Which Universities Offer Online Masters Degrees?
All 42 Australian universities offer online masters degrees, though Bond and a few others have very limited or uncertain online options.
Essentially, all of Australia’s 42 universities offer masters degrees online. No university in Australia has chosen a deliberate path of maintaining all master’s programs on campus.
Bond University is close to excluding online masters degrees, delivering online postgraduate study only in rare instances and with little to no promotion. A few other universities also have minimal offerings.
Breadth of Online Masters Courses by University
The selection of masters degrees available online at each Australian university ranges from extensive through to minimal.
- Some unis operate almost like open universities, with online or mixed-mode masters degrees available across every field where external coursework is feasible. Other unis have built dedicated online postgraduate brands.
- At the other end, a small number of unis offer only one or two online masters options, or rely mainly on Open Universities Australia to make online study available.
Table 1. Category of online masters offerings by university
How the online masters categories for unis were assigned
The categorisation of universities as providers of online masters programs is based on how each uni allocates instructional resources.
- Online university applies where online delivery is embedded across the institution. These universities offer most degrees online, or make online study a normal part of their course model. UNE and CSU are classic examples.
- Many masters online applies where the university has invested in a large online masters menu, often through a dedicated online brand or postgraduate online catalogue. UTS Online and SCU Online are good examples.
- Some masters online applies where the university offers online masters degrees, but the online masters menu is limited. In practice, this often means fewer than 10 masters degrees are easy to find online.
- OUA partner applies where Open Universities Australia is the main place where the university’s online masters degrees are listed. The degree is awarded by the university but delivered via OUA.
- Few or no masters online applies where the uni shows no online masters or only one or two possible options. If there is no page listing multiple online degrees that we could find, that signals the university rarely offers online masters.
Online Degree vs Mixed Mode vs Other
In Australian universities, delivery modes describe how and where students complete coursework. An online degree normally means lectures, learning materials, class activities, and assessments are accessed through the uni’s learning portal.
- Online degree: Fully remote study where students access lectures, materials, class activities, and assessments online. It may involve live classes, recorded lectures, discussion boards, or self-paced study.
- Mixed mode: A combination of online learning and compulsory in-person activities, such as workshops, field trips, labs, residential schools, or campus intensives.
- Hybrid learning: A class format where students can often attend the same teaching session either in person or by video link.
- Placements: Work-integrated learning requirements completed in a professional setting, such as teaching rounds, hospital shifts, counselling practice, or industry experience. Placements may be required even in an otherwise online degree.
Universities may use these labels slightly differently. An online masters degree is usually designed for off-campus study, but some courses still require placements, clinical hours, practical assessments, or short intensive sessions.
Online universities typically minimise on-campus time while meeting regulatory requirements for placements, professional accreditation, or hands-on experience.
Related: 50 Best Online Masters in Australia
