Top 10 Online Bachelor of Education Degree Programs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia and Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty offer top online bach­e­lor’s of edu­ca­tion degree pro­grams.
• Pro­grams offer var­i­ous spe­cial­iza­tions such as ear­ly child­hood edu­ca­tion, spe­cial edu­ca­tion, and ele­men­tary edu­ca­tion, cater­ing to dif­fer­ent career goals.
• Accred­i­ta­tion is cru­cial as it ensures the qual­i­ty and cred­i­bil­i­ty of the pro­gram, impact­ing future employ­ment opportunities.
• These pro­grams pre­pare grad­u­ates for teach­ing licen­sure and cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, essen­tial for becom­ing pro­fes­sion­al educators.

Evolv­ing Inter­net tech­nol­o­gy has made it pos­si­ble for future edu­ca­tors to com­plete their bach­e­lor’s degree in edu­ca­tion online. Many uni­ver­si­ties offer edu­ca­tion pro­grams that blend online cours­es with teach­ing practicum to min­i­mize cam­pus trips. Study­ing online can be ide­al for teacher aides, child­care providers, or career chang­ers need­ing a flex­i­ble for­mat to sat­is­fy their edu­ca­tion goals.

In this arti­cle, we’ve researched the top 10 Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams in the Unit­ed States. We began by review­ing the best online bach­e­lor’s pro­grams as ranked by the U.S. News and World Report. Fac­ul­ty cre­den­tials, stu­dent engage­ment, online tech­nol­o­gy, grad­u­a­tion rates, and edu­ca­tion expens­es were con­sid­ered in this pub­li­ca­tion’s rank­ings. We tra­versed the list to find top-ranked online col­leges offer­ing bach­e­lor’s in edu­ca­tion degrees. Edu­ca­tion schools achiev­ing NCATE or TEAC accred­i­ta­tion were giv­en pref­er­ence. Afford­abil­i­ty is essen­tial on a teacher’s salary, so we elim­i­nat­ed any col­leges with aver­age annu­al under­grad­u­ate tuition above $30,000. Course­work had to be pre­dom­i­nant­ly online with actu­al, resume-build­ing teach­ing expe­ri­ence too.

1. University of Georgia

Endowed for $1 bil­lion, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia is a pub­lic, land-grant research pow­er­house serv­ing more than 35,100 stu­dents from Athens, Tifton, Grif­fin, and online. Crowned Forbes’ 95th Top Col­lege Over­all, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia has the nation’s fifth Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams accord­ing to the U.S. News and World Report. The Col­lege of Edu­ca­tion offers an Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­it­ed Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion online for PreK-12 cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. Only two cam­pus vis­its are required for this 60-cred­it degree com­ple­tion pro­gram. Aspir­ing edu­ca­tors doc­u­ment field practicum teach­ing stu­dents with dis­abil­i­ties in the Foliotek ePort­fo­lio system.

Tuition: $11,622 (in-state) or $29,832(out-of-state)

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Geor­gia here.

2. Arizona State University

Clas­si­fied as a pub­lic, met­ro­pol­i­tan research insti­tu­tion, Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty uti­lizes its $643 mil­lion endow­ment to edu­cate over 82,000 stu­dents across Greater Phoenix. Ranked #1 nation­al­ly for inno­va­tion by the U.S. News and World Report, Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty hosts Amer­i­ca’s 11th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams. The top-rat­ed Mary Lou Ful­ton Teach­ers Col­lege offers an online Bach­e­lor of Arts in Edu­ca­tion Stud­ies (BAE). This 120-cred­it cur­ricu­lum spans eight terms to pre­pare for com­mu­ni­ty-based edu­ca­tion posi­tions, not teacher cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. There’s also a “Fast Track” option for trans­fers to grad­u­ate with­in 2.5 years.

Tuition: $10,158 (in-state) or $25,458 (out-of-state)

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty here.

3. Regent University

Estab­lished in 1977 by Chris­t­ian Broad­cast­ing Net­work founder Pat Robert­son, Regent Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, evan­gel­i­cal Chris­t­ian research insti­tu­tion locat­ed in Vir­ginia Beach, Vir­ginia. Region­al­ly accred­it­ed via the South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools (SACS), Regent is dis­tin­guished for the 17th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Degrees by the U.S. News and World Report. The School of Edu­ca­tion holds Teacher Edu­ca­tion Accred­i­ta­tion Coun­cil (TEAC) accred­i­ta­tion for its online Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion. The 120-cred­it, non-licen­sure pro­gram trains stu­dents to devel­op cur­ricu­lum for young chil­dren (Birth‑8). At least 90 clock hours of field expe­ri­ence are required. There’s also a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Pro­fes­sion­al Stud­ies with Teacher Edu­ca­tion concentration.

Tuition: $16,478

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Regent Uni­ver­si­ty here.

4. Fort Hays State University

Head­quar­tered on a for­mer mil­i­tary out­post in north-cen­tral Kansas, Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty is a pub­lic, co-edu­ca­tion­al teach­ing insti­tu­tion edu­cat­ing over 11,200, includ­ing 6,000 online stu­dents. Offer­ing approx­i­mate­ly 60 majors, Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty is acclaimed by the U.S. News and World Report for hav­ing Amer­i­ca’s 24th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams. Through the Vir­tu­al Col­lege, future teach­ers can pur­sue the Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­it­ed Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Busi­ness Edu­ca­tion, Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion, or Bacher­lor of Sci­ence in Ele­men­tary Edu­ca­tion. Each of these four-year pro­grams includes 12 cred­its of stu­dent teach­ing to ful­fill state licen­sure requirements.

Tuition: $4,654 (in-state) or $13,657 (out-of-state)

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty here.

5. Ball State University

Enrolling more than 21,000 stu­dents, Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty is Indi­ana’s fourth largest pub­lic, co-edu­ca­tion­al research insti­tu­tion oper­at­ing cam­pus­es in Muncie, Fish­ers, Indi­anapo­lis, and online. Placed 168th over­all, Ball State has the coun­try’s 34th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Degrees accord­ing to the U.S. News and World Report. Among Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty’s five online options is the Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion with a built-in spe­cial edu­ca­tion minor. This 48-cred­it, non-licen­sure pro­gram is avail­able for asso­ciate degree hold­ers wish­ing to teach chil­dren birth to kinder­garten. Cours­es are taught by the Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NATE) accred­it­ed Teach­ers Col­lege’s faculty.

Tuition: $9,498 (in-state) or $25,016 (out-of-state)

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty here.

6. Brandman University

Found­ed in 1958, Brand­man Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, non-prof­it “Mil­i­tary Friend­ly” insti­tu­tion edu­cat­ing more than 11,000 work­ing adults on 25 West Coast cam­pus­es and online. Known for its iDE­AL cur­ricu­lum mod­el, Brand­man hosts Amer­i­ca’s 47th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams. The Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion on Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­it­ed School of Edu­ca­tion con­fers a Bach­e­lor of Arts in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion and Bach­e­lor of Arts in Lib­er­al Stud­ies with Mul­ti­ple Sub­jects Teach­ing Cre­den­tial. Both 120-cred­it pro­grams are restrict­ed to Cal­i­for­nia res­i­dents for a stu­dent teach­ing cap­stone. Fol­low­ing Com­mon Core Stan­dards, the online cur­ric­u­la sur­veys teach­ing lan­guage arts, math, his­to­ry, and science.

Tuition: $12,240

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Brand­man Uni­ver­si­ty here.

7. Old Dominion University

As one of the Unit­ed States’ largest online edu­ca­tors, Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty is a pub­lic, space-grant research insti­tu­tion serv­ing over 24,000 stu­dents from its Hamp­ton Roads head­quar­ters. Declared Forbes’ 191st Best Pub­lic Col­lege, Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty has the 49th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s pro­grams. With­in the Dar­d­en Col­lege of Edu­ca­tion, stu­dents can pur­sue the Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­it­ed Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ele­men­tary Edu­ca­tion, Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion, or Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ear­ly Child­hood and Adapt­ed Edu­ca­tion online. These 82-cred­it degree com­ple­tion pro­grams are avail­able for Vir­ginia and Wash­ing­ton State res­i­dents with trans­ferrable education.

Tuition: $9,480 (in-state) or $26,220 (out-of-state)

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty here.

8. Drexel University

Named after financier Antho­ny J. Drex­el in 1891, Drex­el Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, non-prof­it mul­ti-cam­pus research insti­tu­tion based in Philadel­phia that’s edu­cat­ing over 26,300 stu­dents. Rec­og­nized for Amer­i­ca’s 72nd Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Pro­grams, Drex­el won the USDLA Best Prac­tices Award in 2008. At 40 per­cent low­er tuition, Drex­el Online awards the Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Edu­ca­tion part-time. Over 2.5 years, stu­dents with trans­ferrable cred­its pre­pare for PreK‑4 or PreK‑4 and Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion cer­ti­fi­ca­tion in Penn­syl­va­nia. At least 190 hours of ele­men­tary school practicum and 12 weeks of stu­dent teach­ing are embedded.

Tuition: $14,370

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Drex­el Uni­ver­si­ty here.

9. Granite State College

Boast­ing New Eng­land’s cheap­est tuition, Gran­ite State Col­lege is a pub­lic, co-edu­ca­tion­al high­er learn­ing insti­tu­tion in Con­cord, New Hamp­shire, with around 2,600 stu­dents. Crowned the fifth top lib­er­al arts school for “social mobil­i­ty” in Wash­ing­ton Month­ly, Gran­ite State is rec­og­nized for the 79th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Degrees. With Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­i­ta­tion, the School of Edu­ca­tion offers an online Bach­e­lor of Arts with Teacher Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. Spe­cial­iza­tions include Ele­men­tary (K‑8), Teach­ers of Eng­lish to Speak­ers of Oth­er Lan­guages (TESOL) (K‑12), Ear­ly Child­hood (N‑3), Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion (K‑12), and Math­e­mat­ics (7–12). Pass­ing school-based practicum and the Prax­is exam is mandatory.

Tuition: $7,257 (in-state) or $8,025(out-of-state)

Learn more about the online Edu­ca­tion bach­e­lor’s degree at Gran­ite State College

10. Liberty University

Affil­i­at­ed with the South­ern Bap­tist Con­ser­v­a­tives of Vir­ginia, Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, non-prof­it Chris­t­ian insti­tu­tion locat­ed in Lynch­burg to enroll 100,000+ online learn­ers. Ranked as “com­pet­i­tive” in Bar­ron’s Pro­files of Amer­i­can Col­leges, Lib­er­ty has the 100th Best Online Bach­e­lor’s Degrees accord­ing to the U.S. News and World Report. Aspir­ing edu­ca­tors could earn the Nation­al Coun­cil for Accred­i­ta­tion of Teacher Edu­ca­tion (NCATE) accred­it­ed Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion, Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Ele­men­tary Edu­ca­tion, or Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion. Pri­mar­i­ly online, the 120-cred­it pro­grams include just one 90-hour field practicum. Grad­u­ates qual­i­fy for teach­ing cer­ti­fi­ca­tion from the Asso­ci­a­tion of Chris­t­ian Schools International.

Tuition: $20,109

Learn more about Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams at Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty here.

Why Should I Get My Education Degree Online?

Online bach­e­lor’s degrees in edu­ca­tion equip under­grad­u­ates with the ped­a­gog­i­cal skills required to pro­mote chil­dren’s learn­ing. Vir­tu­al class­rooms allow bud­ding teach­ers to prac­tice cre­at­ing and deliv­er­ing effec­tive les­son plans. Hav­ing a bach­e­lor’s in edu­ca­tion can qual­i­fy you for in-demand K‑12 teach­ing spe­cial­ties, includ­ing sci­ence, tech­nol­o­gy, engi­neer­ing, and math­e­mat­ics (STEM), Teach­ers of Eng­lish To Speak­ers of Oth­er Lan­guages (TESOL), and spe­cial edu­ca­tion. Over­all growth of 8 per­cent is expect­ed in edu­ca­tion jobs.

Although edu­ca­tion is often list­ed among the worst majors for Return On Invest­ment, it’s unlike­ly that you’ve cho­sen the teach­ing pro­fes­sion to get rich. Edu­ca­tion is an altru­is­tic voca­tion­al call­ing for those com­mit­ted to shar­ing their knowl­edge and being good role mod­els to chil­dren. Whether you want to teach first graders or high school seniors, hav­ing at least a bach­e­lor’s degree is required for teacher cer­ti­fi­ca­tion in all 50 states. Con­sid­er these Top 10 Online Bach­e­lor of Edu­ca­tion Degree Pro­grams that make learn­ing to teach more con­ve­nient, less expen­sive, and of great quality:

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