If you’re wondering what your options are when it comes to advancing your education, you might well be looking at studying for a degree online. There are various advantages to online study, and many people are finding that studying for an accelerated degree, from the comfort of their own home, is a good option for them. It’s a way to gain a qualification more quickly, and in a more convenient way, than returning to a brick-and-mortar school.
What is an accelerated degree?
The majority of students in the US take four years to get a bachelor’s degree, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. Traditionally, many students have graduated in less time, often by taking extra credits and summer courses, and/or using dual credits from their high school study to cut down the amount of time (and money) spent on getting a degree.
Now, however, it’s also possible to study for an accelerated degree in many disciplines. An accelerated degree program cuts down the amount of time you spend in higher education by allowing you to move at a faster pace, and cram more college-level credits into a shorter amount of time. There are several different types of accelerated degrees, but most will allow students to earn a bachelor’s degree in three years, or even less.
How do accelerated degrees work?
In short, they cover more content in less time. You’ll generally be studying the same material, doing the same assignments, and taking the same tests and exams as you would in the regular version of the degree, but you’ll be working more intensively and cramming it all into a shorter amount of time. You can study online for an accelerated degree, but they’re also available on campus at some institutions.
Classes will be faster-paced, and there will be less time between assignments, quizzes and tests. In short, you will have to work harder, but for a shorter amount of time. If you have the time, energy and motivation, it means that you can get your degree ‘over and done with’ much quicker and get your career started a year (or more) earlier.
The way that an accelerated degree is actually structured differs from one college to another. It is common to focus on one course at a time, cramming all the material for that course into a few weeks, rather than spreading it across maybe two semesters, alongside other classes. After a short end-of-course break, you’re straight on to the next course. With this structure, there may also be some variation between colleges though. Some institutions offer five-week sessions and some eight-week sessions, so while an accelerated degree will always be quite intense, the level of intensity varies.
How long does an accelerated degree take?
That depends on a variety of factors. As already stated, an accelerated bachelor’s degree can mean cramming four years’ worth of credits into three. An accelerated master’s degree could be completed in one year rather than two, or a year and a half, rather than three. There are, however, other options that might interest you.
Some students study a ‘dual degree’, which allows them to work on their bachelor’s degree alongside their master’s degree. Some of the credits they earn can even count towards both degrees at the same time, in a similar way to how some AP or college classes taken during high school can count as both high school and college credits. This can allow students to complete a bachelor’s and master’s in the same time as just a bachelor’s, and certainly in less time than it would traditionally take to study one after the other.
It is also sometimes possible to study an accelerated degree as a ‘top-up’ to a previous degree. This is worth considering if you already have a bachelor’s degree but want to change career. Baylor University, for example, offers online accelerated BSN nursing programs that can allow you to complete a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in as little as one year, if you already hold a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing discipline.
If you choose to do an accelerated degree program as a ‘top-up’ to another degree, you will need specific prerequisite credits, but you may find that you already have all or most of the prerequisites from your original degree study – and if you are missing any, it may be possible to obtain them fairly quickly online, perhaps with the same provider, so give them a call if you are unsure about anything.
What are the benefits of an accelerated degree?
The diploma you end up with will be the same, regardless of how long it takes you to get your degree. However, there are various advantages to an accelerated degree for most students. It can save you a lot of time, allowing you to start, change or advance your career much faster than with a traditional degree. It can also cost less, and studying an accelerated degree online can be much more convenient, especially for older students, than returning to school on campus.
Is studying an accelerated degree harder?
In some ways, yes. It will be a more intensive experience, and you will need excellent organization and time management skills to fit it all in. You’ll be dedicating more hours per week to studying than with a traditional degree.
However, the fast pace has advantages. When you are studying a topic very intensively over a short period of time, it can be a deeply immersive experience that actually helps your learning processes. With a much shorter amount of time between tests, and an exam (in courses that require it) at the end of a course that lasts weeks, rather than months, retaining the information can actually be easier. Some students find that studying for exams is, in fact, less necessary, as with short, intensive courses, the information is all still very fresh in their minds.
If you’re looking to start, change or advance your career as quickly as possible, studying for an accelerated degree from home might be the perfect solution.
