Most Affordable Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

As you might expect from a quality, fully-accredited public school, Fort Hays State University offers its Doctor of Nursing Practice program with one of the most affordable tuition rates available. The four-year BSN to DNP option features coursework completed almost entirely online with only a few, brief campus visits required. Students also complete substantial practice hours in-person at program-approved clinical sites in Kansas. Admission requirements include a current RN license and BSN degree earned with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Current RNs with nursing masters can opt for the MSN to DNP program. Most coursework is completed online with no required preceptored clinicals. The program does require a one-day visit to campus each year.  Along with affordable tuition rates, FHSU offers several financial aid opportunities, including Nursing Department Scholarships and a forgivable loan program. 

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $400/credit
• Credits: 75 (BSN to DNP); 30 to 33 (MSN to DNP)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• BSN to DNP (Partially-online)
• MSN to DNP (Fully-online coursework with one required campus visit annually and in-person clinical hours)

Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s DNP program prepares graduates for advanced nursing practice as FNPs in underserved rural communities. Current RNs entering the program with a BSN degree and patient care experience complete 73 credit hours over three years of full-time or five years of part-time study. Didactic coursework is completed online, but students must attend a six-day residency on NOSU’s Alva campus before the start of their 1,020 clinical practicum hours. Current RNs holding an MSN Family Nurse Practitioner degree and certification in an advanced practice specialty may be admitted with advanced placement status allowing them to earn their DNPs with 37 to 39 credit hours of coursework. All DNP students return to campus at the end of their programs for the oral defense of their DNP scholarly projects. 

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $388.50/credit (in-state); $642.50/credit (out-of-state)
• Credits: 73 (37-39 for Advance Placement students)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• BSN to DNP (Partially-online)

You’d be hard-pressed to find many U.S. colleges or universities that offer as many online doctoral degree programs as Kentucky’s University of the Cumberlands. UC currently houses eight doctorates with fully-online or partially-online programs in business, education, information technology, and leadership. Total credit hour and additional degree requirements vary by program, as do tuition rates. However, total costs for many UC doctorate programs are surprisingly competitive, proving that there are exceptions to the general rule that degrees from private schools are always more expensive than those from public ones. School-sponsored payment plans are also available. UC is approved by the U.S. Department of Education, making its students eligible for federal student financial aid.  

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $315-$700/credit
• Credits: 60-66 (varies by program)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Fully-online)
• PhD in Business (Fully-online)
• Executive PhD in Business (Partially-online)
• EdD in Educational Leadership (Fully-online)
• PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision (Fully-online coursework with in-person practicum/internship)
• PhD in Information Technology (Fully-online)
• PhD in Leadership Studies (Fully-online)
• Executive PhD in Leadership (Partially-online)

Alabama’s Columbia Southern University breaks the “private schools are more expensive” rule with its online Doctor of Business Administration program. Columbia Southern’s DBA offers one of the most student-friendly distance programs available with all coursework in a 100% online asynchronous format and flexible schedules allowing students to complete courses in four to 10 weeks. Students opting for CSU’s LifePace Learning model can begin their programs at any time. Along with its very competitive tuition rate, CSU offers several cost-saving features like free textbooks and tutoring services, military tuition assistance, and one-course-at-a-time payment plans to its DBA students. Federal student aid is also available to qualifying students.

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $420/credit
• Credits: 61

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Fully-online)

New Mexico State University offers three Doctor of Nursing options with coursework accessed and completed entirely online. Current RNs with a nursing bachelor’s degree choose between BSN to DNP Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner tracks. Both tracks require three years of full-time study that culminate in the completion and defense of a DNP scholarly project. The MSN to DNP program allows nursing master’s degree holders to earn their DNP degree with two years of full-time study, also culminating in a DNP scholarly project. All didactic coursework is completely online in a combination of synchronous and asynchronous formats. DNP students must also complete 1,000 hours of supervised clinical practice typically attended at program-approved sites in their local communities.  Along with exceptionally competitive tuition rates, DNP students may be eligible for a range of financial aid opportunities, including scholarships, grants, student loans, and work-study.

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $436/credit
• Credits: 74 (BSN to DNP); 36-45 (MSN to DNP)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• BSN to DNP Family Nurse Practitioner (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• BSN to DNP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• MSN to DNP Population Health Leadership (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours required of some students)

Its low per-credit tuition rate and total of only 30 credit hours of required coursework for EdS degree holders makes the hybrid-formatted Doctor of Educational Leadership from Southwest Baptist University among the best deals for those wanting an affordable online EdD. The program uses a three-tiered “leveling options” model that allows students entering the program at different points along their academic paths to complete and pay for only the credits they need to earn their degrees. Students with Educational Administration MS degrees and building-level certifications, for example, complete a three-year, 51 credit program while students entering with a non-administration education master’s complete a 73-credit curriculum over four years. Some coursework is delivered online through a combination of synchronous lecture sessions and asynchronous assignments. Most coursework, however, is completed on SBU’s main campus in Bolivar, Missouri. 

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $445/credit
• Credits: 30-73 (varies by track)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• EdD in Educational Leadership (Partially-online)

Ashland University, a private Christian institution located in Ashland, Ohio, offers six doctoral degree options featuring online study. Current RNs with a nursing bachelor’s degree choose one of two BSN to DNP concentrations: Family Nurse Practitioner or Health Systems Leadership. Students with a nursing master’s and RN licensure complete either the Advanced Practice or Health Systems Leadership MSN to DNP program. Along with online coursework, all DNP students complete substantial in-person residencies at clinics, hospitals, or other healthcare facilities in their local areas. 

Students in Ashland’s Executive Doctorate in Leadership Studies program complete core coursework over four semesters through a combination of online and face-to-face classes followed by the writing and defense dissertations. Ashland’s hybrid-formatted Doctor of Ministry degree program takes three to six years and combines core religion, research, and writing courses with coursework in a specialization track: Transformational Leadership, Black Church Studies, or Chaplaincy.  Students can also choose the Independent Design track that allows them to focus on their own unique academic interests.  

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $710-$965/credit
• Credits: 32-77 (varies by program)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• BSN to DNP Family Nurse Practitioner (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• BSN to DNP Health Systems Leadership (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• MSN to DNP Advanced Practice (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• MSN to DNP Health Systems Leadership (Fully-online coursework with in-person clinical hours)
• Executive Doctorate in Leadership Studies (Partially-online)
• Doctor of Ministry (Partially-online)

The Doctor of Ministry degree from Southern Baptist Luther Rice College & Seminary provides students seeking training in ministry leadership and church administration the opportunity to earn their DMin in a convenient and affordable 30 credit hour program. Students complete four core courses during week-long modules attended in-person on the college’s Lithonia, Georgia campus. Remaining coursework is accessed and completed 100% online. The program culminates in the design and writing of a Doctoral Ministry Project.

Admission requirements for the DMin program include a Master in Divinity degree from a CHEA-recognized accredited institution earned with a minimum 3.0 GPA on approved graduate-level coursework. Candidates with MAs in Bible or Theology may be admitted after completing additional coursework. Admission requirements include submittal of a research paper adhering to program guidelines and a two-page paper detailing the candidate’s Christian ministry experience and adherence to Christian faith fundamentals and character. 

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $377/credit
• Credits: 30

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• Doctor of Ministry (Partially-online)

The one-of-a-kind EdD in Bilingual Education from Texas A&M University Kingsville prepares graduates for administrative careers focused primarily on the educational needs of school-age Mexican American students and other linguistically and culturally diverse populations. The 63 credit hour program consists of 21 courses and experiences in the fields of education, history, sociology, Spanish, and other languages. All requirements are completed online with no on-campus visits. Classes are presented via Zoom in a synchronous format. The program culminates with the preparation and defense of a dissertation. Admission requirements for the Bilingual Education EdD program include a master’s degree from an accredited university with a 3.25 or higher GPA on all graduate coursework, a minimum GRE score of 1,000 (verbal + quantitative), three letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose.  

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $42,210 (total program tuition and fees)
• Credits: 63

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• EdD in Bilingual Education (Fully-online)

Arkansas State University offers two doctoral degrees with substantial online program options. Their Doctor of Educational Leadership prepares students for top-level administrative and leadership roles in schools and school districts on all education levels. All courses are online in a combination of synchronous classes and additional asynchronous coursework. Students also participate in three, day-long summer seminars on the ASU campus in Jonesboro at the beginning, middle, and end of their pre-dissertation coursework.

ASU’s two-year, full-time Doctor of Nursing Practice is a post-master’s program also featuring fully-online didactic coursework along with on-campus immersion experiences before the beginning of each semester. As part of the curriculum, DNP students complete three internship courses totaling 540 clock hours of practice in an approved clinical setting.

Program Highlights:

• Tuition: $333/credit (DNP); $440/credit (EdD)
• Credits: 41 (DNP); 60 (EdD)

Online Doctoral and PhD Programs

• Doctor on Nursing Practice (DNP) (Fully-online coursework with on-campus sessions each semester and in-person clinical practice internships)
• EdD in Educational Leadership (Fully-online coursework plus three, 3-day, on-campus seminars)