Updated at: 27-03-2023 - By: Eden Wise

Overview

There is no doubt that studying abroad requires a significant time and financial investment. You will develop as a person and in your career, and you will also have the opportunity to expand your linguistic and cultural horizons and experience something completely new. Tuition-free universities are an option to consider if you want to study abroad on a budget.

Many colleges and universities now offer degrees and courses that do not cost students anything to enroll in, read, or use. However, universities’ policies regarding administrative fees may apply. As tuition keeps rising, some schools are considering ways to make higher education more accessible to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

Best Free Online Universities

Best free online universities

Harvard University

You can get a taste of an Ivy League education at no cost by taking advantage of Harvard University’s over 600 free online courses. A few of their classes that might interest you are as follows:

In this four-week course, you will not only become familiar with Shakespeare’s plays but also with his life story. Modern performance and the history of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater are also covered in this course.

In this 12-week introduction to moral and political philosophy, entitled “Justice,” we will examine and critically evaluate both classical and modern theories. Aristotle, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Jon Stuart Mill, and John Rawls will all have works assigned.

Climate change and its implications for human health are more timely than ever. Learn how the effects of global warming on human health can be mitigated in this 7-week course.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Since 2012, students have been able to take online classes at Georgia Tech. Since then, over 3.3 million students have benefited from these top-notch classes across many disciplines. Here are a few that I think you’ll like:

This course will equip you with the knowledge necessary to analyze business data effectively. It then allows you to use these business analytics algorithms and techniques on operational datasets.

Anyone interested in becoming an innovation leader can take this intensive six-week course. Why and how innovation leaders are crucial to business expansion is what you’ll study here.

Anyone interested in a future in the supply chain industry would benefit greatly from taking this introductory, 15-hour course. You’ll learn about the full scope of the supply chain and the various options open to you in terms of employment.

California Institute of the Arts

The California Institute of the Arts is ranked 20th in the world for Art and Design by the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2020. Several artistic programs are available at the institution:

This six-month program will provide you with the groundwork in graphic design you’ll need to launch a successful career. A portfolio-worthy final project will also be completed by you.

Poetry Workshop for Sharpened Visions: This ten-hour course will introduce you to the fundamentals of poetry by examining a variety of poems written in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. There will also be time for you to write poems and receive constructive criticism from the instructors.

Form and Meaning in the Language of Design: In this course, you will evaluate the efficacy of a piece of graphic design critically and objectively. This is an introductory course that can be finished in about eight hours.

Barclay College

Barclay College

Since its founding in 1917, Barclay College has gone through a few name changes. From 1925 to 1990, it was known as the Friends Bible College. This Christian school, now known as Barclay College, was founded by Friends but accepts students of all evangelical faiths. Christian leadership and service education are at the heart of the mission. Bachelor’s programs in Worship Arts, Pastoral Ministry, and Youth Ministry are all available. Students can also take advantage of a number of prestigious Master’s degree programs. Students living in the residence halls are eligible for the Full-Tuition Scholarship, which provides a $20,000 award to each student upon acceptance to Barclay College. The school’s benefactors established this scholarship fund so that deserving Christian students could get an excellent education without incurring crippling student loan debt.

Alice Lloyd College

The 108 counties in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia that make up Alice Lloyd College’s service area are all eligible for in-state tuition free of charge. This public university places a premium on student success and offers a wide variety of bachelor’s degree programs in a nurturing, liberal arts-focused environment at no cost to its students. Students can earn degrees in fields like business, medicine, education, the social sciences, the humanities, the natural sciences, and mathematics, all of which encourage creative problem solving. Many of these college grads take advantage of the free tuition offer and enroll in highly regarded master’s degree programs. The high quality of education offered by Alice Lloyd’s faculty and administration is reflected in the institution’s remarkable 96% job placement rate for recent grads.

Please be aware that at this time Alice Lloyd College does not provide any online degree programs for free. The campus is beautiful, though, so it’s a great place to be a student.

Curtis Institute Of Music

Undergraduates and postgraduates at the Cutis Institute of Music are eligible for free tuition thanks to the school’s rigorous admissions process. Only about 175 students are enrolled at any given time, and only about 4% of applicants are actually accepted. Students at Curtis receive a “learning by doing” music education that is both highly individualized and comprehensive. More than two hundred performances and classes are available, in genres as diverse as orchestra, opera, chamber music, and more. Undergraduates receive $42,320 per year and graduate students receive $52,548 per year in free tuition; however, all students are responsible for covering mandatory fees and textbook costs. Since 1928, the Curtis Institute of Music has kept its tuition free for all students by awarding scholarships and grants based on academic achievement.

Both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Operatic Performance can be earned free of charge through the online schools. In addition, students can earn a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera or a performance diploma. Remember that the intense competition that characterizes these programs begins with the application process and does not let up throughout your time in them. In fact, students have to prove themselves worthy of the free education by excelling academically and extracurricularly.

Haskell Indian Nations University

Haskell Indian Nations University

Haskell Indian Nations University was established to provide Native Americans (including those from Alaska) with access to a high-quality, cost-free higher education. All that students at this tuition-free school have to pay each year are the $715 in-state and $240 out-of-state institutional fees. Haskell is committed to preserving Indigenous Peoples’ cultures and practices, and its students have the unique opportunity to interact with over 100 different tribes every semester. More than seventy members of various Cherokee tribes attended HINU in 2015, taking advantage of the institution’s tuition-free status to the tune of approximately $350,000. The university offers five colleges where students can earn associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, including the College of Humanities, the College of Natural and Social Sciences, and the College of Professional Schools. This free university is one of a kind among American colleges and universities, and it offers fantastic possibilities to Native Americans and members of other indigenous communities.

Haskell, like many other institutions listed here, isn’t one of the tuition-free online colleges because it never offered online courses in the first place. However, since the Fall 2020 semester, all of its classes have been held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

University of Missouri

One of the best free online universities with a solid reputation is the University of Missouri, which offers a number of merit-based and need-based scholarships. Students must fill out the MU Annual Scholarship application in order to be considered. All educational expenses, including board and books, are paid for by the scholarship program. Non-local students can choose from a number of different scholarship opportunities. The Mark Twain Nonresident Scholarship, for instance, covers a student’s full tuition, fees, and living expenses up to a value of $15,838. In order to apply, you’ll need to ensure you meet a few requirements. Acceptable criteria includes an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT composite score of 1360. Our top pick is the University of Missouri because of its extensive online offerings and abundance of scholarship funds that can be used to cover the cost of attendance.

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M ranks third on our list of best free online colleges thanks to its extensive selection of online programs and Aggie Assurance plan for free tuition. Aggie Assurance provides full tuition coverage through scholarships and grants to students from households earning $60,000 or less per year. To qualify, you must be a resident of Texas, a first-year or transfer undergraduate student, and have an adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less. Students must keep a 2.5 GPA and meet the institution’s satisfactory academic progress requirements in order to remain in the program from year to year. Texas A&M is ranked by major publications and offers the comfort of full accreditation in addition to the Aggie Assurance program and online offerings. The school maintains a high standing in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

Stanford University

Stanford University

Stanford is a highly regarded university that provides open access to its curriculum through online learning.

The highly regarded Stanford University is dedicated to ensuring that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds have access to its excellent academic programs. A standard undergraduate financial aid package covers all expenses (tuition, fees, room, and board) for families earning less than $125,000 per year. The majority of Stanford undergraduates receive financial aid to help defray the cost of attending this highly selective university, according to the financial aid office’s website. About 58% receive some sort of financial aid from Stanford, with athletic scholarships accounting for about 10%. U.S. News and World Report has ranked Stanford as the sixth best national university.

Duke University

For families with annual incomes of less than $60,000, Duke University requires no tuition payment from either parent.

Duke University offers full tuition waivers and generous financial aid packages to incoming freshmen from families with annual incomes of less than $60,000. In fact, if the parents’ annual income is less than $60,000, they can plan on making no financial contribution at all. The majority of Duke’s financial aid is given to students based on their financial need, but a small number of merit-based scholarships are given to first-year students. Once the expected family contribution has been calculated, a financial aid package can be put together. Awards from the federal government include things like grants, scholarships, work-study, and very small student loans (up to $5,000 annually). Although most online degrees offered by Duke are at the graduate level, Duke does offer a number of online programs and classes. According to U.S. News & World Report, Duke University is the twelfth-best national university.

FAQs

Why should I attend a tuition-free university?

There are many reasons why you should attend a university that does not charge tuition. In spite of potential administrative fees, it is free, as the name suggests. Even at that price, it’s still much more affordable than a traditional college degree.

If you attend a university that doesn’t charge you tuition, you won’t need to take out a loan, and you’ll be able to walk away from your degree without any educational debt.

These universities may not charge you tuition, but the education you receive is still from a reputable source. They are not any less valuable because of their zero cost.

How can I go to college with no money?

Don’t let the high price tag of higher education stop you from pursuing your dreams. Some universities provide free tuition in addition to scholarships, grants, and work-study programs, though this may come with additional requirements. Check the fine print before enrolling in a “free” program, as some of these may require “returning the favor” in the form of military service or student labor.

Are free-tuition colleges properly accredited?

To ensure a high-quality education and the ability to transfer credits if necessary, it is important to check the accreditation status of any program you’re considering enrolling in before committing to it (this includes free tuition colleges).

Conclusion

If you’re too busy with work or raising a family to attend classes on campus, an online degree may be the best option for you.

You shouldn’t waste time in school because it’s important. Outside of formal education settings, where information is presented all at once, learning is most effective when broken up into smaller chunks and spread out over time.

Free online degrees are another option if you are unsure of your higher education path. If you’re out of financial aid or struggling to make ends meet, this is a fantastic opportunity for you.

Free online degrees are good for everyone involved, from the ambitious student to the reputable university. Universities can easily provide free online degrees, and students stand to gain from them.

While it’s great that tuition fees are being lowered or even eliminated for some students, it’s important to remember that there are still many other costs associated with higher education. When weighing the pros and cons of available free online degrees, one factor to consider is the cost of attendance.