Discover the Most Affordable Human Services Online Degrees
Est. Time: 6 mins
Earning your online human services degree doesn’t have to mean digging yourself into debt. Explore affordable programs, funding options, and strategies for cutting costs below.
If you are passionate about helping people and making a difference in society, a human services degree is an ideal steppingstone to a career that allows you to do exactly that. Thanks to an ever-increasing number of high-quality online programs, you can accomplish your educational goals more conveniently than ever before. As enticing as all this sounds, you may still feel like a human services degree is out of reach because of the potentially hefty price tag that comes with it. After all, what good is an education if it leaves you drowning in debt?
The good news is that it is entirely possible to earn an affordable human services online degree. In fact, we have designed the following guide to explain exactly how to do so. First, we’ll introduce you to today’s most competitively priced programs. Then, we’ll provide you with a detailed look at features of cost-effective programs; strategies to cut costs even further; and scholarships that can support you through your studies and help you avoid accumulating excessive student loan debt.
Everything you need to know to ease your financial anxiety and facilitate your decision-making process is just a paragraph away, so scroll on and see who we found to be this year’s most affordable programs.
FIND PROGRAMS NEAR YOU:
Indiana Wesleyan University
Marion, Indiana
Private
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.96%
- % Receiving Award35%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio12/1
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.60%
- % Receiving Award64%
- Tuition$$
- Student/Faculty Ratio15/1
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, Indiana
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.100%
- % Receiving Award27%
- Tuition$$
- Student/Faculty Ratio21/1
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia
Private
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.87%
- % Receiving Award41%
- Tuition$$
- Student/Faculty Ratio15/1
Texas A & M University-Commerce
Commerce, Texas
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.70%
- % Receiving Award42%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio19/1
Great Basin College
Elko, Nevada
Public
- AccreditationNWCCU
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.98%
- % Receiving Award48%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio7/1
Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.43%
- % Receiving Award53%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio20/1
Troy University
Troy, Alabama
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.60%
- % Receiving Award45%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio16/1
Base Methodology for EduMed’s “Most Affordable Online College Rankings” for the ‘24-’25 school year.
One: Create a list of eligible schools & programs
To be eligible for ranking, schools were required to meet the following criteria based on data pulled from The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which was self-reported by the schools themselves.
- Institutional accreditation from an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
- At least one online component in a program within the ranking-subject area.
- The existence of academic counseling on campus and/or online.
- The existence of career placement services on campus and/or online.
Two: Assign weightings to eligible schools & programs
After creating the list of eligible schools, EduMed data scientists assigned weights and ranked schools based on a mix of metrics, which were all self-reported by the school themselves to the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
The metrics are listed below in order of most- to least-heavily weighted.
- Tuition – Average in-state tuition for undergraduate students studying full-time, as self-reported by the school.
- Avg. Inst. Aid – Average amount of institutional grant aid awarded to full-time, first-time undergraduates.
- Online Programs – Number of online programs, either partially- or fully-online, in the relevant subject area. Because exact numbers change often and can be difficult to verify, we use a range-based scoring system to represent this category with laptop icons.
- % Receiving Award – Percent of full-time, first-time students receiving an award in 6 years.
- % in Online Ed. – Percent of total students taking at least one distance education class.
- Student/Faculty Ratio – The number of students per faculty member.
About Our Data
EduMed’s rankings use the latest official data available from The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Most recent data pull: July 2024
Napa Valley College
Napa, California
Public
- AccreditationACCJC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.83%
- % Receiving Award52%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio22/1
Alexandria Technical & Community College
Alexandria, Minnesota
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.49%
- % Receiving Award63%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio7/1
Washtenaw Community College
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.86%
- % Receiving Award37%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio19/1
Madisonville Community College
Madisonville, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.55%
- % Receiving Award48%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio12/1
San Bernardino Valley College
San Bernardino, California
Public
- AccreditationACCJC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.91%
- % Receiving Award33%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio12/1
Northcentral Technical College
Wausau, Wisconsin
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. AidN/A
- % in Online Ed.53%
- % Receiving Award46%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio15/1
Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.82%
- % Receiving Award28%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio27/1
Frederick Community College
Frederick, Maryland
Public
- AccreditationMSCHE
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.58%
- % Receiving Award41%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio12/1
McLennan Community College
Waco, Texas
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.57%
- % Receiving Award32%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio21/1
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Public
- AccreditationHLC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.37%
- % Receiving Award34%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio20/1
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.72%
- % Receiving Award24%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio10/1
Central Maine Community College
Auburn, Maine
Public
- AccreditationNECHE
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.56%
- % Receiving Award31%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio18/1
SUNY Broome Community College
Binghamton, New York
Public
- AccreditationMSCHE
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.63%
- % Receiving Award37%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio16/1
Horry-Georgetown Technical College
Conway, South Carolina
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.72%
- % Receiving Award35%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio13/1
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
Cumberland, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.50%
- % Receiving Award37%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio16/1
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Public
- AccreditationSACSCOC
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.62%
- % Receiving Award36%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio15/1
Hudson Valley Community College
Troy, New York
Public
- AccreditationMSCHE
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.65%
- % Receiving Award32%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio10/1
Camden County College
Blackwood, New Jersey
Public
- AccreditationMSCHE
- Avg. Inst. Aid
- % in Online Ed.64%
- % Receiving Award25%
- Tuition$
- Student/Faculty Ratio13/1
Niagara County Community College
Sanborn, New York