Well, we won’t blame you if you think we are obsessed with the onslaught on the online master’s education opportunities provided by the best universities in the country. It is The IN-Thing right now, what with the number of applicants for web based Master’s degree in various subjects having gone up by 510,000 in the last couple of years itself. The most positive impact of this is that not only the courses are becoming popular but the degrees are becoming more and more creditable, leading to an improvement in the job prospects of the online graduates.

What do you think is the main reason behind this sudden growth in the number of online master applications?

You do not have to think too hard to get the right answer. During the financial recession that set in towards the end of the last decade, many individuals found themselves suddenly out of employment as firms were intent on downsizing to save costs. This left them with the choice of pursuing higher education and it was not possible to pay high tuition fee to attend full time university, when they still had to fend for themselves through part time employment. Moving to other cities for full time master’s education was also not a favorable idea as the cost of relocation was on the higher side. All these factors made online education very popular amongst the people and universities saw it as a good opportunity to roll out more conventional courses.

There has been an increase of 17 percent in the number of students applying for online Master degree programs, as reported through a survey conducted by Eduventure. Even employers agree to the fact that their opinion regarding the online degree holders has undergone change with respect to the previous years. Until last year, there was significant difference between the salary and position offered to a full time Master graduate and online Master Graduate.