LA GRANDE — Two more Eastern Oregon University online degree programs have joined the ranks of those rated among the best in the country.

Forbes recently named Eastern’s online English degree program and online early childhood education degree program on the company’s Best of 2023 lists.

The university’s online history degree program was recognized by Forbes in July.

The team at Forbes specifically looked at online bachelor’s degree programs. All three of Eastern’s programs were recognized as being transfer friendly — with each program accepting up to 135 credits from other institutions.

Eastern’s English program was chosen in part due to on-campus professors offering both synchronous and asynchronous online learning options. The program covers professional writing, editing and publishing, grant writing, creative writing and literature and film analysis.

Along with Eastern’s use of the common application, Forbes listed Eastern’s relatively high retention rate and socioeconomic diversity as pros.

Nine other universities also made the list for their online English program: University of Central Florida, Central Washington University, University of Illinois Springfield, Mercy College, Texas Tech University, University of Missouri, Mary Baldwin University, Fayetteville State University and Great Basin College.

As it had while selecting EOU’s English program, the team at Forbes listed Eastern’s use of the common app and high socioeconomic diversity as pros for the online early education degree program. Another pro was the relatively low percentage of students in federal student loan deferment.

The team at Forbes liked that while all of the early childhood education courses are delivered online, students are also required to complete two in-person practicums so that they can observe licensed educators and practice their skills. These practicums can take place at either child care centers or in primary or secondary schools.

The nine other universities that made the list for their online early childhood education degrees were: University of Washington, Florida International University, National Louis University, Ball State University, Mercy College, East Carolina University, Chaminade University of Honolulu, University of Michigan-Fling and University of North Carolina at Greensboro.