Online Teaching Degree: Routes, Licensure, Cost and Programs

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

Teaching is one of the few licensed professions where most of the degree can be earned online. Lectures, readings, lesson-planning assignments and assessments move to a learning platform. The parts that make you a teacher, observing classrooms and then running one under supervision, do not. Every licensure program on this page keeps student teaching in person, and every state still issues its own license.

This hub explains the routes into teaching that online programs serve, what licensure involves, how placements are arranged when your campus is a laptop, and what the time and money look like. It closes with programs to compare and answers to common questions. Pages on specific degrees, including elementary education, early childhood education and special education, go deeper on each.

Can you get a teaching degree online?

Yes, with one qualifier. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers must hold a state-issued certification or license, and the requirements usually include a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA, a student teaching program, a background check, and passing a general teaching certification test and a subject knowledge test. An online program can deliver the degree and prepare you for the tests. It cannot replace the weeks you spend in a classroom with a mentor teacher.

What online delivery changes is where you live while you study and how the schedule works. Western Governors University's Elementary Education B.A., for example, pairs online competency-based coursework with at least 75 hours of in-classroom observation and a full-time, supervised student teaching placement of 12 to 20 weeks. Arizona State University's online B.A.E. in Elementary Education runs 120 credits across 33 classes of 7.5 to 15 weeks, with 20 observation hours, three internships of 45, 45 and 60 hours, and a full-time student teaching semester at the end.

Three routes to a license

Bachelor's route. This is the standard path for people starting from scratch or transferring from a community college. Fort Hays State University's B.S.E. in Elementary Education (PreK-6) is a 120-hour degree offered online or on campus, with internships and student teaching arranged with partner districts. If you already work in a school, FHSU's BEST pathway is built for paraprofessionals and aides who complete online coursework while spending at least four hours a day in a general K-6 classroom.

Post-baccalaureate route. ASU's Teacher Certification Graduate Certificate is 25 to 29 credits over 9 to 11 courses and leads to an institutional recommendation for Arizona certification. It has two pathways: one for people already teaching on an Arizona Alternative Teaching Certificate as a full-time teacher of record, and a traditional pathway with a student teaching placement.

Master's route. The M.A.T. is designed for career changers. WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education is 28 courses with the same 75 observation hours and 12 to 20 weeks of student teaching as the bachelor's, and 64% of graduates finish within 24 months. USC Rossier's Master of Arts in Teaching is 28 units over 11 months, taken online or on campus, and leads to a recommendation for a California preliminary credential. Student teaching begins in the second semester at four full days a week, a minimum of 28 hours, at a placement site near your home.

To compare master's options in more depth, see our guide to online master's degrees in education. For the shortest realistic timelines by route, see how fast you can get a teaching degree online.

Licensure tracks and non-licensure tracks

Not every online education degree leads to a license, and the difference is not always obvious from the title. Liberty University offers both a B.Ed. in Elementary Education with Virginia Department of Education-approved courses that prepares you for initial licensure in grades PreK-6, and a B.S. in Elementary Education Interdisciplinary Studies that the university describes as a non-licensure track.

Non-licensure degrees suit private school teaching, where the BLS notes that a state license is typically not required, roles outside classrooms, and current teachers seeking a master's. They are the wrong purchase if your goal is a public school classroom. Look for "leads to licensure" on the program page and ask which state's standards it is approved against.

Accreditation and why it matters

Two layers of accreditation matter for a teaching degree.

The first is institutional accreditation, held by the university as a whole. The Higher Learning Commission, SACSCOC, NWCCU, MSCHE, WSCUC and NECHE are the accreditors you will see most often on the programs below. Institutional accreditation is what makes credits transferable and the degree eligible for federal aid.

The second is programmatic accreditation of the educator preparation provider. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and accredits educator preparation providers nationwide. The Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) was founded in 2017, is also CHEA-recognized, and counts more than 200 educator preparation providers in 34 states and territories as members. Some providers hold both. WGU's accreditation page reports CAEP advanced-level accreditation for its Teachers College effective fall 2025 to winter 2032, plus full AAQEP accreditation of its teacher licensure programs, alongside institutional accreditation from NWCCU.

Programmatic accreditation is voluntary, and some well-regarded public programs rely on state approval instead. ASU's online teacher preparation programs are described as designed to meet Arizona's requirements and lead to an institutional recommendation for Arizona certification, while ASU as a whole is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. State approval is the piece that connects directly to your license, so check for it even when a program carries CAEP or AAQEP.

How online student teaching placements work

The university's clinical placement office works with partner districts to place you in a school within reach of where you live, and a university supervisor observes you there. The University of North Dakota's Elementary Education B.S.Ed., available entirely online, describes a one-semester student teaching placement that can be completed anywhere in the United States or abroad. Liberty's B.Ed. requires three in-person practicums and a semester of student teaching at a local school. USC places elementary candidates in elementary schools and single-subject candidates in local middle or high schools.

Expect the placement to be full time and in the daytime. ASU asks applicants to confirm that its certification programs require daytime internship or student teaching commitments. WGU requires students to be at least 18, to pass a state-specific basic skills test before student teaching, and to clear a criminal background check before entering a classroom. Plan your work schedule around the final term, not the other way around.

Note: Placement offices need lead time, fingerprint clearances and sometimes a signed district agreement. Ask early how far from home the program will place you, and whether you may propose a school yourself.

How long it takes

Four years is the design standard for a bachelor's, but online programs publish their own completion data and it varies. WGU reports that 68% of students finish the Elementary Education B.A. within 36 months. UND lists its online Elementary Education B.S.Ed. at 125 credits over an estimated four years.

For career changers, master's and certificate routes compress the timeline. USC Rossier's M.A.T. is 11 months. WGU reports 64% of its M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education graduates finishing within 24 months. ASU's teacher certification certificate is 9 to 11 courses of 15 weeks each. In every case, the floor is set by student teaching, which runs a full semester or 12 to 20 weeks, and by state tests, which you schedule yourself.

What it costs (approximate ranges)

Published national averages give you a baseline. 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. For graduate study, 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.

Online teaching programs often price differently from those averages, and several publish flat or per-credit rates:

• WGU charges $3,825 per six-month term for the Elementary Education B.A., plus a $200 e-books and resources fee, with tuition set per term rather than per credit.
• Fort Hays State lists its online undergraduate rate at $275.65 per credit hour, about $4,134.75 for a 15-credit semester.
• Liberty lists $410 per credit for full-time online undergraduates in 2026-27 and $450 per credit for its Master of Arts in Teaching.
• WGU's M.A. Teaching, Elementary Education is $4,125 per six-month term plus the $200 fee.

Treat these as approximate and verify them on the program page, because rates change annually, and testing, background checks and fingerprinting sit outside tuition.

Admissions basics

Undergraduate programs ask for a high school diploma or equivalent and, at selective public universities, a GPA or test threshold. ASU's online B.A.E. requires a set of high school competency courses plus one of the following: top 25% of the graduating class, a 3.00 GPA in competency courses, or qualifying ACT or SAT scores, with an Earned Admission alternative for applicants who fall short. Liberty states that no standardized testing is required for admission and accepts transfer credit for up to 75% of the degree.

Graduate licensure programs want a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and a GPA floor. WGU's M.A. Teaching requires a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, with a route for applicants between 2.0 and 2.5 who pass a basic skills test such as Praxis Core. ASU's online M.Ed. in Elementary Education with teacher certification asks for a 3.00 GPA in the last 60 hours of the bachelor's, with provisional admission possible from 2.75.

State licensure tests are separate from admission. 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.

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 about 99,400 openings projected each year on average from 2025 to 2035 even though overall employment is projected to show little or no change. Middle school teachers earned a median of $64,370 in May 2025, with about 38,800 openings a year. High school teachers earned a median of $72,040, with about 63,500 openings a year.

Those openings come mostly from replacing teachers who retire or leave the occupation, which is why hiring continues even when total employment is flat. Pay varies widely by state and district, and the BLS notes that some states require a master's degree after certification and hiring.

The state reciprocity caveat

A license is issued by one state. If you move, you apply to the new state, which reviews your preparation and may add requirements. The Texas Education Agency, for example, runs a credentials review for teachers certified elsewhere that takes about six to eight weeks and ends with a letter outlining any next steps required. Program pages are candid about limits: Liberty notes that graduates of its Virginia-approved programs are eligible for a Virginia license and may use it to seek reciprocity in other states, ASU warns that completing its program may not fulfill requirements in other states, and WGU lists seven states where its educational leadership master's is not accepted. Enroll in a program approved by the state where you intend to teach, or confirm that state's rules for out-of-state preparation before you start.

How to choose a program

1. Confirm the program leads to initial licensure and name the state it is approved in.
2. Check institutional accreditation, then look for CAEP or AAQEP.
3. Ask how student teaching is placed, how far you might travel, and whether you can keep working.
4. Compare total cost including fees, tests and clearances, not just tuition.
5. Look for published completion data, such as the percentage of students finishing within a stated number of months.
6. Read the program's state licensure disclosures for your state.

Our guide to how to become a teacher walks through the licensing steps in order, and alternative teacher certification covers routes that let you teach while you finish.

How we verified this guide

Every statistic, credit count and dollar figure above was checked against the page cited on November 7, 2026. Wage and employment data come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (May 2025 wages, 2025-35 projections). Program details come from each university's own program or accreditation page, and nonprofit status from the institution's site or its IRS filings as indexed by ProPublica. Where a page did not state a fact, such as a tuition rate or a certification outcome, we left it out rather than estimate it.