Online and in-Person Delivery of Upper Division Lecture Courses in Undergraduate Life Sciences Degree Programs Leads to Equivalent Post-Graduate Degree Outcomes

Although many studies demonstrate that online education is as good as face-to-face education with regard to learning gains, course grades, and other near-term metrics, there is a major gap in exploring the long-term outcomes of online vs. face-to-face education, particularly in STEM programs. In this study, the effect of course delivery method on the long-term academic success of B.S. graduates was tested by comparing two similar life sciences undergraduate programs at the University of Florida. The Microbiology and Cell Science program teaches all upper division lecture courses online while the Biology program teaches nearly all of its upper division courses face-to-face. Graduate degree outcomes of 4978 students who completed their B.S. degree from either program (2011–2018) were determined using StudentTracker from the National Student Clearinghouse. The percentage of graduates with any doctoral degree (M.D., D.O., Ph.D., or other) did not differ. However, a significantly higher percentage of Microbiology and Cell Science graduates completed a Ph.D. or master’s degree compared to Biology graduates. Thus, online delivery of upper division undergraduate courses had no adverse effect on the future academic success of these students.