Master's in Education Online: M.Ed., M.A.T. and M.S.Ed. Compared

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

An online master's in education is the graduate degree working teachers, and some career changers, take without leaving their jobs. The letters after the degree matter more than most applicants expect. An M.Ed. and an M.A.T. serve different people, and whether a program leads to a license is the decision that should come before concentration, price or ranking.

This guide sorts the degree types, explains licensure and non-licensure tracks, covers GRE policies, credits, duration and cost, and shows what the Bureau of Labor Statistics says about the jobs a master's typically unlocks. The programs listed were checked against their own pages and mix public and private nonprofit universities.

M.Ed., M.A.T. and M.S.Ed.: what the letters mean

The M.Ed. is the broad professional degree. Penn State World Campus's M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction is typical: 30 credits, five emphasis areas, and a statement that it is not designed to lead to initial teacher certification in any state. The University of San Diego's online M.Ed. is 30 units across four specializations and states that it does not lead to a teaching credential.

The M.A.T. exists to make teachers. USC Rossier's Master of Arts in Teaching is 28 units over 11 months and leads to a recommendation for a California Multiple Subject or Single Subject Preliminary Credential. Liberty's M.A.T. offers elementary, middle, secondary and special education specializations at 36 or 45 credits (36 to 48 for special education) and prepares graduates for a Virginia license.

The M.S.Ed. label tells you less on its own. The University of Kansas uses M.S.E. for a 30-credit curriculum and instruction degree that does not lead to licensure and for a 33-credit special education degree whose teacher track meets Kansas requirements for an added endorsement. Read the track, not the title.

Licensure or non-licensure: decide this first

Online master's programs fall into three groups.

Initial licensure. You have a bachelor's degree, no teaching license, and want a classroom. WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education is 28 courses, requires at least 75 hours of in-classroom observation and a full-time student teaching placement of 12 to 20 weeks, and reports that 64% of graduates finish within 24 months. Liberty's M.A.T. requires practicums that typically total at least 90 hours plus a full-semester student teaching placement, described as being in the classroom all day, every day.

Advanced licensure or endorsement. You already hold a license and want to add a credential. The University of Florida's online M.Ed. in Educational Leadership School Leadership track offers eligibility for Florida Level 1 Educational Leadership certification, required for assistant principal and principal roles in Florida public schools. Kansas's special education teacher track meets the state's requirements for an added endorsement for licensed teachers. Liberty's M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction lists early childhood and gifted education as add-on endorsements requiring an initial license; its other specializations are non-licensure.

Non-licensure. You want the knowledge and the credential, not a license. Penn State, San Diego and Southern New Hampshire University's M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction all say so directly, and SNHU asks applicants to sign a Non-Licensure Acknowledgment form. Texas A&M's online M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction states that it is not a teacher certification program.

Concentrations you will see

Concentration names vary, but most online programs cluster into a few families. Our separate guides cover the largest three in depth: curriculum and instruction, special education and educational leadership.

• Curriculum and instruction. Penn State's emphasis areas run from Children's Literature to STEM; Texas A&M lists Generalist, Reading and Literacy, Urban Education, STEM, Mathematics Education and Science Education.
• Special education. Kansas offers online M.S.E. programs in high-incidence disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and secondary special education transition.
• Educational leadership. Florida's M.Ed. prepares school leaders; the University of Dayton's online M.S.E. in Educational Leadership adds an optional principal licensure track with a 150-hour internship.
• Inclusion, technology and literacy. San Diego offers Inclusive Learning: Special Education and Universal Design and STEAM; SNHU's six optional concentrations include Dyslexia and Language-Based Learning Disabilities, Online Teaching and Reading.

Credits and duration

Expect 30 to 36 credits. How long that takes depends on the pace the program allows.

• Penn State says students typically take two to three years for 30 credits, and publishes paces from one to two years at three or four courses a semester down to three to four years at one course a semester.
• San Diego structures its 30 units over 20 months.
• SNHU runs 36 credits in 10-week terms.
• Kansas runs 30 credits in 8-week courses and says the degree can be completed in as few as two years.
• Florida's 36-credit M.Ed. is designed for about two years at a typical load of 6 credits a semester.
• WGU's M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction is 10 courses, and the university says most students finish in about 18 months.

Licensure routes behave differently because student teaching anchors the calendar. USC Rossier's M.A.T. is 11 months. WGU's M.A. Teaching reports 64% of graduates finishing within 24 months.

Admissions and the GRE

The GRE has largely disappeared from online education master's admissions. Penn State states that no GRE or GMAT scores are required. San Diego's FAQ says the GRE is not a requirement. Kansas says no GRE is required for admission. SNHU's admission process requires no test scores. Liberty lists no standardized testing for admission. Dayton's admission page lists GRE or MAT scores as optional, while noting the committee may request them.

What replaces the test is evidence of fit:

• GPA floors. Penn State asks for a 3.0 junior and senior GPA. Florida asks for a 3.0 in the last 60 undergraduate credits. WGU's M.A. Teaching accepts a 2.5 cumulative GPA, with a basic-skills-test route for applicants between 2.0 and 2.5. Dayton lists a 2.75 minimum with conditional admission possible below it.
• Experience. San Diego wants practicing K-12 teachers with at least two years in the classroom. SNHU wants a résumé showing at least six months of K-12 instructional or curriculum experience. Florida's certification track requires evaluation ratings of "effective" or higher on the two most recent evaluations and a principal's recommendation.
• Writing. Penn State requires two references, a résumé, a statement of purpose and a writing sample of about 1,000 words critiquing a recent research article.

Accreditation and why it matters

Check two things. First, that the university holds institutional accreditation: Penn State is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Texas A&M by SACSCOC, SNHU by the New England Commission of Higher Education, and San Diego by WSCUC. Institutional accreditation determines whether credits transfer and whether federal aid applies.

Second, for any track that touches licensure, look for programmatic accreditation of the educator preparation provider. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation is recognized by CHEA. The Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation, founded in 2017 and also CHEA-recognized, has more than 200 member providers in 34 states and territories. Florida's College of Education reports CAEP accreditation in 2017 and reaccreditation in 2024. Kansas's programs are accredited under CAEP standards from fall 2021 to fall 2028. WGU holds both CAEP and AAQEP accreditation, and Liberty's School of Education is CAEP-accredited.

A non-licensure M.Ed. does not need CAEP or AAQEP to be a sound degree. A licensure program without state approval is a red flag regardless of accreditation.

What an online master's in education costs

As a baseline, the NCES Digest of Education Statistics reports average graduate tuition and required fees of $20,513 in 2021-22, with public institutions at $12,596 and private nonprofits at $29,931. Those are averages across all fields and include on-campus programs.

Online education programs publish their own rates, and the spread is wide. These are approximate and change each year:

Books, licensure tests and background checks sit outside these figures.

Online format realities

Most non-licensure programs are asynchronous: San Diego describes fully online, instructor-led asynchronous courses, and Kansas's M.S.E. is 100% online with no campus visits. Even so, expect to need a classroom. San Diego says students need access to a classroom to apply what they learn, and WGU's M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction requires access to a K-12 group of at least 15 learners or educators because the capstone is action research. Licensure tracks always include in-person work: Florida's certification track includes the state-required field experience, Kansas's special education teacher track requires two supervised practica, and the M.A.T. programs require a full semester or 12 to 20 weeks of student teaching in a school near you.

Outcomes: what a master's changes

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for instructional coordinators, along with five or more years of related experience, and notes that public school coordinators are required to have a master's in education or curriculum and instruction. The median annual wage was $77,440 in May 2025, employment is projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than average, and about 23,100 openings are projected each year.

For comparison, kindergarten and elementary school teachers earned a median of $63,820 in May 2025 and high school teachers $72,040, with a bachelor's degree as the typical entry requirement. The BLS adds that some states require a master's degree after certification and hiring. Principals, who typically need a master's in education leadership or administration plus several years of teaching, earned a median of $105,870.

The state reciprocity caveat

Licenses and endorsements are issued by states, and an online program approved in one state does not automatically transfer. Liberty's M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision notes that students who enrolled after April 1, 2020 are not eligible for Georgia Tier I or Tier II educational leadership certification. WGU's M.S. in Educational Leadership is not accepted in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas or Minnesota. The Texas Education Agency runs a six-to-eight-week credentials review for educators certified elsewhere. If the master's is meant to earn or upgrade a license, enroll in a program approved by the state where you will use it.

How to choose

1. Write down whether you need initial licensure, an added endorsement, or neither. Eliminate programs that do not match.
2. Check institutional accreditation, then CAEP or AAQEP for licensure tracks, then state approval.
3. Compare total published cost, not per-credit rate alone, and ask what fees are excluded.
4. Confirm pace options and whether the program expects you to be employed in a school.
5. Read the state licensure disclosures for the state where you will work.

How we verified this guide

Every figure above was checked on the cited page on November 7, 2026. Pay and employment data come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (May 2025 wages, 2025-35 projections). Program credits, costs and policies come from each university's own program or admissions page, and nonprofit status from the institution's site or its IRS filings as indexed by ProPublica. Where a program did not publish a figure, we left it out.