With so many free courses being offered online, is there a free path (or low cost) to a respectable online Psycology master’s or PhD?
(Eg: Like just finding out what the expected material is and studying it on your own and then taking the exams, or the like?)
Thank you!
There’s one version of “free” that’s real and worth knowing about: funded doctoral programs. Legitimate psychology PhD programs — the research-focused kind — typically waive tuition and pay you a stipend for teaching or research work. It’s the closest thing to a free graduate degree that exists. The catch: admission is very competitive, it’s a five-to-six-year research commitment, and it’s the wrong fit if what you actually want is a master’s for career purposes.
At the master’s level, the budget version looks like this: a public university’s online program at in-state rates, an employer willing to chip in tuition assistance, and a part-time pace so you’re paying as you go instead of borrowing. No single trick — just keeping the total low enough that it never turns into scary debt.
Following up on my own answer from years back, since people still land on this question: the short version hasn’t changed. There’s no legitimate free master’s in psychology. Graduate credit doesn’t work like undergrad, where CLEP exams let you test out of courses cheaply — grad programs require their own coursework, and anyone selling a “free master’s” is selling something that won’t survive an accreditation check.
What has changed is how cheap legitimate can get. The affordable end of accredited online psychology master’s programs runs lower than most people assume, and the real “free money” is elsewhere: employer tuition assistance (up to $5,250 a year tax-free under current law — ask HR, seriously), state workforce grants, and staff tuition waivers if you’re willing to work for a university while you study. Pick three programs from the directory, get total cost in writing, and stack whichever of those funding sources you can reach. That’s the closest thing to free that’s actually real.
Hi Motlei!
Interesting question. While there are quite a few options for earning credit toward an undergraduate degree cheaply (the most popular being CLEP exams where you buy a study guide and then take an exam in order to earn college equivalency credits), there aren’t many for graduate degrees.
Take a peek at our rankings of the most affordable online master’s in Psychology. The cheapeast online master’s in Psychology is just $8,721 and is offered by regionally accredited, 100% online Amberton University.
This is a steal considering an online master’s in Psychology tuition can run as high as $96,345!
Additionally, if you’re referring to MOOCs (massive online open courses) when you refer to “free courses being offered online”, there are issues with valididty, say, in the eyes of employers. An employer will look to both accreditation and repuatation of any education on your resume. MOOCs, even when you have the option to purchase a “certificate” of completion, do not hold valid accreditation even though they are courses produced from some of the best schools in the world.
Check out this interesting article about one online student’s attempt to use MOOCs to get a free online degree and an overview by our founder Vicky Phillips.
I hope this helps!
Kayleigh
Online Education Expert
GetEducated.com