Online Elementary Education Degree: Bachelor's and Master's Guide

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

An online elementary education degree prepares you to teach the grades where children learn to read, reason with numbers and work in a group, usually somewhere between pre-kindergarten and grade 6 or 8 depending on the state. The coursework is online. The classroom hours, from early observation to a full-time student teaching semester, are not. This guide covers the bachelor's and master's versions of the degree, the licensure decision, what the clinical work looks like, cost and time, and what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about pay.

What the degree is and who it is for

Elementary education is a generalist license. You prepare to teach reading, mathematics, science and social studies to one group of children, rather than one subject to many groups. Online programs serve three kinds of students: high school graduates and community college transfers who want a bachelor's degree, working paraprofessionals who need a degree to move from aide to teacher of record, and people with a bachelor's degree in another field who want a master's that carries a license.

The grade band is set by the state, and program pages say so plainly. Liberty's B.Ed. in Elementary Education prepares you for Virginia licensure in grades PreK-6. Fort Hays State's B.S.E. is titled Elementary Education (PreK-6). The University of North Dakota's B.S.Ed. leads to eligibility for a North Dakota license for grades 1-8, with grades 1-6 applying in Minnesota. ASU's online M.Ed. in Elementary Education with teacher certification prepares you to become certified for grades K-8 in Arizona. WGU notes that grade levels vary depending on the teaching certification in your state.

Bachelor's or master's?

If you already hold a bachelor's degree, do not start over. WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education and ASU's certification M.Ed. are built for you, and ASU also offers a shorter teacher certification graduate certificate for those who do not want the master's. Our guide to how fast you can get a teaching degree online compares the routes by time.

Licensure and non-licensure tracks

The same university can sell two degrees with nearly the same name and only one leads to a classroom. Liberty's B.Ed. in Elementary Education is a licensure track with Virginia Department of Education-approved courses. Liberty's B.S. in Elementary Education Interdisciplinary Studies is described by the university as a non-licensure track, and its page points licensure seekers to the B.Ed. instead.

Non-licensure elementary degrees suit private school teaching, which the BLS notes typically does not require a state license, and roles in tutoring, curriculum publishing and after-school programs. If you want a public school classroom, look for "leads to licensure" on the page and ask which state's standards the program is approved against.

Accreditation and why it matters

Check institutional accreditation first. Every university on this page holds it: WGU through NWCCU, ASU through the Higher Learning Commission, Liberty through SACSCOC, Fort Hays State through the Higher Learning Commission, which reaffirmed its accreditation in March 2024 with the next review set for 2033-34, and UND through the Higher Learning Commission.

Then look for 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 was founded in 2017, is CHEA-recognized, and has more than 200 member providers in 34 states and territories. WGU's Teachers College holds CAEP advanced-level accreditation effective fall 2025 to winter 2032 and full AAQEP accreditation of its licensure programs. Fort Hays State's College of Education reports accreditation by CAEP and the Kansas State Department of Education through 2031. UND states that all of its teacher education programs are accredited by CAEP. Liberty's School of Education is CAEP-accredited.

ASU's online programs are described as designed to meet Arizona's requirements and lead to an institutional recommendation for Arizona certification, which illustrates the third layer: state approval. It is the layer that connects directly to your license, so confirm it for every program, accredited or not.

Curriculum, credits and duration

Bachelor's programs run 120 to 125 credits. ASU's B.A.E. in Elementary Education is 120 credits in 33 classes of 7.5 to 15 weeks. Fort Hays State's B.S.E. is 120 hours. UND's B.S.Ed. is 125 credits over an estimated four years. WGU's B.A. is 37 courses on a competency-based model, with 68% of students finishing within 36 months. Liberty's B.Ed. runs in 8-week courses and accepts transfer credit for up to 75% of the degree.

Master's routes are shorter. WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education is 28 courses, and 64% of graduates finish within 24 months. ASU's M.Ed. with teacher certification is 33 credits across 17 classes of 15 weeks.

Course content is similar across programs: child development, literacy and reading methods, mathematics methods, science and social studies methods, classroom management, assessment, and teaching students with disabilities and English learners. Our articles on classroom management strategies and growth mindset activities cover two topics that come up in every methods sequence.

Student teaching and field hours

The clinical sequence is where online programs differ most, and the pages are specific.

• ASU B.A.E.: 20 observation hours, internships of 45, 45 and 60 hours in three methods courses, then a full-time student teaching position during teacher-contracted hours under a mentor teacher in the final semester.
• WGU B.A. and M.A. Teaching: at least 75 hours of in-classroom observation, then a full-time, supervised student teaching placement of 12 to 20 weeks hosted by an experienced teacher and observed by a clinical supervisor.
• Liberty B.Ed.: three in-person practicums and one semester of student teaching at a local school.
• UND B.S.Ed.: a one-semester student teaching placement that can be completed anywhere in the United States or abroad.
• Fort Hays State B.S.E.: internships and student teaching placed with partner school districts. The separate BEST pathway lets employed paraprofessionals complete coursework online while spending at least four hours a day in a general K-6 classroom, with 30 hours of literacy-focused classroom experience each semester.

Note: Student teaching is full time and in school hours. WGU requires students to pass a state-specific basic skills test before student teaching and a criminal background check before entering a classroom; ASU requires a fingerprint clearance card before the first professional experience term. Build the final semester into your work and childcare plans early.

Admissions basics

Bachelor's programs ask for a high school diploma or equivalent and sometimes more. ASU's online B.A.E. requires a set of competency courses plus one of: top 25% of the high school class, a 3.00 GPA in competency courses, or qualifying ACT or SAT scores, with an Earned Admission alternative. Liberty states that no standardized testing is required for admission. WGU requires students to be at least 18 before clinical experiences and to clear a background check.

Master's routes require a bachelor's degree. WGU's M.A. Teaching requires a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, or 2.0 to 2.49 with passing scores on a basic skills test such as Praxis Core. ASU's M.Ed. with certification requires a 3.00 GPA in the last 60 hours of the bachelor's, with provisional admission possible from 2.75, plus three letters of recommendation and a personal statement.

Licensure tests come later and are set by the state. The Praxis series includes Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects ($180) and Teaching Reading: Elementary ($156) among its subject assessments, and a Core Combined test of reading, writing and mathematics ($150).

What it costs (approximate ranges)

According to NCES, average undergraduate tuition and fees in 2022-23 were about $9,800 at public four-year institutions for in-state students and about $40,700 at private nonprofit four-year institutions; average total cost of attendance for students living on campus was $27,100 and $58,600 respectively. Online students avoid most of the room-and-board portion.

Published program rates, which change annually:

• Fort Hays State: $275.65 per credit hour for online undergraduates, about $4,134.75 per 15-credit semester.
• Liberty: $410 per credit for full-time online undergraduates in 2026-27, $475 part time.
• WGU B.A.: $3,825 per six-month term plus a $200 e-books and resources fee.
• WGU M.A. Teaching: $4,125 per six-month term plus the $200 fee.
• UND: all online students pay the same tuition rate regardless of residency; figures are on a separate cost page.
• ASU: tuition is quoted through the university's calculator rather than on the program page.

Career outlook and pay

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reports a May 2025 median annual wage of $63,820 for kindergarten and elementary school teachers, with $63,970 for elementary school teachers and $62,680 for kindergarten teachers, excluding special education. There were about 1,530,500 jobs in 2025. Employment is projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035, but about 99,400 openings are projected each year on average, most from replacing teachers who retire or leave the occupation.

If your state's elementary license extends into the middle grades, as North Dakota's grades 1-8 license and Arizona's K-8 certification do, the BLS figures for middle school teachers also apply: a median of $64,370 in May 2025 and about 38,800 openings a year.

The state reciprocity caveat

Your license will be issued by one state, and the grade band attached to it will be that state's. UND's own page shows how this plays out, listing grades 1-8 for North Dakota and grades 1-6 for Minnesota from the same degree. ASU warns that completing its program may not fulfill educational requirements for licensure in other states. When you move, the new state reviews your preparation; the Texas Education Agency, for example, runs a credentials review for out-of-state certified educators that takes about six to eight weeks and issues a letter with any next steps. Choose a program approved in the state where you plan to teach, or confirm that state's rules before you enroll.

How to choose

1. Confirm the track leads to licensure and name the state it is approved in.
2. Check the grade band your state issues and match it to the program.
3. Check institutional accreditation, then CAEP or AAQEP.
4. Ask how far from home student teaching will be placed and whether working paraprofessionals get credit for their day job.
5. Compare total cost and published completion data.

For the step-by-step licensing path, see how to become a teacher. If you are drawn to the youngest learners, compare this degree with an online early childhood education degree.

How we verified this guide

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