8 Hot Online Colleges For IT Pros

Check out these colleges and universities that offer online IT courses and degrees to help keep your tech skills and knowledge fresh.

8 Min Read
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Technology has been growing at an exponential rate, and most IT professionals find it hard to keep up -- a factor that can make or break a career. Online colleges can help IT professionals upgrade their skills and maintain their relevance to business needs. Online universities provide tech pros with options to gain industry knowledge and valuable resume-building credentials.

Online education has been a great attraction for IT professionals since its inception. Being in the IT profession is very demanding, and one needs to be constantly updated about all the latest trends and updates in technology. Online universities provide an opportunity for IT pros to gain the knowledge they require from wherever they are, accessing classroom and teachers remotely to keep themselves updated.

Many online universities provide professionals with opportunities to learn new skills while continuing with their current job. These universities and colleges offer varying levels of technical depth, ranging from beginner computer science courses to advanced architecture or development studies. Many of their online IT courses even offer hands-on training, providing candidates with first-hand experience to apply new skills. These courses in networking, software programming, big data analytics, and web development help countless IT pros take their careers to a new level with knowledge offered through the online medium.

On the following pages, you’ll find details on various online colleges, the IT courses they offer, and approximate costs for these courses. Check out these hot online universities and the IT credentials they offer to boost your resume. 

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Capella University

Capella University provides students with varied backgrounds the platform to pursue online bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree courses. The programs or courses are based on a self-paced learning model where students can learn what businesses need at a brisk pace without the constraints of deadlines looming ahead. Degrees earned through the self-paced model are the same as those earned through more traditional modes. Here are IT degrees offered by Capella University:

Fees

Doctoral Degree

  • Tuition (per quarter) -- $2,800 - $5,177

  • Tuition (per credit) -- $630 - $728

  • Colloquia -- $1,495

  • Weekend-in-Residence  -- $275

  • Year-in-Residence Extended Seminar -- $2,990 - $3,265

Master’s Degree

  • Tuition (per credit) -- $387 - $737

  • Self-paced option (per quarter)- -- $2,200

  • Residency -- $1,495

  • Weekend-in-Residence -- $275

  • Week-in-Residence -- $1,495

  • Year-in-Residence Extended Seminar -- $2,990 - $3,265

Bachelor’s degree

  • Tuition (per credit) -- $315-$371

  • Self-paced Option (per quarter) -- $2,000

Certificate programs    

  • Tuition (per quarter) -- $4,698

  • Tuition (per credit) -- $387 - $737

  • Self-paced option (per quarter) -- $2,200

  • Weekend-in-Residence -- $275

  • Week-in-Residence -- $1,495

  • Year-in-Residence Extended Seminar -- $2,990 to $3,265

Figure 3:

Colorado Technical University

Colorado Technical University provides degree programs that focus on the needs of industry with skills and additional knowledge for IT professionals. With these degree programs, the university provides an opportunity for critical thinkers to develop their professional skills in various domains of IT, and students have instructors at their disposal as learning associates while they work to earn online IT degrees.

Fees

Contact the university's administration to get details about its fee structure. 

Figure 4:

Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University in Arizona provides IT professionals who wish to gain knowledge but cannot participate in regular studies the flexibility to learn at any time of the day, with classes available online 24/7. This enables candidates with busy schedules to choose the times of their classes as per their availability. Here are some of the university's popular online IT degrees:

Fees

  • Undergraduate tuition fee - $465 per credit

  • Graduate tuition fee - $495 per credit

Figure 5:

Liberty University

IT pros seeking a variety of courses find the Liberty University appealing, as it provides courses in all available areas of education and has almost 200 courses available online. The university provides certificates from undergraduate to doctoral degrees.

Information Technology

Business

Fees

  • Undergraduate - $415/$360 (part-time per-hour rate/full-time per-hour rate)

  • Graduate - $565/$520 (part-time per-hour rate/full-time per-hour rate)

  • PhD and doctorate - $600/$550 (part-time per-hour rate/full-time per-hour rate)

  • Course hours range from 30 to 120

Figure 6:

Regis University

Regis University offers a variety of online undergraduate and graduate programs for IT professionals who wish to pursue further studies along with their job. This university provides students with the option to interact with course instructors  as well as other students.

Undergraduate programs

Graduate programs

Fees

  • Undergraduate program: $460-$485 (per credit hour)

  • Graduate program: $700 (per credit hour)

  • Total credit hours for programs range between 30 and 128

Figure 7:

UMass Online

UMass Online offers IT professionals a platform to gain knowledge from a staggering 167 courses offered in the information technology domain. The university is a one-stop shop for IT knowledge and skills. Here are  some popular courses offered by the university:

Fees

Course fees depend on the complexity of the courses and range from $1,000 to $2,000.

Figure 8:

Walden University

Walden University’s individual online courses offer flexibility and depth to meet your educational needs. Online courses are offered throughout the year, and students can register for up to two courses at a time. The university also provides students with the flexibility to attend classes whenever they can make it to the campus, and registered online students have full access to the library and the student career service center. Courses are offered at every degree level.

Fees

  • The fees for all the courses range from $320 to $920 per-hour credits (with 33 to 36 credits required to complete a program).

  • Technology fee - $120 to $160 per semester 

Figure 9:

Western Governors University

Western Governors University offers a variety of online bachelor’s and master’s degrees in IT, business and healthcare. The college is a member of the Microsoft IT Academy program, and incorporates Microsoft training curriculum, courseware and certifications, including Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). These are some of the undergraduate IT degrees the university offers:

Here are its graduate degree programs:

Fees

  • Business Master’s programs - $3,250 per term

  • Information technology programs - $2,890 per term

  • Resource fee - $145 per term non-refundable

  • Application fee - $65 non-refundable

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