Most Affordable Fastest Online Degree Programs in 2025

Florida Tech can prepare you for a job that starts at $40,000 a year with its AA degree in accounting in as little as 20 months. You will learn how to post transactions, how to reconcile bank statements, and how to prepare monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial reports. Florida Tech has a great alumni network and a placement department that can help you get a job.

If you aren’t yet sure what you want to choose for your eventual college major, you can get your core courses out of the way while you earn your Associate of Arts in general studies online at Florida State College at Jacksonville.This program shaves off six months from the usual completion time for an associates degree, giving you time to balance your college work and your life and even hold down a job.

Ivy Tech Community College is a brick-and-mortar institution in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has physical classrooms in over 40 locations in central Indiana. And it is a leader in online education for college students who aren’t quite sure what they want to declare for their eventual majors who need to get general education requirements out of the way.

Ivy Tech’s online associates degree program in general studies is a four-semester 60 credit hour curriculum that covers general education topics such as communication skills, biology, chemistry, public speaking, psychology, music, art, and other core courses that can be easily transferred to four-year institutions. The coursework isn’t easy, but you can have proof of your progress in less than a year.

California Baptist University offers online programs that lead to a bachelor’s degree in computer technology or public health in as little as 16 months, or a bachelor’s degree in accounting that prepares you to sit for the CPA exam in some states in as little as 36 months. Other programs take between a year and a half and three years, depending on advanced placement and transfer credits.

Gwynedd Mercy University offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration you can earn in just 22 months and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology degree you can earn in just two years. The BS in psychology degree is not enough to become a Licensed Professional Counselor, but it qualifies you for jobs in industrial psychology, training and development, and personnel administration.

The BS program in organizational management at Mercy College prepares students for corporate team leadership positions in just a year. The $89K price tag for your BS at Mercy College is a lot, but there is another figure that puts the cost of tuition in perspective: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average wage for management occupations is $105,600 per year. The program at Mercy College is designed for jobs at major corporations that need managers with a global perspective.

Northeastern University offers challenging programs that allow online students to learn at their own speed. Although it is possible for students to complete degrees in as little as 18 months, the university accommodates students who need more time to balance their studies with work and life responsibilities.

Ball State University offers an MA program for current educators and school administrators seeking to enlarge their professional skills. Along the way to your MA degree, you can earn certificates in gifted and talented education, neuropsychology, and human development, or a graduate certificate in applied behavior analysis designed for teachers who work with children who have special needs.

Trine University in Angola, Indiana has been awarding degrees in business, arts and sciences, engineering, and education since 1884. Their master of science in criminal justice program gives law enforcement officers and legal teams a graduate credential in just 12 months.

The MS in Finance program at the University of Miami prepares students for real-world finance decisions in 16 months, and a graduate certificate in finance after you complete just 16 out of 32 required credits. That’s four out of eight required courses. You take one course at a time, spending seven weeks on each course. The University of Miami organizes coursework so you have a certificate to enhance your employability even before you get your degree.

The online MBA program at the University of North Texas leads to a degree in just one calendar year plus an additional semester. The UNT program offers MBA students seven specializations, including marketing and marketing analytics, supply chain management, supply chain analytics, and organizational behavior. It’s one of the fastest influential MBA programs in the USA.

Finally, let’s take a closer look at the cheapest fastest accredited doctoral programs.

The University of Arkansas requires 96 semester hours for doctors degrees, but 39 hours of work toward a masters can be counted toward that requirement. Students go through the program in cohorts, so admission is in the fall every other year.

The University of Florida offers specialized doctoral programs online. If a program requires students to take courses in a cohort, earning a degree will take longer.

UNC Chapel Hill offers accelerated online doctoral programs to full-time students. Original research, dissertations, and dissertation defense are required. The university maintains the same standards for online and in-classroom students.