Earn Your Accelerated Business Degree Online

Employers said in a recent survey that the skills taught in business education, like strategic thinking and decision-making, are going to remain important even amid the rise of AI.

That’s not to say you won’t learn emerging tech skills in an online business degree: Business schools have embraced AI, cybersecurity, and data in response to demand from students and employers alike.

Getting an online business degree means you won’t have to leave the workforce to gain those high-demand skills, and earning a degree in an accelerated format means you won’t have to wait as long to start seeing a return on your investment.

We ranked accelerated online business programs based on affordability and student outcomes to give you options for earning a fast-tracked degree online.

An accelerated bachelor’s degree in business is the same degree as a traditional, full-time degree. It just includes faster, more intensive instruction to help you earn that degree faster.

Online accelerated programs usually consist of fast-paced classes offered in six- or seven-week formats that truncate a full semester’s worth of learning into just half the time.

You’ll learn the same business fundamentals and data skills as a traditional student, but may not have the same access to concentrations and elective courses due to time constraints.

Other programs are built around scheduling flexibility and aren’t overtly marketed as being accelerated. Instead, they offer asynchronous classes that you can take at your own pace.

That means you can take on a high course load and finish the degree faster.

A number of online, accelerated programs are actually degree completion programs. If you’re one of the millions of Americans who took some college classes but didn’t earn a degree or credential, these programs might allow you to put that previous credit toward a degree.

Our list of accelerated online business programs is built to maximize your options.

Some of these are completion programs, allowing you to transfer past credits to earn your degree faster. Those programs require 120 credits, but most allow you to transfer between 30 and 60 credits of past college experience to cut down on the time and cost of a degree.

Other programs are offered in an accelerated format, requiring fewer total credits and taking as little as two years to complete.

We only included accredited, nonprofit schools in our list.

One of the advantages of a business degree is its applicability across businesses. The core accounting, strategy, and data skills you learn in a business degree will be built to apply in any industry.

A growing STEM emphasis in business education can also help you earn specialized, high-demand tech skills as part of your degree.

Business and financial occupations are projected to grow faster than average on the whole over the next decade, per the BLS. The median annual wage for that group of professionals was more than $79,000 as of May 2023.

Here’s an important caveat about BLS data: Median salaries don’t necessarily reflect the starting salary you’ll land with a degree. The value of a degree builds up over time, and a degree on its own can’t be a substitute for work experience. You might also need to earn additional licensure or certifications on top of your degree.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The above table shows the yearly cost of an undergraduate degree based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), but take it with a grain of salt. Business schools have one of the most variable tuition rates in all of higher education, so it’s hard to pin down an exact price.

Here are a few generalities you can follow: Public schools within your state will generally (emphasis on generally) be more affordable than private or out-of-state schools. Smaller, regional public institutions are usually the most affordable. Also, an online business education is typically less costly than an in-person degree.

We’re loading this article with phrases like “usually,” “typically,” and “generally” because business schools charge wildly different prices based on their reputation. An online degree from an elite business school at a public university might cost more than $100,000, whereas a degree from a more accessible online private school might be far more affordable.

Some schools also put different price tags on their dedicated accelerated degree programs, so be sure to check out any program’s tuition before committing to a degree.

You can typically expect an accelerated business degree to take between two and three years, depending on your school’s format.

Online, accelerated bachelor’s degrees are variable in the number of credits required to graduate. A degree completion program will usually require 120 credits, but you might be allowed to transfer between 30 and 60 credits from past college experience. Other dedicated accelerated programs are built around only 60 credits and focus solely on business fundamentals.

The format of a degree can also affect your time to completion. Some programs offer asynchronous classes that you can take at your own pace. That means you can load your schedule up with classes and, if you keep that schedule consistent, finish your degree in as little as two years.

Pursuing an accelerated online business degree means you’ll earn your degree faster without having to step away from the workforce.

If you’re a working adult with personal obligations, an asynchronous accelerated degree can be a good choice to help you schedule your coursework around your busy schedule.

A number of business schools tailor their programs specifically for working professionals, meaning they’ll have a built-in understanding that your degree isn’t the only thing on your schedule.

A bachelor’s degree can also set you up to pursue additional graduate education, like an MBA program or a specialized graduate business degree. Coupled with work experience, a graduate degree can help you break into specialist or leadership roles.

Keep in mind that while a bachelor’s degree can help increase your earnings, it isn’t a guarantee. It’s important to choose an affordable, accredited program that meets your personal career goals.