What are some fast degrees?

Answer 1

There are no shortcuts. Please stop that kind of thinking. All degrees consist of the same numbers of course credits, and all course credits take about the same amount of time to earn. So there's no such thing as a "fast" degree.

The only thing you can do to maybe speed it up a bit is to "test out" of certain courses by sitting for either CLEP or DSST/Dantes standardized exams. But most schools won't let you do very much of that. The absolute most CLEP/DANTES exam credits that most schools will accept is maybe a year's worth... approximately 30 semester credit hours worth. Most won't even allow that much.

So, bottom line: However long a degree takes, is how long it takes. There's no shortcutting.

A 60-semester-credit-hour associates (AA or AS) degree takes two years of full-time study.

A 120-semester-credit-hour bachelors (BA or BS) degree takes four years of full-time study.

Remember, though, that the associates degree is equal to the first two years of the bachelors degree. So it doesn't take six years of full-time study to earn both an associates and a bachelors. Rather, one first earns the associates, and then transfers that into a bachelors program; and the associates counts as the freshman and sophomore years of the bachelors, thereby allowing the student to enter the bachelors as a junior, and then complete just the junior and senior years of the bachelors. So, then, both the associates and bachelors are earned in only four years, just exactly the same is if just the four-year bachelors were earned without the associates.

Of course, either of them may be earned over a longer period of time via part-time study; and many people -- especially working people, with families -- do it eactly that way. It just requires both perseverance and patience.

If you have neither the patience or perseverance to take however long it takes to earn the degree, then you're not suited to pursue said degree.

Whatever you do, though, don't fake it. Don't go out and get a worthless degree-mill or diploma-mill degree. More and more states are actually making that illegal; and in states like Oregon, you can even be charged with a crime for putting a fake degree on your business card, resume, a job application, in advertising, etc. Plus, once you're on the internet somewhere, claiming a fake degree, it'll follow you around for the rest of your life, even if you stop claiming it in the real world. Human resources people always Google new job applicants, and your claiming that old fake degree will still be out there, online somewhere, even when you're in your sixties. DO NOT DO IT!

Do not shortcut. Get an accredited and legitimate degree legitimately! And however long it takes, is however long it takes. One is either sufficiently patient and mature to endure it, or one isn't.