Montclair State University

« Back to Recent News

2026 College Rankings: U.S. News & World Report Ranks Montclair Among Best Online Programs

Educational Leadership rises to No. 5 in the nation, Montclair also earns first-ever Best Online Bachelor's ranking

Montclair, NJ (01/28/2026) — Montclair State University has been recognized in multiple categories of the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings, led by a Top 5 national placement for its online Master of Arts in Educational Leadership.

Montclair's online Master's in Educational Leadership improved to No. 5 (tie), up nine spots from No. 14 in the 2025 rankings.

For the first time, Montclair also earned a ranking in the Best Online Bachelor's Programs category at No. 56 (tie), reflecting the University's growing portfolio of online undergraduate degree completion options which now includes Business Administration, Economics, Family Science and Human Development, Liberal Studies, Nursing RN to BSN and Psychology.

Montclair's online graduate business offerings were also recognized, with the University's Best Online Master's in Business Programs (non-MBA) ranked No. 53 (tie) nationally, an eight-spot increase from No. 61 in 2025. The ranking highlights the strength of Montclair's online Master of Science programs in Business Analytics, Digital Marketing Analytics, and Human Resource Analytics.

Additional 2026 ranked programs include:

- Best Online MBA Programs: No. 107 (tie)

- Best Online Master's in Nursing Programs: No. 62 (tie)

"Montclair Online makes everything around learning as simple as possible, from applying, to navigating coursework, to getting student support when questions come up," says Marc Austin, vice provost and managing director, Montclair Unbound. "These U.S. News rankings reflect the work behind the scenes to deliver a high-quality online experience that's engaging, well-supported and designed for student success. Students should be able to focus on the hard work of study; we streamline the rest."

U.S. News & World Report program rankings are based on scores from five categories - student engagement, services and technologies, student excellence, faculty credentials and training, and opinions of academic experts across 1,800 online bachelor's and master's degree programs offered primarily online by regionally accredited institutions.

###

Building on a distinguished history dating back to 1908, Montclair State University has evolved from an institution that was a recognized leader in teacher education to an R2 research institution ranked as one of the 100 best public doctoral universities in the nation. The University serves 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students with more than 300 doctoral, master's and baccalaureate programs provided by 14 colleges and schools.

Situated on a beautiful 252-acre campus just 12 miles from New York City, Montclair delivers the instructional and research resources of a large public university while retaining the supportive and personalized academic environment that provides a feeling of community more typical of smaller institutions.

Copyright © 2026 Merit Pages, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Opt Out