Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degrees: What You Need to Know

Key Take­aways:

• South­ern New Hamp­shire Uni­ver­si­ty and Azusa Pacif­ic Uni­ver­si­ty offer top two-year bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams.
• Accel­er­at­ed online degree pro­grams offer the flex­i­bil­i­ty to com­plete a bach­e­lor’s degree in just two years through con­densed course­work and year-round study, allow­ing faster entry into the workforce.
• Two-year online bach­e­lor’s degrees often allow stu­dents to trans­fer pre­vi­ous col­lege cred­its and uti­lize pri­or learn­ing assess­ments (PLA) to accel­er­ate their path to graduation.
• Pop­u­lar fields of study for these pro­grams include Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion, Nurs­ing, Com­put­er Sci­ence, and Psy­chol­o­gy, offer­ing a broad range of career-ori­ent­ed edu­ca­tion options.

Can you real­ly earn a bach­e­lor’s degree online in just two years? Yes!

Online two-year degree com­ple­tion pro­grams are chang­ing the game in high­er edu­ca­tion. They let you earn a bach­e­lor’s degree faster than the tra­di­tion­al five-year route. The key is through accel­er­at­ed course­work and flex­i­ble scheduling.

The big draw of these fast online degrees is how they fit into your life. You’ll have course­work year-round. But you can study any­time and from any­where. Class­es last five to eight weeks. And with the option to study dur­ing breaks, you can com­plete your 120 cred­its quick­er. This approach speeds up your edu­ca­tion and helps you get into the work­force earlier.

If you’re con­sid­er­ing one of these two-year degrees, it’s good to know how they work. This post will cov­er all the essen­tials of a two-year bach­e­lor’s degree.

• Employ­er Per­cep­tions of Accel­er­at­ed Teach­ing Degree Graduates
• Bal­anc­ing Fam­i­ly Life with Accel­er­at­ed Degree Programs
• Employ­er Per­cep­tions of Accel­er­at­ed vs Tra­di­tion­al IT Degrees
• Fast-track Soft­ware Engi­neer­ing Pro­grams for Aspir­ing Developers

What Is an Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree?

Online edu­ca­tion has become pop­u­lar due to its ease and flex­i­bil­i­ty. It has made advanced learn­ing avail­able to more peo­ple than ever. In the last ten years, the desire for quick online degrees has shot up.

Online bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams have become a top choice for career-dri­ven stu­dents. They offer the free­dom to study from any­where in the world at your own pace.

A two-year online bach­e­lor’s pro­gram is a fast-track ver­sion of the typ­i­cal four-year degree. It’s designed for quick­er entry into the job mar­ket. You study hard for two years to get the same degree as some­one who goes for four years. The sched­ule is con­densed and cov­ers every­thing you need to learn. 

These pro­grams make the usu­al four years of study short­er through spe­cial meth­ods. Online schools break down lessons into short five to eight-week cours­es. You can also grad­u­ate quick­er by using past col­lege cred­its or a pri­or learn­ing assess­ment (PLA). This way, you get cred­it for what you already know.

Relat­ed:

• Fast-Track Teach­ing Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion Pro­grams for Career Changers
• Fastest Online Bachelor’s Degrees
• Fastest Online Sports Man­age­ment Degree Bachelor’s Programs

Comparison with Traditional Four-Year Degrees

The out­come is the same whether you choose a tra­di­tion­al or fast-track degree. How­ev­er, a two-year online bach­e­lor’s degree is struc­tured dif­fer­ent­ly from a four-year program. 

The fast-track degree has basi­cal­ly no vaca­tions or breaks except for week­ends. You will study con­tin­u­ous­ly until you have com­plet­ed the require­ments. This could be real­ly tough. But it can also be reward­ing if you’re pas­sion­ate about the sub­ject. These pro­grams save you mon­ey on tuition and liv­ing costs. Plus, you grad­u­ate soon­er and can start your career faster.

Tra­di­tion­al degrees have the usu­al breaks, mak­ing the study time longer. You have more oppor­tu­ni­ties to bal­ance your stud­ies with work, fam­i­ly, and extracur­ric­u­lar activ­i­ties. Such pro­grams may offer more spe­cial­iza­tions, too, since there is more time to com­plete your degree. This lets you study what inter­ests you in more detail. Stu­dents who want the full cam­pus expe­ri­ence may pre­fer a stan­dard four-year degree program. 

Benefits of Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degrees

Online two-year bach­e­lor’s degrees help stu­dents with busy lives earn a degree. They are ide­al for peo­ple bal­anc­ing work, fam­i­ly, and stud­ies. So, what are the main benefits?

Flexibility and Convenience

The key ben­e­fit is flex­i­bil­i­ty. With an online degree, you set your own study schedule.

Accelerated Time to Completion

Online degrees can be earned faster, attract­ing many stu­dents. They are great for those who already have some col­lege cred­its. Plus, you get to enter the job mar­ket quickly.

Cost Savings

Cost is often a sig­nif­i­cant con­sid­er­a­tion. On aver­age, online degrees are more afford­able. This set­up is per­fect for the mil­lions who start­ed col­lege but did­n’t fin­ish due to cost constraints.

Ability to Balance Work, Life, and Education

Many adults would go back to school if it were to fit in with their lives. Online degrees offer this chance. They are per­fect for non-tra­di­tion­al stu­dents who need flexibility.

Two Types of Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs

There are basi­cal­ly two types of online two-year degree pro­grams. These include:

• Accel­er­at­ed Bach­e­lor’s Degree Programs
• Bach­e­lor’s Degree Com­ple­tion Programs

Each type has its own advan­tages and meets the needs of dif­fer­ent stu­dents. Both offer many areas of study and can give you a great edu­ca­tion­al experience.

Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree Programs

An accel­er­at­ed online degree pro­gram com­press­es the usu­al four-year cur­ricu­lum into 12–18 months. The time­line to com­ple­tion depends on the spe­cif­ic school and degree. These pro­grams are ide­al for those who want to focus sole­ly on their stud­ies to get into the job mar­ket faster. 

Bachelor’s Degree Completion Programs

These pro­grams are for stu­dents who already have some col­lege cred­its, which is why they are called com­ple­tion pro­grams. A com­ple­tion pro­gram assumes you already have an asso­ciate degree or cred­its from a pre­vi­ous col­lege. With these exist­ing cred­its, the process speeds up. Many col­leges offer such programs. 

Fields of Study Commonly Offered

Many sub­jects are avail­able in two-year pro­grams, mak­ing it easy to find your fit. Here are some com­mon fields of study offered in these programs:

• Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion: Cov­ers top­ics such as man­age­ment, finance, mar­ket­ing, and orga­ni­za­tion­al behavior.
• Nurs­ing: Pro­vides com­pre­hen­sive train­ing in health­care prac­tices, patient care, and clin­i­cal experience.
• Com­put­er Sci­ence: Focus­es on pro­gram­ming, soft­ware devel­op­ment, data struc­tures, and algorithms.
• Edu­ca­tion: Pre­pares stu­dents for teach­ing careers with cours­es in ped­a­gogy, cur­ricu­lum devel­op­ment, and class­room management.
• Psy­chol­o­gy: Includes the study of human behav­ior, men­tal health, cog­ni­tive process­es, and psy­cho­log­i­cal theories.
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tions: Empha­sizes media stud­ies, pub­lic rela­tions, jour­nal­ism, and effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion techniques.
• Health Sci­ences: Encom­pass­es var­i­ous aspects of health­care, includ­ing pub­lic health, health­care admin­is­tra­tion, and med­ical research.
• Crim­i­nal Jus­tice: Cov­ers law enforce­ment, cor­rec­tions, crim­i­nol­o­gy, and legal studies.
• Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy: Focus­es on net­work admin­is­tra­tion, cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, and IT project management.
• Lib­er­al Arts: Pro­vides a broad edu­ca­tion in human­i­ties, social sci­ences, and nat­ur­al sci­ences, encour­ag­ing crit­i­cal think­ing and ana­lyt­i­cal skills.

These pro­grams are designed to pro­vide a com­pre­hen­sive edu­ca­tion in a con­densed time­frame. They often place a stronger empha­sis on prac­ti­cal and career-ori­ent­ed skills.

Key Features of Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams offer some unique fea­tures. Here are a few things that set such pro­grams apart:

Modular and Accelerated Course Structures

One great thing about these pro­grams is how the cours­es are set up. They are flex­i­ble for quick learn­ing. Each course is typ­i­cal­ly divid­ed into a series of mod­ules or units. Each mod­ule focus­es on a spe­cif­ic top­ic or set of learn­ing objec­tives. The mod­ules may include read­ings, videos, inter­ac­tive activ­i­ties, quizzes, and assignments.

Online Learning Platform

You’ll have access to an easy-to-use online learn­ing man­age­ment sys­tem (LMS). This is where you can access course mate­ri­als and sub­mit assign­ments. The LMS also facil­i­tates dis­cus­sions and allows you to com­mu­ni­cate with your instruc­tors and class­mates. Your LMS is avail­able all day, every day.

Asynchronous Learning Opportunities

Learn­ing at your own pace is a key draw. You don’t need to be online at cer­tain times for class. Instead, you can study any­time. Need to wait until the kids are in bed? No prob­lem. Do you want to study dur­ing your lunch break at work? You can do that too. Asyn­chro­nous learn­ing lets you go at your own pace and on your own time wher­ev­er you are.

Access to Academic Support and Advising

Even though you learn online, help is always avail­able. You’ll typ­i­cal­ly have a ded­i­cat­ed aca­d­e­m­ic advi­sor and some­times a stu­dent sup­port coach. These rela­tion­ships will help you thrive in your stud­ies and make your edu­ca­tion count.

Colleges Offering Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degrees

Are you look­ing into an online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree? Many Lead­ing online uni­ver­si­ties offer high-qual­i­ty accred­it­ed online pro­grams. This means stu­dents get both flex­i­bil­i­ty and an excel­lent edu­ca­tion. Here are a few options:

Southern New Hampshire University 

South­ern New Hamp­shire Uni­ver­si­ty offers many ful­ly online pro­grams. Course­work is asyn­chro­nous, and you have 24/7 access to the online class­room. There are four online accel­er­at­ed BS degrees. These include:

• Account­ing 
• Finance
• Mar­ket­ing 
• Sport Man­age­ment 

The pro­grams require a total of 120 cred­its. How­ev­er, you can trans­fer in up to 90 cred­its from an asso­ciate degree or pre­vi­ous edu­ca­tion. Addi­tion­al­ly, SNHU offers cred­it for pri­or learn­ing (CPL). So, you may be able to get cred­it for what you’ve learned out­side of col­lege. This could include work, mil­i­tary train­ing, cer­ti­fi­ca­tions, and more. 

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa Pacif­ic Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate Chris­t­ian uni­ver­si­ty in Asuza, Cal­i­for­nia. It serves just under 4,000 stu­dents. APU fea­tures sev­er­al online bach­e­lor’s degree com­ple­tion pro­grams. They include

• Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BBA)
• Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA 
• Psy­chol­o­gy, BA 
• RN to BSN

It is worth not­ing that the BBA at APU has sev­er­al areas stu­dents can focus on, including:

• Account­ing
• Gov­ern­ment Finan­cial Accounting
• Human Resource Development
• Lead­ing Teams and People
• Mar­ket­ing and Dig­i­tal Media
• Pub­lic Administration
• Sup­ply Chain Management

The school uses Can­vas as its online plat­form. Stu­dents can com­plete course­work when and where it works best for them. Online stu­dents can access all of the uni­ver­si­ty’s resources to sup­port their studies.

University of Michigan-Flint

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Michi­gan-Flint is a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty in Flint, Michi­gan. It has an under­grad­u­ate stu­dent pop­u­la­tion of around 4,300. The school is known for offer­ing an array of online degree pro­grams. And it fea­tures four excel­lent online accel­er­at­ed degree com­ple­tion pro­grams that include:

• Busi­ness Administration
• Health Care Management
• Inter­dis­ci­pli­nary Studies
• Psy­chol­o­gy

The pro­grams are designed to accom­mo­date busy adult learn­ers. All class­es are in an online asyn­chro­nous for­mat. No class times are set, so you go at your own pace. You can com­plete two class­es simul­ta­ne­ous­ly with accel­er­at­ed, sev­en-week cours­es. You can also earn Cred­it for Pri­or Learn­ing with expe­ri­ences like:

• Mil­i­tary exam­i­na­tions and training.
• Pro­fes­sion­al train­ing and certifications.
• Stan­dard­ized exams such as AP, IB, and CLEP.
• A port­fo­lio that doc­u­ments your learn­ing out­side of the classroom

Indiana University Online

Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty Online offers sev­er­al accel­er­at­ed online pro­grams for those who want to earn a bach­e­lor’s degree quick­ly. This school fea­tures cours­es you can fin­ish in six or eight weeks instead of 16. The degrees include:

• Busi­ness Administration
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Data Sci­ence
• Infor­mat­ics
• Math­e­mat­ics
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Nurs­ing

Stu­dents at IU online have access to a range of help­ful resources to help them fast-track their degree, including:

• Onboard­ing
• Advis­ing
• Suc­cess Coaching
• Math and Writ­ing Support
• Career Ser­vices
• Peer Men­tor­ship
• Tutor­ing

These points explain why stu­dents like these uni­ver­si­ties for their online two-year degrees. They offer qual­i­ty, flex­i­bil­i­ty, and val­ue, mak­ing learn­ing convenient.

How to Choose the Right Program for You

Choos­ing the per­fect two-year online bach­e­lor’s pro­gram requires some home­work. To help you decide, let’s talk about the most impor­tant things to consider. 

Accreditation and Reputation of the Institution

It’s cru­cial to pick an accred­it­ed online pro­gram. Accred­it­ed schools meet high edu­ca­tion stan­dards and are respect­ed for their qual­i­ty. Check col­lege rank­ings and sites like Red­dit to get a feel for rep­u­ta­tion and the over­all vibe.

Curriculum and Specializations Offered

Choose a pro­gram that offers cours­es that inter­est you the most. Many pro­grams have spe­cial­iza­tions or con­cen­tra­tions. These will allow you to dive deep­er into your cho­sen path. You want to pick a school that aligns with your career path. 

Student Support Services

Hav­ing strong stu­dent sup­port online is vital to doing well. Look for schools with robust sup­port ser­vices and resources. We’re talk­ing about tutor­ing, ded­i­cat­ed advis­ing, career coach­ing, etc. These ser­vices are essen­tial. And they ensure you have all the tools you need while study­ing online.

Cost and Financial Aid Options

Under­stand­ing the mon­ey part of your stud­ies is a must. Like tra­di­tion­al degrees, the cost of online degrees varies. Pub­lic schools are usu­al­ly the cheap­est, and pri­vate schools are gen­er­al­ly more expen­sive. Some schools charge more for out-of-state stu­dents, while oth­ers have the same tuition for all online students. 

Get­ting finan­cial help is also a big plus for man­ag­ing these costs. Online stu­dents are eli­gi­ble for finan­cial aid, so fill out the FAFSA. Addi­tion­al­ly, there are many oppor­tu­ni­ties for schol­ar­ships, grants, and loans to help you pay for college.

Technical Requirements and Accessibility

Make sure you have what’s need­ed to take online class­es. Your gear, like com­put­ers and the inter­net, must be up to scratch. These are vital for a smooth learn­ing process. 

Common Obstacles in Accelerated Online Learning

Sign­ing up for a fast-paced online degree has its chal­lenges. To deal with com­mon prob­lems and suc­ceed, use smart strate­gies. This way, you can tack­le the obsta­cles smooth­ly. Let’s look at the main issues:

• Time Man­age­ment: Not man­ag­ing your time well can make things chaot­ic. It can also con­tribute to feel­ings of being over­whelmed by the rig­or­ous coursework.
• Tech­ni­cal Issues: Strug­gling with the inter­net or tech sup­port can affect your learning.
• Social Iso­la­tion: Not being in a reg­u­lar class­room can make you feel very alone. This feel­ing can be a big deal for online learners.
• Bal­anc­ing Respon­si­bil­i­ties: Many find it chal­leng­ing to bal­ance work, fam­i­ly, and school. This can stress you out, dis­turb your sleep, and even make you feel unwell.
• Lack of Moti­va­tion: With­out some­one push­ing you, you might find it hard to keep going.

Solutions and Strategies to Stay on Track

Deal­ing with these issues needs a plan and using what’s around you. Here’s how to aim for suc­cess in your fast degree:

• Devel­op a Strate­gic Study Plan: Make a study sched­ule with time for study, assign­ments, and breaks. Good time man­age­ment helps you keep calm and bal­anced. Use apps or plan­ners to help you man­age your time efficiently.
• Uti­lize Avail­able Aca­d­e­m­ic Resources: Use all the help and ser­vices your school offers. You pay for them, so take advan­tage of them. This can help you through tough coursework.
• Fos­ter a Sense of Com­mu­ni­ty: Stay in touch with class­mates by engag­ing in vir­tu­al study groups and online chats. Tools like video calls and mes­sag­ing apps make this easy.
• Access to Robust Tech­ni­cal Sup­port: Your school should pro­vide good tech sup­port to fix con­nec­tiv­i­ty prob­lems and improve dig­i­tal skills. Don’t hes­i­tate to con­tact them repeat­ed­ly until you have the nec­es­sary answers.
• To stay moti­vat­ed, cel­e­brate all your vic­to­ries: No mat­ter how small, reward your­self a lit­tle every time you reach a mile­stone. Take some time for self-care and get a break from your stud­ies when pos­si­ble. Spend time with friends, watch a movie, or just relax.

By rec­og­niz­ing the dif­fi­cul­ties of online school and using these strate­gies, you can achieve your goals faster.

The Future of Online Two-Year Bachelor’s Degrees

The need for flex­i­ble learn­ing options is grow­ing, mak­ing online two-year bach­e­lor’s degrees more pop­u­lar. New tech­nolo­gies and a wider embrace of online learn­ing are chang­ing the game. Many stu­dents and schools are mov­ing towards this new path.

Emerging Trends and Innovations in Online Education

Online edu­ca­tion is evolv­ing, with a focus on prac­ti­cal learn­ing. You can now have hands-on expe­ri­ences in health­care and com­put­er sci­ence through vir­tu­al labs. AI is also mak­ing it pos­si­ble to cus­tomize learn­ing for each stu­dent, boost­ing results.

There’s also a rise in micro-cre­den­tials and stack­able cer­tifi­cates. These let stu­dents add to their degrees step by step, pick­ing up job-ready skills as they go. This is great for those work­ing who want to improve their skills with­out quit­ting their jobs.

More mon­ey is expect­ed to be invest­ed in online pro­gram devel­op­ment in the com­ing years. With more invest­ment, online degrees will become stronger. And any remain­ing stig­ma about remote degree pro­grams will take a back seat. This will make the choice between tra­di­tion­al and online edu­ca­tion less difficult.

Conclusion

In today’s world, online two-year degrees are very help­ful. They com­bine speed with the abil­i­ty to study on your own time. They are also afford­able. This is great news for 3.5 mil­lion Amer­i­cans who start­ed col­lege but did­n’t fin­ish. Near­ly 60 per­cent of these peo­ple now want to get their bach­e­lor’s degree, show­ing how vital online pro­grams are.

Online accel­er­at­ed degrees help you grad­u­ate faster in only 12 to 36 months. This is much quick­er than the usu­al four years. You also save mon­ey and can jug­gle work, study, and fam­i­ly. After you grad­u­ate, your earn­ing pow­er will increase as you head to the job mar­ket. Whether you want to com­plete your edu­ca­tion or change careers, two-year degrees are an intel­li­gent choice for your future.

FAQ

What are online two-year bach­e­lor’s degrees?

Online two-year bach­e­lor’s degrees let you fin­ish a bach­e­lor’s degree in only two years. They are fast-paced and cov­er all required mate­ri­als. These pro­grams are meant to be quick­er than the typ­i­cal four-year option.

How do online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams com­pare to tra­di­tion­al four-year degrees?

Online two-year degrees are quick­er, but you’ll still get the same knowl­edge and degree. They cut out some breaks and have you study­ing more in less time. This helps you get your degree sooner.

What are the ben­e­fits of enrolling in an online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree program?

There are many ben­e­fits. You can study when it’s best for you, save time and mon­ey, and keep a job while study­ing. It’s all about fit­ting edu­ca­tion into your life easily.

What types of online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams are available?

In these pro­grams, you might start with cred­its you’ve already earned. You can choose paths from an asso­ciate degree to a bach­e­lor’s lev­el. Areas like busi­ness, psy­chol­o­gy, and com­mu­ni­ca­tions are common.

How do I choose the right online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree program?

Look at a school’s qual­i­ty and pro­gram options. Check their stu­dent sup­port and costs. Make sure they have the help and tech tools you’ll need to learn online.

What is the future of online two-year bach­e­lor’s degree programs?

The future seems bright for these pro­grams. Tech­nol­o­gy is stream­lin­ing remote learn­ing. And schools are also putting more effort into mak­ing great online pro­grams even bet­ter. This all means these degrees will keep get­ting bet­ter and more popular.