Which Universities Offer Distance Learning Bachelor Degrees Admissions in 2027?

Got this question in mind? – Can you study a distance learning or online bachelor degree programme at an international university in 2027?

Yes, international students from Africa, Asia, Europe, and all other sub-continents can earn legitimate bachelor’s degrees from universities in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada without moving abroad—but the 2027 applicant should be asking something more important than “Which university offers an online degree?”

The better questions are: Will this university accept me from my country? What will the complete degree cost? And will the qualification be useful for the job, master’s degree or professional license I want afterwards?

Those three questions dramatically change the shortlist.

For this 2027 review, I checked current university admissions, tuition and programme pages and deliberately excluded several options that are often advertised internationally but have important geographical restrictions.

2027 Online Bachelor’s Shortlist for International Applicants

The prices above are not directly comparable because universities use different credit systems and fee structures. More importantly, some Fall 2027 students will fall under 2027–28 tuition schedules rather than the 2026–27 rates currently published.

If You Want the Largest Choice of Majors: Start With ASU

Arizona State University Online is particularly difficult to ignore because it now advertises more than 180 online bachelor’s degrees, covering fields from computer science and international relations to business, statistics, psychology, health, software engineering and sustainability.

For most ASU Online undergraduate programmes, the published 2026–27 tuition is $580 per credit hour.

There is one detail international applicants should understand immediately: an ASU Online admission is not a route into the United States on a student visa.

ASU specifically says international online students are not issued an F-1 visa or I-20, and applicants living outside the United States apply on the basis that they will remain outside the country.

That makes ASU interesting if your objective is:

“I want an American bachelor’s degree while living in my own country.”

It is not the same proposition as:

“I want to study in America and later use a U.S. post-study immigration pathway.”

Penn State Is One of the Clearest Traditional-University Options

Penn State World Campus currently lists 39 bachelor’s degrees that can be completed 100% online, including Accounting, Business, Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, Economics, Digital Journalism and Media and several other fields.

Penn State also states that a World Campus graduate receives the same diploma as a resident Penn State student.

Its published undergraduate rates make planning unusually transparent. For Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027, students taking 11 credits or fewer pay $644 per credit with up to 59 accumulated credits and $692 after reaching 60 credits. For Fall 2027, the corresponding 2027–28 rates rise to $657 and $706.

And this is genuinely relevant to the 2027 cycle: some World Campus bachelor’s programmes already show January 11, 2027 and August 23, 2027 starts, with programme-specific application deadlines.

International applications are accepted, but Penn State gives applicants an unusually sensible warning: students outside the United States should verify whether the online degree will satisfy any credentialing requirements in the country where they intend to work.

That warning should probably be printed on every international online-degree advertisement.

Oregon State Ecampus Deserves More Attention in 2027

Oregon State University is the major addition I would make to many older online-degree lists.

OSU currently reports 59 bachelor’s degrees delivered online, alongside more than 125 total online degrees, certificates and microcredentials.

For international students, the arrangement is remarkably straightforward. Oregon State says students can access its online programmes from abroad without a U.S. visa, everyone pays Ecampus tuition regardless of location, and online students receive the same diploma and transcripts as campus students. Its online community already includes students across dozens of countries.

For the 2026–27 academic year, regular undergraduate Ecampus programmes cost $409 per credit, including the distance-education fee, although business and some other programmes carry different rates.

For applicants comparing established American public universities, OSU is therefore one of the options I would put beside ASU and Penn State rather than burying halfway down a generic list.

Looking for the Lowest Cost? University of the People Is the Outlier

University of the People still occupies a very different part of the market.

Its 2026–27 undergraduate fee schedule lists a $60 application fee and $180 assessment fee per course. On that basis, the estimated total is currently $7,260 for the BS in Business Administration or Computer Science and $7,080 for the BS in Health Science when the entire programme is completed there.

This is why UoPeople can legitimately describe itself as tuition-free.

But applicants need to understand the language:

Tuition-free does not mean cost-free.

A $7,000-plus bachelor’s degree is extraordinarily inexpensive beside many American online alternatives, but it is still a financial commitment.

UoPeople is particularly worth investigating for applicants whose overriding problem is affordability rather than university prestige, campus life or access to a destination-country visa.

Want a British Degree Without Moving to Britain? University of London Is a Serious Option

The University of London has one of the strongest international distance-learning traditions, and its current undergraduate portfolio includes online routes such as BSc Computer Science, BSc Business Administration and BSc Psychology, among other programmes.

This is also one of the clearest universities already publishing an actual 2027 intake.

For example, both BSc Computer Science and online BSc Business Administration show April 2027 intakes. The Business Administration application deadline for that intake is currently March 17, 2027, while Computer Science can be completed over approximately three to six years.

Fees vary substantially by programme and by the applicant’s country classification. For example, the 2026–27 indicative BSc Business Administration programme total is £16,293 for Band A countries and £21,693 for Band B countries, before considering the upfront-payment alternative and any applicable additional charges.

That country-based pricing is precisely why applicants should not rely on a blog claiming that a University of London online degree simply “costs £X.”

Your own fee schedule matters.

The Open University Remains One of the Most Flexible Choices

The Open University is different from universities that merely added online programmes to an existing campus model: distance learning sits at the centre of the institution.

Its current undergraduate selection covers areas including computing, business, psychology, sciences, humanities, law and social sciences, and registration is already open for October 2026, February 2027 and, for some courses, April 2027 starts.

Many undergraduate programmes also have few or no conventional academic entry requirements, making the OU particularly interesting for applicants returning to education after a long gap.

International availability, however, must be checked before applying. The university says students can study from around the world, but some courses are unavailable in particular countries, especially qualifications involving profession-specific requirements.

The OU itself also tells students intending to use a qualification overseas to investigate local recognition before beginning their studies.

That is good advice, not a red flag.

University of Essex Online Gives Applicants a Predictable UK Price

Another option worth adding for 2027 research is University of Essex Online.

Its current online undergraduate portfolio includes subjects such as Computer Science, Business and Management, Psychology, Criminology and Law, and its 2026–27 published full-course fee for BA (Hons), BSc (Hons) and LLB (Hons) degrees is £21,701 for both UK and international students, excluding any country-specific taxes that may apply.

That makes Essex interesting for applicants who prefer knowing the indicative full-degree cost rather than calculating dozens of individual credit charges.

Some eligible international students can also access regional scholarships of up to 15%, depending on current terms.

Athabasca University Is the Canadian Option I Would Keep on the List

Canada has fewer obvious globally oriented, fully online undergraduate choices than the United States or United Kingdom, which is why Athabasca University remains important.

Its online 120-credit Bachelor of Science, General currently offers monthly starts, while specialist routes include Computing and Information Systems, Applied Mathematics and Biological Sciences.

Athabasca also explicitly publishes fees for students living outside Canada, rather than leaving international applicants guessing. Those charges include tuition, administrative costs, course materials and an out-of-country component and vary according to course and faculty.

This flexibility makes AU particularly interesting to applicants who do not want to wait for one annual September admission cycle.

SNHU Is Still Worth Considering—but Check Your Country First

Southern New Hampshire University remains a large online provider with bachelor’s programmes in areas such as business, finance, psychology, IT and related fields.

Its online undergraduate tuition is currently $354 per credit, meaning a standard 120-credit bachelor’s would total about $42,480 before transfer credits or other savings. SNHU can accept substantial transfer credit in some programmes, which can radically change that figure.

But this is where global applicants need newer information rather than old lists.

SNHU’s dedicated India operation currently states that it is no longer accepting new admissions for its online degree programmes in India, although existing students continue their studies.

That does not mean SNHU has stopped online education internationally. It means applicants should verify current availability for their country before treating SNHU as an automatic global option.

That single check can save weeks of unnecessary application research.

One Famous Online University I Would NOT Put on a Global List: WGU

Western Governors University frequently appears in articles about inexpensive online bachelor’s degrees, and its competency-based model can be excellent for the right learner.

But most international applicants should not be directed there.

WGU currently says it generally accepts applicants residing in the United States, with limited exceptions including eligible residents of Canada other than Newfoundland and Labrador and certain U.S. military or territory cases. Some clinical programmes have additional restrictions.

So an article telling applicants in Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Kenya or dozens of other countries to “apply to WGU for an online bachelor’s” would be misleading.

This is exactly why updated eligibility research matters more than making a list longer.

There Is No Single “2027 Online Admission Deadline”

This is another misconception applicants should discard.

Online universities do not operate as one synchronized 2027 admission cycle.

Penn State has semester deadlines. University of London offers October 2026 and April 2027 intakes for several online programmes. The Open University currently has October 2026, February 2027 and selected April 2027 starts. Athabasca offers monthly starts for many programmes. ASU operates multiple sessions throughout the academic year.

So when somebody advertises an “Online Bachelor’s Scholarship/Admission 2027 Deadline” without naming the university, programme and intake, be careful.

There may be no such universal date.

Most Important Warning: An Online Foreign Degree Does Not Give You a Foreign Student Visa

This is perhaps the most important distinction in the entire article.

If you live in Pakistan and complete an American bachelor’s online from your home in Lahore, you have earned an American university qualification—but you have not studied physically in the United States under an F-1 student visa.

ASU makes this particularly explicit: its international online students do not receive an F-1 visa or I-20. Oregon State likewise tells international Ecampus students studying outside America that no U.S. visa is required.

The same basic principle applies elsewhere.

If your real objective is immigration, post-study work rights or physically entering the university’s country, investigate the on-campus international-student route instead.

Will These Online Degrees Be Accepted for a Master’s or Professional Career?

Possibly—but do not confuse university legitimacy with guaranteed recognition for every future purpose.

Before enrolling, investigate five things:

1. Who actually awards the degree?
2. Can you study the exact programme from your country?
3. Will the university or master’s programme you eventually target accept it?
4. Does your intended profession require separate accreditation, licensing, clinical practice or supervised training?
5. What is the complete degree cost after mandatory fees, examinations, transfer-credit decisions and annual fee increases?

This becomes especially important for engineering, architecture, nursing, psychology, teaching, law and other regulated professions.

A perfectly legitimate academic bachelor’s degree can still fail to meet a particular country’s professional-licensing rules.

Which Online University Should You Choose for 2027?

There is no credible answer called “the best online university.”

For maximum subject choice, I would begin with Arizona State University Online.

For a traditional American university with unusually clear online credentials, compare Penn State World Campus and Oregon State Ecampus.

If cost is your biggest obstacle, investigate University of the People first.

If you specifically want a UK qualification while remaining abroad, compare the University of London, The Open University and University of Essex Online.

For a flexible Canadian route, Athabasca University deserves a closer look.

And if you already have substantial university credit, compare transfer policies before comparing sticker prices—because the cheapest price per credit is not necessarily the cheapest degree.

One final test is more useful than any university ranking:

Finish this sentence before paying an application fee: “After graduating from this online bachelor’s, I need the degree to help me ______.”

Get a job? Enter a particular master’s? Earn a promotion? Change careers? Satisfy a government credential requirement? Obtain professional registration?

Once you know that answer, check the degree against that exact outcome.

For 2027 applicants, that is a much safer way to choose an online bachelor’s degree than trusting whichever university happens to appear first in a “Top 10” search result.