Nonprofit Management Degrees: 11 Online Master’s Programmes Compared

A nonprofit management degree is usually a master’s: a Master of Nonprofit Management, an MS in nonprofit management or leadership, an MPA with a nonprofit focus, or a philanthropy degree. The table below compares eleven programmes you can take online or largely online, with the credits, tuition, total cost, GRE policy and accreditation each school publishes, read on the schools’ own pages. Total cost ranges from about $15,000 to more than $100,000 for broadly similar credit loads.

Online nonprofit management master’s programmes compared

Read on each university’s own programme and tuition pages on 21 October 2026, sorted roughly by total cost. “Our calculation” means published credits multiplied by the published rate, before fees, which most schools add. Where a figure was dated, the year is shown; undated figures are as the school printed them. Central Florida’s programme page and its online cost page give different rates, so both are shown: confirm with the school. Tuition changes each year, so check the current rate before applying.

Programme notes

• Arizona State runs its 33 credits as 11 classes of seven and a half weeks each, so students take one or two at a time.
• Regis teaches entirely online in eight-week terms and says no letters of recommendation or GRE score are required.
• Our Lady of the Lake describes a 10-course, 30-credit programme completed in about 16 months, asynchronous, so there are no set class times. Its published rate is for 2024-25.
• Northeastern publishes an estimated total tuition based on 2026-27 rates, excluding fees, rather than a per-credit figure on its online page.
• Penn offers its MS in Nonprofit Leadership full time in 10 months or part time over two and a half years, online or on campus, with an accelerated track for alumni of certain Penn executive programmes.
• Columbia runs its MS part time, either fully online or on campus in New York.
• Indiana University’s MA in Philanthropic Studies can be taken in person, virtually or in a hybrid format, with core courses plus electives or a thesis.
• North Park’s option is an MBA with a nonprofit concentration rather than a standalone nonprofit degree.
• Grand Valley State’s fully online MPA is listed here; its separate Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership stopped accepting new applicants in May 2026, so check that any programme you are considering is still enrolling.

What the table shows

• Price is not a proxy for content. Most programmes are 30 to 36 credits, but the cost of those credits ranges from under $700 to $2,850 each. The difference is largely the institution’s price, not the length of the degree.
• The GRE has all but disappeared. None of the programmes we checked requires it; Indiana makes it optional and several say explicitly that it is not needed.
• Public universities are often the cheapest route, especially in state. Central Florida’s in-state rate is the lowest per credit in the table.
• Accreditation comes in different kinds, below.

Which kind of degree

• Master of Nonprofit Management, or an MS in nonprofit management or leadership. Focused on running an organization: fundraising, boards, finance, programmes, people. The most direct choice for a career in nonprofit leadership.
• MPA with a nonprofit concentration. Broader, covering public administration and policy, and useful if you might move between government and nonprofits.
• MBA with a nonprofit concentration. Business core plus nonprofit electives; useful for finance, operations and social enterprise roles.
• Philanthropic studies. The study of giving and the sector itself, as at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which describes itself as the world’s first school dedicated solely to philanthropy, established in 2012.
• Graduate certificates. Shorter and cheaper, often 12 to 18 credits, and sometimes transferable into a master’s later.

Accreditation, and what it means

Every school in the table is institutionally accredited. Programme accreditation is the extra layer, and three kinds appear in the table. NASPAA accredits public affairs and administration programmes, including several nonprofit degrees; Central Florida describes its MNM as the first standalone nonprofit programme NASPAA accredited, and Arizona State and Grand Valley State’s MPA are also accredited. The Nonprofit Academic Centers Council, NACC, accredits nonprofit and philanthropy programmes, as at Regis. Business accreditors such as ACBSP cover programmes housed in business schools, as at Our Lady of the Lake. Programme accreditation is a useful signal of curriculum standards; it matters most if you want to teach, or move into government work where an accredited MPA is valued.

Is a nonprofit management degree worth it?

It depends on what you want to do and what it costs you. A degree is most useful when:

• you are moving into nonprofit leadership from another field and need the sector’s language and networks;
• you want a senior role at a larger organization, where the people hiring often have graduate degrees themselves;
• your employer will pay for part of it, which many larger nonprofits do;
• you will finish with little or no debt, or with federal loans you can manage.

It is least useful if you are early in a career at a small organization, where experience counts for more, or if the debt would be large relative to the pay you can expect. Pay depends far more on the size of the organization than on credentials; see nonprofit salaries and nonprofit executive compensation, and for where the jobs are, nonprofit jobs.

Student loans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you borrow federal Direct Loans for the degree and then work full time for a 501(c)(3), Public Service Loan Forgiveness forgives the remaining balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments. From 1 July 2026, payments under the new Repayment Assistance Plan count and payments under the Tiered Standard Plan do not, according to Federal Student Aid. That changes the arithmetic of an expensive degree for anyone committed to working in the sector, but only if you keep qualifying employment and the right plan for ten years; plan it before you borrow, not after.

Cheaper ways to build the same skills

• Grant writing and fundraising courses, from free to a few hundred dollars; see grant writing courses.
• AI and digital skills training, much of it free; see AI training for nonprofits.
• Board service, which teaches governance and finance faster than most classes; see how to become a board member.
• A stretch role at your current organization, such as running a campaign or managing a budget.
• A graduate certificate first, which you can often count toward a master’s later.

How to choose a programme

1. Decide what you need it for: a career change, a promotion, a specialism such as fundraising or finance, or credibility for an executive role. See executive director vs CEO and nonprofit development.
2. Work out the real total cost, including fees, from the school’s tuition page, and what your employer will contribute.
3. Check the format: fully online or with campus sessions, synchronous or at your own pace, and how long courses are.
4. Read the curriculum for the courses you most need: fundraising, board governance, nonprofit finance, evaluation.
5. Ask who teaches: practitioners who run organizations, academics, or both.
6. Talk to recent graduates, and ask what changed in their careers.
7. Confirm accreditation if it matters for your plans.

Applying

Most programmes ask for a bachelor’s degree, a statement of purpose, a CV and references, and some set a minimum grade point average. Treat the statement of purpose like a strong nonprofit cover letter: specific about why this programme, with evidence of what you have already done in the sector. Experience counts: many nonprofit master’s students are working professionals, and admissions teams look for it.

What you will study

Core courses in most programmes cover nonprofit governance and boards, fundraising and philanthropy, financial management and accounting, programme design and evaluation, leadership and human resources, marketing and communications, and law and ethics. Electives typically include grant writing, advocacy, social enterprise, volunteer management and data. If you already run an organization, compare the curriculum with what you actually do; see how to run a nonprofit and nonprofit board of directors.

Where the figures come from

Every programme figure was read on the university’s own programme, catalogue or tuition page, linked in the table, on 21 October 2026. Totals marked as our calculation are published credits multiplied by the published per-credit rate, before fees. Schools we checked but did not list, because we could not confirm a current online nonprofit master’s or its cost, include Seton Hall, Southern New Hampshire, Duquesne, the University of San Francisco and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. This page is independent; no school paid to be included.