degrees for the fundamentals, and psychology and nursing degrees to fill or advance in industries with great demand," said Terrence Thomas, an executive with the company.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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