How Fast Can You Get a Teaching Degree Online? Real Timelines

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy against the sources listed below.

The honest answer is that it depends on what you already hold, and that the floor is set by things no program can compress: a full-time student teaching placement, state licensure tests, and background checks. Within that floor, online programs do publish real completion data, and some routes are much faster than others. This guide lays out the timelines route by route, using the programs' own numbers, and then lists exactly what cannot be sped up.

The short answer, by starting point

Route 1: the bachelor's degree

If you do not yet hold a degree, no online program removes the bachelor's requirement. The BLS lists a bachelor's degree, student teaching, a background check and state tests as the standard requirements for a public school teaching license.

Design length is four years. ASU's online B.A.E. in Elementary Education is 120 credits in 33 classes of 7.5 to 15 weeks. The University of North Dakota's B.S.Ed. is 125 credits over an estimated four years. What shortens it is transfer credit and pace:

• Liberty's B.Ed. in Elementary Education accepts transfer credit for up to 75% of the degree and runs 8-week courses.
• WGU's Elementary Education B.A. says an associate degree usually qualifies for upper-division standing and a prior bachelor's transcript can almost always transfer credit. WGU reports that 68% of students finish within 36 months.
• ASU notes that the class count may be lower for transfer students.

Route 2: the post-baccalaureate certificate

If you hold a bachelor's degree and do not want a second degree, a certificate program adds only the pedagogy and clinical work the license requires. ASU's Teacher Certification Graduate Certificate is 25 to 29 credits over 9 to 11 courses of 15 weeks and leads to an institutional recommendation for Arizona certification. It offers two pathways: one for candidates already teaching on an Arizona Alternative Teaching Certificate as a full-time teacher of record, and a traditional pathway with a student teaching placement. ASU asks applicants to confirm that the program requires daytime internship or student teaching commitments.

Calendar time depends on how many 15-week courses you take at once and when your placement can start; ASU warns that without a fingerprint clearance card you may be unable to start in the desired term.

Route 3: the Master of Arts in Teaching

The M.A.T. is the route most career changers take, and it is where the published timelines are shortest.

• USC Rossier's M.A.T. is 28 units over 11 months, online or on campus, with January and June starts. Student teaching begins in the second semester at four full days a week, a minimum of 28 hours, at a placement near your home. It leads to a recommendation for a California preliminary credential.
• WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education is 28 courses. WGU reports 64% of graduates finishing within 24 months and says students are typically able to finish in about 18 months. The special education version is 30 courses, with 64% finishing within 22 months.
• Liberty's M.A.T. is 36 or 45 credits for elementary education in 8-week courses, accepts transfer of up to 50% of the degree, and requires at least 90 practicum hours plus a full-time, full-semester student teaching placement.
• ASU's online M.Ed. in Elementary Education with teacher certification is 33 credits in 17 classes of 15 weeks.

An 11-month program is fast because it is full time and the placement starts early; 18 to 24 months is the realistic figure for someone working while they study.

Route 4: competency-based programs

Competency-based programs measure what you can demonstrate rather than seat time, which is why their completion data look different. WGU's model, as its about page describes it, measures demonstrated skills rather than time spent in a classroom. Tuition is charged per six-month term, $3,825 for the Elementary Education B.A. and $4,125 for the M.A. Teaching, and WGU's special education page notes that students can move faster through material they already know.

The published figures are the useful part: 68% of Elementary Education B.A. students finish within 36 months, 61% of Special Education B.A. students within 34 months, 64% of M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education graduates within 24 months, and 64% of M.A. Teaching, Special Education graduates within 22 months. Competency-based pacing accelerates coursework. It does not accelerate the 12 to 20 weeks of full-time student teaching or the 75 hours of in-classroom observation WGU requires before it.

Route 5: alternative certification

Alternative certification is the one route that changes the order of events rather than the length of them. The BLS notes that all states offer an alternative route for people with a bachelor's degree who lack education coursework, that some programs let candidates start teaching right away under an experienced teacher's supervision while others require education classes first, and, in special education, that some alternative programs award a master's degree on completion.

Online programs built around this model include ASU's alternative pathway for candidates already teaching on an Arizona Alternative Teaching Certificate, Fort Hays State's BEST pathway, in which employed paraprofessionals, aides and other school staff complete online coursework while spending at least four hours a day in a general K-6 classroom, and the University of North Dakota's Resident Teachers program, which combines online special education coursework with on-the-job experience in a school district or special education unit.

You earn a salary from the first month, which often matters more than finishing sooner. Our guide to alternative teacher certification covers eligibility and state examples.

What cannot be sped up

Every timeline on this page rests on four fixed blocks.

Student teaching. WGU requires a full-time, supervised placement of 12 to 20 weeks. Liberty's M.A.T. places you in the classroom all day, every day, for a full semester. ASU's B.A.E. ends with a full-time student teaching position during teacher-contracted hours. USC's placement runs four full days a week from the second semester. UND's elementary degree includes a one-semester placement. These are school-calendar blocks that start when a school semester starts.

Observation and field hours before student teaching. WGU requires at least 75 hours of in-classroom observation. ASU's B.A.E. requires 20 observation hours and three internships of 45, 45 and 60 hours across the methods courses. Liberty's M.A.T. requires at least 90 practicum hours. Each is tied to a specific course, so they set the earliest possible date for the final placement.

State tests. The Praxis series includes a Core Combined test of reading, writing and mathematics ($150) and subject assessments such as Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects ($180), and ETS notes that each state has its own requirements for certification. WGU requires a passed state-specific basic skills test before student teaching, so a failed or late-scheduled test can push the placement a full term.

Clearances and reviews. WGU requires a criminal background check before entering a classroom, and ASU requires a fingerprint clearance card before the first professional experience term. If you later move states, the Texas Education Agency takes about six to eight weeks to review an out-of-state educator's credentials.

Note: "As few as" and "typically" figures describe the fastest students. Published percentages, such as 64% finishing within 24 months, tell you what most people actually did.

Transfer credit and prior learning

Transfer credit is the single biggest lever on a bachelor's timeline, and policies are specific. Liberty takes up to 75% of an undergraduate degree and up to 50% of a graduate degree from transfer. WGU treats an associate degree as upper-division standing for its bachelor's programs and says a bachelor's transcript almost always transfers credit. ASU reduces the class count for transfer students.

At the graduate level the lever is smaller: Liberty caps M.A.T. transfer at 50%.

What going faster costs

Pricing model matters as much as speed. Competency-based programs charge a flat rate per term, so every term saved is money saved: WGU charges $3,825 per six-month term for the B.A. and $4,125 for the M.A. Teaching, each plus a $200 fee. Per-credit programs cost the same whether you take two years or four: Liberty lists $410 per undergraduate credit and $450 per graduate credit for 2026-27, and Fort Hays State $275.65 per online credit. USC's page points to a separate costs page and notes merit scholarships of up to $30,000. Employment-based routes also mean you are paid as a teacher of record while you finish.

Accreditation does not slow you down, but skipping it will

Whatever the route, the program must be state-approved for the license to issue and the institution must hold institutional accreditation for the credits to count. WGU holds CAEP and AAQEP accreditation alongside NWCCU; Liberty's School of Education is CAEP-accredited and the university by SACSCOC; Fort Hays State's College of Education is accredited by CAEP and the Kansas State Department of Education through 2031, with HLC reaffirmation in March 2024; ASU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission; USC is accredited by WSCUC. A fast program at an unapproved provider produces a degree and no license.

A realistic planning timeline

1. Month 0: confirm your state's license requirements and test list, and that the program is approved in your state.
2. Months 0 to 2: apply, send transcripts, request a transfer credit evaluation, start fingerprint clearance.
3. First term: foundations courses; schedule the basic skills test if your program requires it before placement.
4. Middle terms: methods courses with embedded field hours; request your student teaching placement a term ahead.
5. Final term: full-time student teaching; take subject assessments.
6. After completion: apply to the state for the license.

For the full sequence, see how to become a teacher. For the degree options behind each route, start with our online teaching degree hub.

How we verified this guide

Every timeline, credit count and dollar figure above was checked on the page cited on November 7, 2026. Completion percentages are the programs' own published figures. Licensure requirements come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and the program pages, test details from ETS, and nonprofit status from the institution's site or its IRS filings as indexed by ProPublica. Where a program did not publish a timeline or cost, we said so rather than estimate it.