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2023 Best Online Colleges By Major

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Architecture

Architecture

Architecture Services

Architecture Services is an expansive and diverse field of study, with a wide array of educational opportunities. This category focuses on the design and construction of structures, from large buildings and monuments down to small homes and interior spaces. The most common fields of study for this category are architecture, environmental design, and landscape architecture.

Architecture focuses on the design and construction of structures, from the conceptualization of a space to the physical realization of the design. This field of study often incorporates elements of engineering, mathematics, and physics to create a functional, aesthetically pleasing structure. Environmental design is a branch of architecture that focuses on the relationships between people, their environment, and the built environment. This includes things like urban planning, resource management, and natural resource conservation. Finally, landscape architecture is the practice of designing and managing the land, typically in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable. This includes things like the design of parks, gardens, and green spaces.

    Architectural TechnologyArchitectureEnvironmental DesignInterior ArchitectureLandscape ArchitectureUrban Planning

Business

Business

Arts

The arts bucket is less about operational management and more about the marketing and sales side of things. This includes fields such as marketing, sales, and fashion merchandising. Marketing focuses on understanding customer wants and needs, and cultivating strategies to drive sales. Sales focuses on the actual process of selling products or services to customers. And fashion merchandising is a field of study that focuses on the planning, production, and promotion of fashion.

Business

General

General serves as a catch-all for any other business-related field that does not fit into the other categories.

Business

Management

Business is perhaps the most expansive and diverse educational category, as it touches in some form nearly every known industry. The category can be loosely divided into management, arts, sciences, and general. Management tends to focus on the ins and outs of operating and managing business units, independent of industry. This includes things like increasing efficiency, implementing new strategies to improve efficacy, retention of talent, business expansion plans. In terms of available fields of study, accounting and business management is a popular option - and typically includes the processes around improving accounting strategies and general business practices, as opposed to the deep technical execution of the field. Next is hospitality management, which is often a hybrid of business, hospitality, and tourism. These fields of study focus on both the operational and strategic aspects of the hospitality industry. Finally, there's organizational leadership, which is best described as the study of leading and motivating people and teams.

Business

Sciences

The sciences focus more on the application of technical knowledge to business. This includes fields such as statistics, accounting, and finance - all of which are typically integrated in some form using math and data analytics to drive real value in the business world. Statistics focuses predominantly on the analysis of data to generate insights, while accounting focuses on the tracking and reporting of financial data. Finally, finance is the study of the management of money and investments.

Communications

Communications

Communications

Communications is an expansive field of study that encompasses both the creative and analytical sides of communication. Its categories of study can be broken down into communications and journalism. Communications is a field of study that focuses on the theories and practices of communication between people, such as verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as communication through various mediums such as television, radio, newspapers, and the internet. This field of study is further broken down into fields such as communication and media studies, digital communications, and advertising. Communication and media studies focuses on the analysis and understanding of different types of media, while digital communications focuses on the use of digital media as a form of communication. Advertising focuses on the use of various media to promote products and services.

Communications

Journalism

Journalism is the second main category of communications study, and focuses on the reporting and dissemination of news and information. This includes fields such as journalism, broadcast journalism, and photojournalism. Journalism is the traditional form of news reporting, while broadcast journalism focuses more on the use of television and radio to report news. Photojournalism is the use of photographs to tell stories and report news.

Education

Education

General

Education is the process of transferring knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. It is a field of study that is incredibly varied, and can be divided into three distinct categories: general, teaching by subject, and teaching by level.

The general category encompasses a wide range of fields, from education to special education to educational administration. Education is the study of how people learn, including the development of methods and strategies for teaching and learning. Special education focuses on how to teach students with special needs, such as those with physical or mental disabilities. Educational administration focuses on the management of educational institutions, such as schools and universities.

Education

Teaching By Level

If you're interested in teaching a specific level of education (but still unsure of the subject) you can explore the teaching by level category which is focused on the preparation of individuals to teach at specific levels. This includes fields such as elementary education teaching, which is focused on teaching methods and strategies for elementary school students. Middle school education teaching focuses on teaching methods and strategies for middle school students. Another major bucket is secondary education, which typically equates to high school (often grades 9-12).

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies

Agricultural Sciences

Agricultural sciences are focused on the production of food, fiber, and other resources, as well as the management of the land and natural resources. This includes fields such as agriculture, agricultural business and management, and horticultural science. Agriculture itself typically focuses more on the production of resources but also touches on land management and maximizing natural resources. Agricultural business and management focuses on the business aspects of agricultural operations, such as marketing, finance, and risk management. Horticultural science focuses on the production and maintenance of plants, trees, and shrubs.

Environmental Studies

Environmental Science

Environmental studies is an expansive field that focuses on the relationship between humans and their environment. The category can be divided into agricultural sciences and environmental science.

Environmental science focuses on the study of the environment and the impact of humans on the environment, as well as the impact of the environment on humans. This includes fields such as environmental studies, natural resources and conservation, and forestry. Environmental studies focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the environment, while natural resources and conservation focuses on the management and protection of natural resources. Forestry focuses on the management of woodland and forest ecosystems, and is often focused on the sustainable management of forest resources.

Health

Health

Administration

Health touches numerous industries and sectors, and is a diverse educational category. It can be divided in various forms, in this case it’s partitioned into sciences, therapy, administration, medical, and professions.

Administration focuses on the management of health care organizations and facilities. This includes fields such as public health, health care administration, and health care facilities administration. Public health targets the prevention of diseases and illnesses and generally includes public impact in their success targets. Health care administration touches on some similar factors, but is much more focused on the operation and management of actual health care organizations. Lastly, health care facilities administration is a field of study that focuses on the management of health care facilities and services, typically with a significant emphasis on operational efficiency of physical buildings, surgical centers, treatment and rehabilitation facilities and hospitals.

Health

Medical

Medical primarily focuses on the study of the human body and its various systems. This includes fields such as pre-pharmacy studies, pre-dentistry studies, and pre-medical studies. Pre-pharmacy studies is the study of the medications used to treat diseases and ailments and often is a precursor to future pharmacists. Similarly, pre-dentistry studies focus on the study of the oral and maxillofacial regions of the body. That being said, pre-dental is not required for dental school, although many such students do still study something in the field of the sciences. Pre-medical studies follow a similar path, but again, typically rather than an actual degree, these are simply a large collection of courses that students must complete prior to entering medical school.

Health

Professions

Finally, professions relates to the practical application of health related skills. This includes fields such as health and fitness, athletic training, and registered nursing. Health and fitness focuses on the maintenance of physical health through exercise and nutrition. Athletic training focuses on the prevention and treatment of sports related injuries, and is often heavily tied to collegiate or professional athletics. Lastly, registered nursing is a field of study that focuses on the management and treatment of patients in a clinical setting.

Health

Sciences

The sciences focus on the study of the human body in order to identify treatments and cures. This includes fields such as pharmaceutical sciences, radiography, and health and wellness. Pharmaceutical sciences focus on the study of medications and their effects on the body, while radiography relates to imaging science - which has a significant effect on fine-tuning medical procedures. Health and wellness is another broad section that aims at maintaining and improving physical and mental health.

Health

Therapy

Therapy includes the treatment of mental, physical, and emotional ailments. Common majors in this subset are radiation therapy, physical therapy, and substance abuse and addiction counseling. Radiation therapy is the practice of using radiation to treat diseases and ailments, while physical therapy focuses on the rehabilitation of the body's physical movement. Substance abuse and addiction counseling is the study of dealing with the prevention, treatment, and management of addiction.

Humanities

Humanities

History

Information Technology

Information Technology

Computer Science

Next is computer science, which focuses on the development and maintenance of computer applications, programs, and software. This includes fields such as computer engineering, data modeling, and computer programming. Computer engineering focuses on the design and development of computer systems, data modeling focuses on the analysis and interpretation of data, and computer programming focuses on the writing of code for applications and software.

Information Technology

Information

Then there's information, which focuses on the study of information technology, informatics, and information science. Information technology focuses on the development and management of computer applications, while informatics is the actual study of computational systems and includes the analysis of how data and information can be most efficiently used inside data and knowledge systems. Lastly, information science focuses on the actual storage and retrieval of content, particularly as it relates to quantitative data (be it scientific or technical).

Information Technology

Systems

Information technology covers the study of software, hardware, and networks - and how they interact with each other. This includes the development and maintenance of applications, databases, and networks. It's a rapidly evolving field, and as such, there are a variety of different categories of study.

The first of these is systems, which focuses on the analysis3 and administration of computer systems. This includes fields of study such as computer systems analysis, information technology administration, and network and systems administration. Computer systems analysis focuses on the analysis of existing systems, finding ways to improve their performance. Information technology administration focuses on the management of information systems and networks, while network and systems administration focuses on the installation and maintenance of computer systems.

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