Accelerated Programs: How Fast Can You Get a Teaching Degree Online?

Taught between the busy spring and fall semesters, summer classes allow students to earn extra credits, jumping ahead in their coursework.

Taking summer classes can shed credits off your overall learning path, saving you time and money, as traditional students only take classes in the fall and spring.

With transfer credits, you can apply your educational credits from one school to another. This can help you save time if, for example, you’ve completed prerequisites at another school before transferring into your current program.

Maybe you’ve taken courses at a community college or have had some other prior college experience. These credits can save you both time and money when you pursue your teaching degree.

A degree completion program is designed for students who have earned college credits but have not completed a four-year degree program. The program allows incoming students to transfer those credits so they can take fewer courses and finish their online teaching degrees faster.

Due to how degree completion programs are designed, they can be a great match for aspiring teachers who have started a degree in a different area but who now want to transition into teaching.

Experience-based credits are college credits earned from professional training, work, and life experience. This can be work you’ve done in the military or through your career in the professional world.

For one, you might take the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), which allows you to earn college credits, so you can earn your degree faster and potentially save money on tuition, books, and fees.

If you have military experience, you can submit your Joint Services Transcript (JST), which shows the military courses you’ve taken. These transcripts also show the professional positions you’ve held in the military.

Non-military professional experience can transfer to college credit if you take the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA).

An accelerated program can help students to earn their degree in a shorter time than a traditional teaching program.

In these programs, the curriculum is typically condensed, and students undergo a more rigorous pace to complete the degree faster.

The shorter terms let students take more classes each year, and students in accelerated programs can transfer credits from previous education and work experience. This way, students can take fewer courses, speeding up the learning process without missing any educational content.

Accelerated programs commonly offer flexibility through online and hybrid options so students can continue their careers or other obligations while they study.