The authors of a recent study on Georgia Tech’s online computer-science master’s degree, which will be published in the forthcoming Summer 2018 issue of Education Next, saw significant demand for the first low-cost online degree offered by a highly ranked institution, primarily from students who would not otherwise pursue a master’s degree. Georgia Tech’s online program attracts over 3,400 applicants annually, about twice as many as its in-person equivalent. Some 61 percent of applicants are admitted, almost five times the 13 percent admission rate for the in-person program, and 80 percent of those admitted enroll. As a result, each year nearly 1,700 students begin a computer-science master’s degree through Georgia Tech’s online program, making it the largest computer-science master’s degree program in the United States—and possibly the world. Learn more about the study in “An Elite Grad-School Degree Goes Online” or listen to author Joshua Goodman discuss his findings on the Education Exchange podcast.
—Education Next