Postgraduate degree holders in the U.S. who took at least half of their graduate classes online earned their degrees under different circumstances than did those who took most of their courses on campus. And their experiences as graduate students were different. However, a new Gallup study shows those who complete at least half of their coursework online are faring just as well (and in some cases, better) in their careers and lives.
Earlier this year, Gallup completed its first representative study of postgraduate degree holders in the U.S. As a subset of the overall study, it included those who took at least half of their postgraduate coursework online. All participants received their degrees between 1990 and 2015*, and most are in their prime earning years, offering insight into how postgraduate education affects many Americans’ lives and career paths.
The study found differences between the life situations of postgraduates who took the bulk of their work online and those of postgraduates who did not. Postgraduate degree holders in the U.S. who took at least half of their graduate courses online are about twice as likely as those who took their courses mostly on campus to have been employed full time for an employer at the time (76% vs. 39%) and to have had children 17 or younger living in their households (51% vs. 25%).