After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, it typically takes at least two additional years to get a Master’s in Psychology. It doesn’t need to take that long, though. You could enroll in an accelerated program and earn your master’s in just one year. Below, we’ll review how these programs work, their advantages and disadvantages, and what it takes to get accepted.
How Accelerated Master’s in Psychology Programs Work
Each accelerated Master’s in Psychology program has its own set of policies for students, so you’ll need to thoroughly research all of the options you’re considering in order to determine exactly what each program entails.
These programs generally use one of two methods to enable students to earn their master’s degree faster: condensed schedules or dual enrollment.
- Condensed schedules: Accelerated master’s programs with condensed schedules offer relatively short courses compared to standard master’s programs. For example, while college semesters are typically 15 to 17 weeks long, condensed courses tend to be around eight weeks (some are as short as four weeks).
- Dual enrollment: This format for accelerated master’s programs, also known as Bachelor’s/Master’s or 4+1 programs, allows undergraduate students to take graduate-level courses while they are still working on their bachelor’s. Then, once students make it to graduate school and start working on their master’s, they’ll have fewer courses to complete to earn their degree.
The Pros and Cons of Accelerated Master’s in Psychology Programs
There are obvious benefits to earning a master’s degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker whose highest level of educational attainment is a master’s degree earns $1,661 per week. In contrast, the average worker with only a bachelor’s degree earns $1,432 per week. This might not seem like much of a difference, but over the course of a year, it adds up to a salary increase of $11,908. Workers with a master’s degree also have a slightly lower unemployment rate (1.9% vs. 2.2%).
By enrolling in an accelerated master’s degree program, you’ll be able to access these career benefits faster.
In addition to saving time, accelerated programs can save you a lot of money. As mentioned above, those who earn their master’s degree through a dual enrollment program won’t need to take as many courses. Completing just a single college course often costs over a thousand dollars in tuition and fees, so the savings here can be significant. It’s also worth noting that most colleges charge much more for graduate courses than undergraduate courses, and many dual enrollment programs allow you to pay undergraduate tuition rates for the graduate-level courses that you take as an undergraduate.
The drawback to accelerated programs is their difficulty level. Condensed courses will require you to learn new concepts quickly, and dual enrollment programs will require you to take advanced courses before most other students do. Accelerated degree programs won’t save you any time if you end up with failing grades and needing to retake classes.
You may have no problem keeping up with an accelerated format if you’re naturally a good student. But if you already find maintaining an adequate GPA challenging, stick with a standard degree program.
Also, regardless of how talented you are academically, you might not have enough room in your schedule for an accelerated program. Traditional college courses require about two to three hours of studying per week for every credit hour of courses that you’re taking. That means a standard full-time semester (12 credit hours) can require up to 36 hours of studying per week, and accelerated programs tend to be even more demanding than that. This time commitment may be unreasonable if you have obligations such as working full-time or caring for children.
How To Get Into an Accelerated Master’s in Psychology Program
Whether you enroll in an accelerated program isn’t entirely up to you. Even if you decide that the pros outweigh the cons enough for you to go ahead and apply, you might not be able to get accepted into one of these programs. They typically have rather strict admissions requirements (especially dual enrollment programs), such as:
- GPA: Many accelerated programs will only accept applicants with excellent grades. For example, a school might have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 for their standard Master’s in Psychology program and 3.5 for their accelerated Master’s in Psychology program. And once you’re in the program, you’ll likely need to maintain a high GPA in order to stay.
- Undergraduate program progress: Dual enrollment programs usually don’t allow undergraduate students to start taking graduate-level courses right away. Most students won’t be able to earn dual enrollment credits until the final year of their undergraduate program. However, those enrolled in an Honors College or otherwise high-achieving students may be able to earn dual enrollment credits earlier.
- Multiple stages of approval: Compared to standard Master’s in Psychology programs, accelerated Master’s in Psychology programs often involve additional layers of administrative approval. You may need to have your program plan approved by an academic advisor, meet with the dean of your graduate school to get their support, etc.
Our Research
This list features some of the country’s best online accelerated Master’s in Psychology programs. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution, either public or private, with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions.
We evaluated each school’s program on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation. Then, we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Next, we compared this comprehensive list of the best online accelerated Master’s in Psychology programs to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications, such as U.S. News & World Report, to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The 50 Best Online Accelerated Master’s in Psychology Programs
