How to Get A Bachelor’s Degree in 2 Years

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, cred­it trans­fers, and pri­or learn­ing assess­ments are key strate­gies for earn­ing a bachelor’s degree in two years. 
• Top uni­ver­si­ties like WGU and SNHU offer flex­i­ble accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams, help­ing stu­dents com­plete their degree faster. 
• Year-round class­es and online learn­ing options, like 8‑week cours­es, allow for faster degree com­ple­tion with­out sac­ri­fic­ing work or fam­i­ly commitments. 
• Max­i­miz­ing trans­fer cred­its from pre­vi­ous edu­ca­tion and uti­liz­ing finan­cial aid can make earn­ing a two-year bachelor’s degree more afford­able and achievable.

Edu­ca­tion pays and it’s worth it to earn a bach­e­lor’s degree if you don’t have it yet. Bach­e­lor’s degree hold­ers earn $1,493/week in medi­an pay (BLS, Edu­ca­tion Pays 2024). In con­trast, asso­ci­ate’s degree hold­ers earn $1,058/week while high school grad­u­ates earn $899/week.

How­ev­er, earn­ing a bach­e­lor’s degree can take at least four years. Or does it?

Relat­ed:

• Afford­able Col­leges with High Accep­tance Rates
• Tech-Focused Online Degrees for Future-Proof Careers
• Fast and Afford­able Edu­ca­tion: Acces­si­ble Degree Pro­grams for Every Learner
• Ris­ing Pop­u­lar­i­ty of Online Degrees in Healthcare

Why Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in 2 Years?

You can actu­al­ly earn a bach­e­lor’s degree in two years. Doing so means you’ll enjoy these benefits:

• Low­er tuition costs
• Faster entry into your pre­ferred indus­try or profession
• High­er earn­ing potential
• Low­er unem­ploy­ment risk

Is it pos­si­ble to get a bach­e­lor’s degree in 2 years?

Yes, it is through a com­bi­na­tion of:

• Enroll­ment in an accel­er­at­ed program
• Cred­it transfers
• Pri­or learn­ing assessments

In this guide, we’ll dis­cuss how to get a bach­e­lor’s degree in 2 years. You’ll learn about the best strate­gies and prac­tices as well as pro­grams in doing so.

Choose the Right Accelerated Degree Program

The first step is to con­sid­er accel­er­at­ed bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams. Be sure to ver­i­fy the col­leges’ cur­rent region­al or accred­i­ta­tion first.

What Are Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree Programs?

These are the fastest way to earn a bach­e­lor’s degree online, usu­al­ly in two years or less. As inten­sive pro­grams with fast-paced course­work, chal­leng­ing is an understatement.

These are often avail­able in either ful­ly online or hybrid for­mat. You’ll enjoy the max­i­mum flex­i­bil­i­ty that comes with either format.

Best Fields for Accelerated Degrees

Accel­er­at­ed bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams offer diverse dis­ci­plines to choose from. But the best fields are in:

• Busi­ness administration
• Health­care management
• Infor­ma­tion technology
• Crim­i­nal justice
• Psy­chol­o­gy

Top Universities Offering Accelerated Degrees

Con­sid­er these online uni­ver­si­ties that offer excel­lent two-year bach­e­lor’s degree options.

• West­ern Gov­er­nors Uni­ver­si­ty (WGU) deliv­ers the best self-paced, com­pe­ten­cy-based learn­ing programs.
• South­ern New Hamp­shire Uni­ver­si­ty (SNHU) offers online accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams in diverse fields.
• Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al is a great choice for fast-track bach­e­lor’s degrees for work­ing adults.

Maximize Transfer Credits from Previous Education

Do you want to know how to fin­ish col­lege faster and grad­u­ate ear­ly? Take full advan­tage of trans­fer credits.

How Transfer Credits Work

Look for col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties that accept trans­fer cred­its. Ask about artic­u­la­tion agree­ments between col­leges for faster trans­fer of cred­its, too.

In gen­er­al, cred­its from region­al­ly accred­it­ed col­leges have the high­est prob­a­bil­i­ty of trans­fer. The col­lege where you’re apply­ing for trans­fer cred­its assess­es their equiv­a­len­cy. Your cred­its may trans­fer as gen­er­al elec­tives or as is or not trans­fer at all.

Ways to Earn More Transfer Credits

Trans­fer cred­its come from these sources:

• Pre­vi­ous col­lege courses
• Asso­ci­ate’s degree from a com­mu­ni­ty college
• Advanced Place­ment (AP) courses
• Inter­na­tion­al Bac­calau­re­ate (IB) credits
• CLEP exams for gen­er­al edu­ca­tion courses
• Mil­i­tary train­ing and service

Top Schools with Generous Transfer Credit Policies

These online uni­ver­si­ties offer the best online pro­grams for earn­ing a degree in 2 years.

• Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus (UMGC) accepts up to 90 trans­fer credits.
• Capel­la Uni­ver­si­ty offers flex­i­ble trans­fer poli­cies for work­ing students.

Their gen­er­ous trans­fer cred­it poli­cies enable stu­dents to achieve it.

Earning Credit for Prior Learning & Work Experience

These are also effec­tive cred­it trans­fer strate­gies for fast degree com­ple­tion. You must pro­vide valid proof for these cred­its, too. Exam­ples include Col­lege Board score reports, JST or CCAF records, and doc­u­ment­ed portfolios.

What Is Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)?

Your new col­lege will make the pri­or learn­ing assess­ment for col­lege cred­it. This is a process where the col­lege deter­mines the amount of cred­its for transfer.

Ways to Earn PLA Credits

Here are the best ways to earn PLA cred­its that col­leges will like­ly accept for transfer.

• Port­fo­lio assess­ments where you can prove your skills and knowl­edge from work. Learn­ing from mil­i­tary ser­vice and inde­pen­dent study are accept­able, too.
• DANTES Sub­ject Stan­dard­ized Tests (DSST) trans­late to col­lege cred­its, too. These show in-depth knowl­edge in busi­ness, sci­ence, and humanities.
• Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and licens­es can also count for aca­d­e­m­ic cred­it. Exam­ples include Comp­TIA A+ cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, CNA license, and PMP certification.

Colleges Offering PLA Credits

Con­sid­er these col­leges if you have PLA credits:

• Thomas Edi­son State University
• Excel­sior College
• Char­ter Oak State College

These col­leges also offer afford­able, accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams in many fields.

Enroll in Year-Round Classes to Speed Up Completion

Sac­ri­fices must be made if you want to earn a bach­e­lor’s degree in two years or less. Enrolling in year-round class­es is among them.

How Year-Round Classes Work

Most tra­di­tion­al degree pro­grams have a four-year sched­ule with sum­mer and win­ter breaks. But with accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, there are no breaks. Instead, you’ll attend class­es dur­ing these tra­di­tion­al breaks.

Best Options for Year-Round Learning

Every accel­er­at­ed pro­gram has its spe­cif­ic poli­cies for year-round learn­ing. But the most com­mon meth­ods include:

• Online 8‑week cours­es that allow for faster com­ple­tion. In tra­di­tion­al pro­grams, it’s usu­al­ly 16-week courses.
• Self-paced cours­es enable stu­dents to work at their own speed. You can fin­ish your cours­es and assign­ments early.
• Com­pe­ten­cy-based learn­ing for­mat also allows stu­dents to com­plete their cours­es faster.
• Hybrid learn­ing mix­es in-per­son and online cours­es for max­i­mum flexibility.

Even with year-round learn­ing, you can still meet work and fam­i­ly oblig­a­tions. Time man­age­ment is the key.

Take Online Courses for Maximum Flexibility

In the Dig­i­tal Age and thanks to the COVID-19 lock­downs, online cours­es are more pop­u­lar now.

Advantages of Online Learning for Accelerated Degrees

Their pop­u­lar­i­ty isn’t sur­pris­ing con­sid­er­ing their advantages.

• Study at your own pace while work­ing full-time and meet­ing fam­i­ly obligations.
• No trav­el­ing is nec­es­sary, which, in turn, means more time for coursework.

You can also save on the costs of books and sup­plies. E‑books are often­times more afford­able than textbooks.

Best Online Schools for Fast-Track Degrees

Check out these online schools for their accel­er­at­ed programs.

• Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty offers 8‑week accel­er­at­ed online courses.
• Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty Online deliv­ers high-qual­i­ty online degrees with fast-track options.
• The Uni­ver­si­ty of Phoenix has rolling start dates for quick course completion.

Time Management Tips for Online Learning

With so many things on your plate, you can become over­whelmed. Adopt these time man­age­ment tips for accel­er­at­ed col­lege stu­dents to pre­vent it.

• Set a ded­i­cat­ed study schedule.
• Use pro­duc­tiv­i­ty tools like Google Cal­en­dar or Trello.
• Stay engaged in dis­cus­sion boards and vir­tu­al study groups.

Online pro­grams have their dis­ad­van­tages, too, such as few­er in-per­son inter­ac­tions. But the ben­e­fits out­weigh the costs, so con­sid­er them.

Consider Dual Enrollment or Combined Degree Programs

If a pas­sion for learn­ing dri­ves you, con­sid­er dual degree programs.

What Is Dual Enrollment?

High school stu­dents earn col­lege cred­its ear­ly to speed up their entry into col­lege. AP and IB cred­its are examples.

Combined Bachelor’s-Master’s Programs

Yet anoth­er option is the 4+1 pro­gram that many col­leges offer. Stu­dents earn a bach­e­lor’s degree and a mas­ter’s degree in five years.

These pro­grams are ide­al for stu­dents who want to earn advanced degrees faster. Many are in the busi­ness, health­care, and infor­ma­tion tech­nol­o­gy fields.

Schools Offering Combined Degree Programs

Con­sid­er these pres­ti­gious uni­ver­si­ties for their dual degree programs. 

• Boston Uni­ver­si­ty offers BA/MA programs.
• Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­si­ty offers fast-track mas­ter’s degrees.

Dual degree pro­grams are chal­leng­ing, to say the least. Be as pre­pared as pos­si­ble for the chal­lenges ahead.

Leverage Financial Aid and Scholarships for Fast-Track Degrees

Many col­lege stu­dents strug­gle with financ­ing their stud­ies. The aver­age annu­al cost of atten­dance is a hefty $38,270/student/year.

How to Make a 2‑Year Bachelor’s Degree Affordable

For­tu­nate­ly, you can make col­lege more afford­able by:

• Apply for fed­er­al aid. Sub­mit your com­plete and accu­rate FAFSA on time.
• Look for schol­ar­ships for adult learn­ers and trans­fer students.
• Check employ­er tuition reim­burse­ment programs.

Scholarships for Accelerated Degree Students

Explore schol­ar­ships meant for accel­er­at­ed degree stu­dents, too.

• Pell Grant awards up to $7,395 for qual­i­fy­ing students.
• Phi Theta Kap­pa Trans­fer Schol­ar­ships are meant for com­mu­ni­ty col­lege graduates.

Take full advan­tage of schol­ar­ship engines and data­bas­es, too. Fast­web and Scholarship.com are excel­lent resources.

Stay Motivated and Manage Your Time Effectively

Being in a two-year accel­er­at­ed bach­e­lor’s degree pro­gram isn’t for the lazy.

Challenges of an Accelerated Degree Program

You’ll encounter chal­lenges that will test your deter­mi­na­tion. The heavy course load can be over­whelm­ing. You must have strong time man­age­ment skills and discipline.

Tips for Staying on Track

Keep these tips to stay the course:

• Break course­work into small­er tasks and set deadlines.
• Use pro­duc­tiv­i­ty apps like Ever­note or Asana.
• Take breaks and prac­tice self-care. It’s the best way to avoid burnout.

Take full respon­si­bil­i­ty for your deci­sions and actions, too.

Conclusion

Here are the key steps on how to get a bach­e­lor’s degree in 2 years.

• Choose an accel­er­at­ed degree program.
• Max­i­mize trans­fer cred­its and pri­or learn­ing assessments.
• Take year-round, online, and self-paced courses.
• Stay focused with effec­tive time man­age­ment strategies.

Yes, you can earn a bach­e­lor’s degree in two years. But you must be smart in plan­ning your path. You must also per­se­vere in the face of challenges.