Which Universities Offer the Best PhD Programs?

Most every state in the United States of America offer top billing for PhD Universities, with the exception of the state of Nevada. Depending whether you would like to stay in state, or travel out-of-state to pursue your doctorate degree is entirely up to you. The cost, however often times defines if a person is able to attend the out-of-state university of their dreams, or if they are forced to settle for the programs the universities of their states provide. Luckily, by doing a search on the web you can research the top universities for PhD programs available in any state from A to Z....er..."W" for Wyoming.

Starting with the state of Alabama, you will find the best PhD programs are offered at Auburn University as well as the University of Alabama and the University of Mobile. If you are interested in pursuing your PhD in Animal Studies, Auburn University offers an excellent Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. California Baptist University offers an excellent PhD program in the field of Ministry and Theology as well as a wonderful Psychology program focusing on Christian behavioral sciences, social work and life-span development.

Harvard University in Massachusetts has an excellent doctorate in Dentistry Program, but Harvard is best known for their doctoral studies in Law. You can receive a Doctor of Juridical Science degree which has you focus your studies on teaching in a law school one day.

If you are looking for a good Medical School, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland is one of the finest PhD universities around today. Although this is a teaching hospital and university, it is also considered the crème de la crème of Medical Schools and you should consider it a tremendous honor to be asked into the program.

Columbia University in New York is one of the best universities to receive your PhD in today offering one of the oldest and largest Post Baccalaureate Premedical Programs available today. This program is geared to help college students who wish to pursue an education in the medical field but have not reached the required core science courses to be accepted into medical school.

No matter what type of doctorate you are aiming to reach, there is no question that you will be able to find some of the best PhD universities in the United States of America. Choosing which one will be the best fit for you may be the tougher than completing your actual doctoral degree!

How to Find Out More About Universities

Many people dream of going to college, and in many families it is expected that the children will follow in their family's footsteps and attend an institution of higher learning. It can be overwhelming selecting the appropriate universities, because there are so many of them. However, there are some basic truths about universities that will help you in your search to learn more about universities and colleges, so that you can select the one that will work best for you.

There are universities located in each state of the country. Universities, which also can go by the name of colleges, typically offer four-year programs leading to a Bachelor's degree when completed. Some schools also offer graduate degrees that build upon the knowledge gained from the Bachelor's degree program. State universities in the past had been known as colleges that offered practical degrees, especially those in agriculture. However, today's state universities provide college degrees in a wide range of subject areas, and are typically less expensive to attend than other schools.

Universities and colleges usually will also offer on-campus housing for their students. In many instances, younger students are required to live in campus dormitories until they reach a certain age, although this varies from school to school.

Colleges, universities, and other accredited schools will offer financial aid to students who wish to attend and are currently attending. Many students find that if they can find enough scholarships when they graduate from high school to get them through their freshman year at college, once on campus they find that there typically are more scholarships available for which they may apply. If you want to attend colleges, universities, community colleges or other schools, it is a great idea to contact their office of financial aid to see what financial aid is available. You may be awarded Pell Grants from the Federal government, which do not have to be repaid and are used for paying tuition. Other grants may be available if you have good grades and are financially challenged. Scholarships are granted to students, and this money does not have to be repaid either. In addition, there are college loans available, which require repayment after a short grace period after you graduate.

If you go to any search engine, you will find university listings available online. Here you can get more information about admission requirements to colleges, universities, trade schools and other schools. Having the information from university listings available to you, you will be able to compare universities and colleges for cost to attend, programs offered and other learning opportunities, in order to discover the specifics about each school and narrow your choices down to the one that is right for you.

Big Name State Universities - 5 Relatively Cheap Online Bachelor's Degrees

Let's face it. With so many options available on the internet, choosing an online bachelors degree program can be a daunting task. Try a little test. Type "online bachelors degree" into Google and glance at the results. Many "featured" programs on various degree websites usually include names like University of Phoenix, Walden University, Kaplan University, and Capella University.

Based on the test mentioned above, it should come as no surprise that these for-profit universities also rank in the top twenty of the largest online student bodies in the United States. According to the latest data from U.S. News & World Report, University of Phoenix served over 187,000 online students during the 2006-2007 school year. Significant online enrollment figures were also reported by Walden University (22,138), Kaplan University (22,000), and Capella University (13,726) for the same time frame.

But other non-traditional students take a slightly different approach to earning their degrees via online college courses. Instead of completing a 4-year degree through a for-profit online school, degree completion programs offered by well-known state universities are attracting considerable attention. To meet graduation requirements, many non-traditional students with little time for on-campus classes use inexpensive local community colleges as stepping stones to state universities. The reason: more public two-year colleges now cater to working students than in previous decades.

Three factors appear to be driving students back to long-established public and private universities, some of which are represented by a few big names. For starters, several institutions have adopted special tuition rates for distance learners that are not only less expensive than those for on-campus classes, but also considerably cheaper than the big for-profit universities. Comparable fees for in-state and out-of-state residents at these big schools are becoming more commonplace.

Next, to meet rising demand, more traditional universities are responding by increasing the variety of online classes and degree programs. For example, the Cincinnati Post recently reported that enrollment in online-only programs at the University of Cincinnati is up 257 percent over the past 4 years. In another recent article, the Tuscaloosa News cited enrollment figures from the University of West Alabama for the 2007 Fall semester. A staggering 47 percent, or almost one-half the entire student population at the Livingston, Alabama university take only classes held onlne.

Finally, the thought of having a resume tossed by corporate human resources staffers because the degree was earned through an online-only university may simply be too much for some students. In 2006, career information provider Vault Inc. surveyed hiring managers about how they view applicants with degrees that were earned online. A whopping 77% responded that they believe an online degree granted by an accredited institution holds more credibility than one from an internet-only school. As one unnamed HR professional confides, an online degree obtained from a well-established, traditional university stands a much greater chance of escaping the "correspondence school" stigma.

A related factor, branding, appears to heavily influence school choices as well. Listing a highly-respected, name brand college degree on a resume usually proves advantageous when competing for positions, especially in tight job markets, according to some career coaches. Similarly, nearby lesser known universities are also thought to carry considerable name recognition among prospective employers.

In other words, when choosing an online degree program, choose wisely. The opportunities to earn college degrees from highly-respected schools are many. Spend a little time and do some research. Yes, the larger online-only colleges and universities appear more often in Google searches. But it is highly unlikely that their exposure level is close to what the major state universities receive on those memorable autumn afternoons during college football season.

Below, you'll find five solid bachelor's degree completion programs that are fully capable of sprucing up many resumes with eye-catching credentials. Each degree is attainable through numerous options that can include CLEP exams and liberal college-credit transfer policies. Tuition rates, except where noted, apply to both in-state and out-of-state residents. For more information, please visit the respective university's Continuing Education or Extended Learning website to learn more.

Colorado State University - Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts - $223 per semester hour

Indiana University - Bachelor of General Studies - $145.06 (in-state)/$164.22 (out-of state) per semester hour

Texas Tech University - Bachelor of General Studies - $189 per semester hour (includes fees)

University of Iowa - Bachelor of Liberal Studies - $224 per semester hour

University of Missouri - Bachelor of General Studies - $247.60 per semester hour (includes fees)

Above information current as of September, 2007.