There is a graduate program for anthrozoology I am interested in, but it is only offered online. It is accredited and from a college that isn’t impossible to get into, but is still regarded as a good school in my state. There is an on-campus component during the beginning of each semester, with seminars, guest speakers, meeting colleagues, etc. I have heard from one friend that online masters are not the same experience as in you don’t get the same connections in departments and colleagues, as well as little to no hands on work. I will most likely be doing related work aside from academics anyway, though.
Would applying be not worth my time, or are there ways to go about online programs to make them a better experience?
The value of an online degree is very much dependent on the university, the level, and the subject of the degree. Professional Masters for working professionals are quite common in certain fields where there is no great need for hands-on work. A research-oriented degree is probably better taken in person.
There is also a big difference in the way the degrees are administered. For example, in the online degrees offered by my university, the courses are offered fresh every year with both live and online students. This means that all the students re getting the same courses and they are not pre-recorded. Other programs do it differently.
It sounds like the program you are considering has a required local component which is not a bad thing. You need to determine if this degree will give you the outcome you desire by talking to the program directors and maybe graduates of the program.
Why do you want it?
I mean, that’s going to be a huge component as well. If you want an MA in anthrozoology because you work in the field and the online MA will help give you a salary boost or net you a promotion, then sure, it’s fine. Or if you are just interested in anthrozoology and want to pursue a graduate degree in the field for its own sake without any career aspirations for it, an online program could be a good way to study at your own pace.
On the flip side, if you want an MA as a stepping stone to a PhD program, an online MA will almost never get you what you want - no matter how good it is. That’s because increasing your competitiveness requires developing relationships with professors and doing on-the-ground research with them - both things that necessitate face-to-face daily interactions with professors.