Our Research
This list features some of the best online schools in Colorado. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included liberal arts colleges and research universities as well as small, midsize, and large institutions. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
To guarantee high quality standards in education, all of the Colorado colleges on our list are accredited institutions. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is the accrediting body for most of the Colorado colleges on our list. Accrediting higher learning institutions in 19 states in the North Central region, HLC upholds quality assurance for its diverse accredited institutions.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for online students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Online College Programs That Might Interest You
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
The Top 50 Online Colleges in Colorado
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Frequently Asked Questions: Online Colleges in Colorado
Does Colorado have good online colleges and universities?
Colorado’s online bachelor’s and graduate degree programs are some of the strongest in the country. For instance, U.S. News & World Report ranks University of Denver as No. 21 and Colorado State University (CSU) Global as No. 30 for best online bachelor’s degree programs in the country. At the graduate level, many online programs in Colorado also rank highly, with University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus’s Online Master’s in Nursing and Online Master’s in Nursing Administration programs earning the No. 10 and No. 11 spots in their respective fields.
That said, there are many excellent online college programs available in other states as well. If you’re open to attending a school that’s located in another state, check out our guide to the best accredited online colleges. In addition to showing you the top 30 options in the entire United States for remote learning, this guide offers expert advice on how to choose a college and complete the application process.
Do online college credits in Colorado cost more than in-person classes?
The answer to this question depends on which college you attend. Some colleges offer discounted rates for online courses regardless of where you live, while others charge an additional fee for online courses to help cover the cost of software licenses, technical support, etc. Public colleges and universities in Colorado tend to charge the same tuition for online and on-campus degree programs. Schools such as CSU Global go out of their way to make tuition fees as transparent and affordable as possible; they charge in-state and out-of-state students the same tuition and do not tack on additional fees.
Why should you choose Colorado for online higher education?
Colorado’s online degree programs combine affordability with quality. Many of the state’s online bachelor’s and graduate degree options rank highly in national comparisons. This tells you that as an online student, you will get a flexible education that does not sacrifice anything in the way of quality.
The Cost of Online College in Colorado
How much does an online degree in Colorado cost?
The cost of an online degree in Colorado depends on which institution you attend as well as the type of degree you choose to pursue. For example, undergraduate degrees are usually more affordable than graduate degrees. Also, you may find yourself paying more for your degree if you major in a STEM field rather than the humanities.
Regardless of the cost per credit, you should also consider that you may be able to save a lot of money on indirect expenses, such as transportation and housing, by earning your college degree online.
To give you a sense of exactly how much you should expect to pay for your online education, we’ve listed the current rates for earning an online bachelor’s degree in Colorado below:
Most affordable online college in Colorado: Colorado Technical University, $340 per credit
Most expensive online college in Colorado: University of Denver, $719 per credit
Source: Education Data Initiative
How long do you have to live in Colorado to get in-state tuition rates?
According to the Colorado Department of Higher Education, to qualify for in-state tuition you must have resided in Colorado for at least 12 months prior to declaring Colorado residency. You must also prove that you came to Colorado for reasons other than education and that you intend to stay there for the foreseeable future. This entails, for instance, changing your driver’s license and voter registration, paying Colorado state taxes, and so on.
Who qualifies for reduced tuition costs in Colorado?
Colorado offers several ways to reduce your tuition costs. One is through participation in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), which enables students from the western U.S. who attend college outside their home state to pay a tuition rate equivalent to 150% of their school’s in-state tuition. This can end up saving you thousands — even tens of thousands — on your degree.
Colorado also offers College Opportunity Fund (COF) stipends, created by the state legislature to cover a portion of the tuition costs of Colorado students attending public colleges and universities as well as participating private institutions in the state.
It’s worth noting that you should make sure to file your FAFSA application, which will show you if you are eligible for Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), and other financial aid awards.
College Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Grant Programs in Colorado
In addition to WICHE reciprocity agreements and COF stipends, there are a number of other programs available that can help you cover the cost of college. Some of these programs are based on financial need, while others are awarded based on factors such as demographics or academic merit. We’ve reviewed a few of the most prominent financial aid options for you below:
Greenhouse Scholars Program
Open to students from Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and North Carolina, this is a holistic scholars program that provides not only funding but also mentorship, support, and cocurricular leadership development to students from low-income communities. The goal is to stop the cycle of poverty.
Who’s eligible? Legal residents of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, or North Carolina who have a cumulative, unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above, demonstrate financial need, and possess strong leadership, grit, and commitment to community.
Contact information: [email protected] | 720-449-7444
Partner Colorado Foundation Scholarship
Sponsored by Partner Colorado Credit Union, this foundation provides scholarships of $1,000 and above to Colorado students who demonstrate financial need, academic achievement, and extracurricular engagement.
Who’s eligible? Colorado residents who will remain in Colorado for college, are between 17 and 40 years old, take a minimum of nine credit hours per semester, and maintain satisfactory academic progress and performance.
Contact information: [email protected] | 303-422-6221
The Pinnacol Foundation Scholarship
This scholarship provides an average grant of $4,700 per student per year to children of parents who were seriously injured in an accident in Colorado.
Who’s eligible? Students whose parent(s) were injured or killed in a compensable work-related accident during the course and scope of employment with a Colorado-based employer and were entitled to receive benefits under the Colorado Workers’ Compensation Act; students must be between 16 and 25 years old and maintain an average GPA of 2.0.
Contact information: [email protected] | 303-361-4775
Top 5 Fast-Growing Industries in Colorado
If you’re still in the process of assessing your college options, you may also be undecided on your major. When selecting a major, one of the most important factors to consider is your future employability. Thinking about which industries and careers are growing the fastest in Colorado can make it easier to find a job once you graduate, and being in demand should also help you earn a higher salary.
By consulting the U.S. Department of Labor’s Long-Term Employment Projections (2020–2030), we’ve determined that the following five careers have some of the highest projected growth rates in Colorado:
Physician Assistants
Physician assistants (PAs) are one of the most in-demand health professionals. They work under physicians to support patient care and must complete extensive education and medical training. They are not as highly compensated as physicians, but they still make six-figure salaries. The average annual PA salary in Colorado is $122,330.
- Growth: 46.9%
- Degree options: Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies
Personal Care Aides
As Colorado’s population ages and chronic and acute medical conditions become more prevalent, the state is in increasing need of personal care aides to assist patients, often older adults or disabled people, with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing. In Colorado, personal care aides make an average annual salary of $34,710.
- Growth: 33.4%
- Degree options: Certificate in Personal Care Aide, Associate in Medical Assisting
Registered Nurses
Registered nurses (RNs) perform a wide range of health and patient care duties, depending on where they work (hospital, doctor’s office, health clinic, etc.). Colorado expects to add a whopping 15,170 RN jobs over the next decade. RNs in Colorado earn an average salary of $86,590.
- Growth: 28.6%
- Degree options: Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Information Security Analysts
Information security analysts monitor and manage an organization’s computer networks and systems. Specifically, information security analysts keep an organization’s data safe. As cybersecurity and information security become increasingly important in our digital world, these security analysts are in high demand. They are also well-compensated, making an average annual salary of $118,480 in Colorado.
- Growth: 27.7%
- Degree options: Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity, Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Bachelor’s in Engineering, Bachelor’s in Mathematics, Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, Master’s in Cybersecurity, Master’s in Computer Science, Master’s in Engineering, Master’s in Mathematics, Master’s in Computer Engineering
Software Developers and Testers
Colorado is home to secondary headquarters for some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Facebook (Meta), Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Intel, Apple, and NVIDIA. So, it’s no surprise the skills of software developers and testers are in high demand in the state. Salaries in this field tend to be quite high — in Colorado, software developers earn an average salary of $136,230, and software testers make $108,720.
- Growth: 27.4%
- Degree options: Bachelor’s in Software Engineering, Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Master’s in Software Engineering, Master’s in Computer Science