Fastest Online Master’s Degrees for 2024

Regardless of discipline, earning your master’s degree can open up a number of doors in your career trajectory. A master’s degree can also pave the way for substantially better pay. According to Payscale.com, master’s degree holders on average earn around $83,000 a year — that’s over 15% more than professionals with only a bachelor’s degree.

As a working professional, though, you probably already know all of this. So what’s holding you back? Well, the biggest challenge for most professionals is finding the time to work a master’s degree program into their already busy work schedules. While online programs have the flexibility to help create balance, most graduate programs still take at least two years to complete.

With an accelerated online master’s degree, however, you can earn your graduate degree in 18 months (or less) in a variety of subjects. To help you explore your options, we’ve created this guide to introduce you to dozens of the best accelerated master’s programs offered today —some can even be completed in less than one year, while other don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Keep reading for more program info, including the most popular careers for accelerated master’s programs and advice on how to succeed in your degree studies.

Generally speaking, a master’s degree is a major benefit to anyone seeking to take that next big step in their career, no matter what profession they’re in. Not all degrees – or careers, for that matter – are created equal, however. Below, we take a look at several professional fields that offer some of the biggest advantages to graduates of accelerated master’s programs. See if your field makes the list.

The goal of most accounting professions is to become a Certified Public Accountant, or CPA. Requirements for CPA licensure vary somewhat from state to state, but typically require at minimum a bachelor’s degree in accountancy plus a minimum of 150 hours of postsecondary training.

Earning an online master’s degree in accounting helps prospective CPAs meet the 150-hour training requirement. It also provides advanced training that will prove helpful in practice and passing the Uniform CPA Exam. In addition, a most master’s programs offer advanced training in a specialized area of the accounting field, such as forensics, risk management, or taxation. Being specialized in your field makes you more marketable.

Most students pursue an online MBA to gain special business skills, move into a different area of business, become more effective in their current position, or take on a new role in their current organization. For example, some might take specialty courses in marketing, human resources, finance, entrepreneurship, or project management.

If advancing into management is one of your goals, earning your MBA is a logical step since most MBA programs include management-related coursework. Another benefit of earning a master’s degree in business administration is access to more and better networking opportunities. The connections you make in your MBA program often provide as great a positive impact on your career as the additional information and skills you obtain.

Due to the advanced skills you’ll gain in areas like web development and database management, earning an online master’s degree in computer science opens up a slew of new professional pathways. Your master’s degree can also facilitate a shift in career focus. For example, a master’s degree in computer science is the first step for anyone wishing to engage in deeper research or move into a management or other leadership position.

An online master’s degree in education (MEd) can open doors to an impactful career in teaching and educational leadership. It deepens pedagogical strategies, curriculum development, and educational research knowledge, making it ideal for passionate educators seeking professional growth.

Education master’s degrees are often pursued by teachers seeking to advance their skills, education administrators aspiring for leadership positions, and career changers who want to transition to the education field. A master’s in education can lead to career opportunities such as curriculum specialist, instructional coordinator, educational consultant, school principal, and college professor.

The primary reason to earn an online master’s degree in finance is to gain the advanced skills and knowledge needed for finance careers at the top of the corporate ladder. At the undergrad level, a finance degree covers general financial concepts and theories such as investments, private and public debt, and the fundamental mathematical formulas and models used to analyze financial data.

In a finance master’s degree program, students gain advanced skills in a particular aspect of finance, such as financial technology, quantitative analysis, financial reporting, or management. Whether it’s working in a new area of the financial markets or better understanding the changing financial world, a master’s degree in finance puts your career on a new trajectory.

A master’s degree in healthcare administration (MHA) is ideal for those seeking a supervisory position in a particular department or specialty area in a healthcare setting. It’s also suitable for students interested in working in the areas of finance or budgeting at a hospital or other healthcare facility. For instance, if you’re a nurse who would like to shift your work from hands-on patient care to making department-wide decisions, earning a master’s in healthcare administration is a good way to do it.

One thing to keep in mind is that a master’s degree in healthcare administration differs from a master’s degree in healthcare management. There’s plenty of overlap in the coursework, but a master’s degree in healthcare management focuses more on the management and operations of an entire organization, while a master’s in healthcare administration focuses primarily on the financial considerations of a healthcare department.

An online marketing master’s degree provides students with advanced insight and skills in market research, consumer behavior, branding, and digital marketing strategies. Business professionals seeking to enhance their career prospects, pursue leadership roles, or switch to marketing may want to pursue a master’s in marketing. This degree opens doors to diverse career opportunities in jobs such as marketing manager, brand manager, market research analyst, digital marketing specialist, advertising executive, and sales manager.

The direct-entry online MSN is suited for students with a non-nursing undergraduate degree seeking to enter the nursing profession as registered nurses. Current RNs also pursue MSN degrees to obtain advanced nursing skills, focus on any of a number of specialized areas of nursing practice, or take on greater responsibilities (such as becoming an advanced practice registered nurse and prescribing medications). An MSN degree can also offer advancement into positions in nursing administration and management, as well as in nursing education as teachers or professors.

As you explore the varied accelerated master’s options available — those listed above and in your extended program search — you’ll find a number of academic disciplines more heavily represented than others. The five disciplines listed below are among the most popular of those program types. Some may surprise you.

An online master’s degree in psychology typically takes one to two years to complete, with general psychology and forensic psychology programs usually the quickest. These degrees consist of as few as 30 credit hours which can be earned in an accelerated format in just one year. Program costs vary due to a number of factors, but most prospective students should expect to pay anywhere from $400 to $1,300 per credit.

You can earn an online MSN in as little as one year. Students who already have a bachelor’s degree in nursing can complete the required 32 to 37 credits in an accelerated format if they focus on a master’s degree with no hands-on clinical requirements. Because many students work full-time while in school, earning an MSN often takes 18 months or more. Tuition costs typically run from $300 to $1,700 per credit.

Most students earn their MBA in about two years. Accelerated programs shorten this time frame to about 18 months. However, graduating in just one year is sometimes possible, especially if the student has previously-earned credits or experience that can be applied to the 35 or so credits typically needed to graduate. Costs vary based on the type of school and prestige of the program, but prospective students should anticipate paying anywhere from $300 to $1,700 per credit.

A master’s degree in finance will normally consist of 30 to 36 credits and take two years or less to complete. Graduating in just one year is possible for full-time students willing to take classes year-round. Most students, however, continue to work full-time and complete their degree requirements with 18 months of part-time study. Tuition costs for finance master’s programs typically range from $400 per credit for in-state students to $1,200 per credit at more competitive private universities.

Dozens of master’s degrees are available in education. Many consist of 30 to 38 credits and normally take about two years to complete. These include degrees in specific areas of the larger education field such as adult education, elementary education, and education administration. Students in programs with accelerated or self-paced asynchronous formats can often earn their degrees in less than 18 months. In terms of program costs, education master’s students should expect to pay between $300 and $800 per credit.

As we discussed earlier, one of the biggest benefits to earning your master’s degree is better pay. In fact, more money is often seen as the biggest benefit as well as the primary incentive for pursuing a master’s. It’s easy to understand why. Take a look again at the Payscale.com earnings figures mentioned above in the guide’s introduction. Those figures are reinforced by similar ones from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which indicate that master’s degree holders earn around $230 a week more than their bachelor’s degree-holding counterparts.

But better pay, of course, is a benefit for almost all master’s degree holders regardless of how fast they earned their degree. Students in accelerated programs enjoy a number of additional benefits from earning their degrees quicker. Here’s a look at some of the most common.

In general terms, online programs offer a tremendous amount of study flexibility. One specific way that flexibility appears, particularly in accelerated programs, is through variable program lengths. Consider MBA programs, for example. Part-time MBA programs usually require three to four years to complete, while traditional full-time MBA programs typically require two years. But if you choose an accelerated MBA degree, you could graduate in as little as 12 to 18 months. And that means getting your pay raise or completing your career transition that much sooner.

The logic is simple: the less time a student spends in school, the less tuition and fees they have to pay. In most cases, that is. Some programs charge a flat fee that allows you to take as many classes as you want during the timeframe covered by the fee.

Oftentimes, master’s programs intended for quick completion have generous transfer credit policies that include giving credit for prior coursework or professional experiences. The more transfer credits someone has, the fewer classes they need to complete, meaning less time in school. And that means a lower total program cost.

As we’ve said, a master’s degree often leads to an increase in pay. In some professions, in fact, that pay raise is automatic. For example, teachers in some school districts receive a substantial salary increase automatically upon obtaining their education master’s even if their job position stays the same.

A master’s degree also allows professionals to step into more advanced roles. Nursing is a great example of this. A registered nurse with an MSN is often allowed to provide a number of additional advanced care practices to patients, which leads to increased pay. The continuing high demand for master’s-trained nursing professionals who can take on advanced practice RN roles and administrative and management positions also drives salaries upward..

A master’s degree offers a deep dive into the latest developments in your field. For example, a bachelor’s degree in computer science provides a broad foundation in computer science principles and theories in programming, artificial intelligence, information systems, networking, and more.

But a master’s degree in computer science typically features coursework in a specialized area of the larger computer science field, such as cybersecurity, big data, or machine learning. And because the field of computer science exists in a state of constant change, graduate students enjoy immediate access to cutting-edge developments, some of which may not yet be public knowledge.

A master’s degree is highly focused due to its advanced level of study and specialization. While a bachelor’s degree provides a broad understanding of a field, a master’s degree delves deeper into specific areas within that field. Master’s programs often offer specialized courses, research opportunities, and hands-on experiences that allow students to develop a high level of specialized expertise in their chosen subject. Curriculums are designed to explore complex theories, advanced concepts, and practical applications that enable students to gain a deep and thorough understanding and mastery of the subject matter.

As discussed above, accelerated master’s degrees offer students the quickest way to obtain their credential and move swiftly on in their professions and up the career ladder. But students will find that accelerated programs come with a few trade-offs. The biggest is that you will likely have to step away (at least temporarily) from your full-time job and make your academic studies your primary focus.

There are also a number of skills you’ll need to master to succeed in an accelerated master’s program format. First, you must be able to handle a large amount of information very quickly, as an accelerated program often requires students to take four or five classes during the same time period. That means digesting a lot of information in a substantially shorter amount of time when compared to a standard format program. As a student in an accelerated master’s program, you must develop consistent study habits with a regular, disciplined schedule.

The subject of a consistent study schedule brings up the larger topic of self-discipline. Being self-disciplined is non-negotiable when you’re earning your master’s degree online at a fast pace. Accelerated programs require you to manage your time effectively and stay motivated without the structure of traditional campus classes. Self-discipline is how you’ll complete your assignments, meet strict deadlines, and adhere to a rigorous study schedule.

Along with a solid study routine, it is highly recommended that you establish a dedicated study space in your home, office, or elsewhere, and set clear, realistic goals for yourself for completing assignments and other coursework. Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable chunks and using time-management techniques like setting priorities and avoiding distractions will certainly help.

Having a strong support system and maintaining a healthy work-life balance are additional strategies for staying strong with your self-discipline while you pursue your accelerated master’s program online.