Help! I need a 1 year accelerated Masters degree in any liberal arts program.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SophiaNeedsADegree, Jun 7, 2016.

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  1. SophiaNeedsADegree

    SophiaNeedsADegree New Member

    Hello everyone! I'm currently a special education teacher who is required to earn a Masters degree in any of the liberal arts of my choosing. I had a number of years to fulfill this requirement, but was not able to due to having a sick child I needed to care for around the clock. Now that my child's situation is better, I'm left with just over a year to meet the deadline of getting my degree, in August of 2017. I'm looking for an regionally accredited online school, that offers accelerated masters degrees of no more than 30 credits required, that can be completed in a year. I would prefer to avoid another degree in Special Education if at all possible. I found a physical education program in Florida thus far that fits my needs, but is very expensive. I'm hoping there are other options for me. Aside from physical education, I also have a strong interest in Theater, Art and Media Communications. I appreciate any help and guidance you can give me, thanks in advance!
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  3. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The American College of Education (RA) offers some 1 year programs and they are pretty affordable. Though these would be degrees in education topics.

    Part of the problem in what you are proposing is 30 credits in one year. In a traditional semester format this would be 15 credits in two semesters or a minimum of around 9 if you worked through intersessions. That's a very heavy graduate course load. So a lot of the DL programs following a traditional academic calendar might be out of reach.

    Are education degrees an option or does it have to be LA? Because if you can stretch to Education, aside from ACE, you can look at CityUniversity of Seattle or even Western Governors.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Besides the great recommendations already, take a look at;

    Fort Hays State University - Master of Liberal Studies Liberal Studies - Fort Hays State University

    Western New Mexico University - Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Master of Arts - Interdisciplinary Studies

    BTW, I did my UMass Master's degree (33 credits) in one academic year by taking 3 courses per semester for 3 semesters, then 2 courses in the connecting Summer session. It can be done, but I normally wouldn't recommend that kind of pace, it was nerve-racking and stressful beyond belief. I did it to meet an inflexible deadline for an education incentive at work, so I had the motivation.

    Yes, it can be done, but clear all your social commitments out of your calendar!!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 7, 2016
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Be aware, too, that there might be some administrative time factored into your schedule (like the admissions process).
     
  6. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    If an Education Masters would work I would recommend you look at WGU. Online Master's Degree in Education at WGU | Affordable Online Masters Degree

    The self paced competency model should allow you to finish well under a year. Be sure you check on anything that could hold you up. The Masters programs aren't geared towards licensure, but the undergrad are...I would just make sure that any classroom teaching time they require won't throw off the timeline.


    WGU done in a year would be around $8000 total.
    http://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/overview

    Look into their competency based model....it is possible to move very quickly with them.
    http://www.wgu.edu/why_WGU/competency_based_approach
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 7, 2016
  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    There might be a nearly perfect program for you. Hodges University offers a self-paced, competency-based Master of Arts in Visual Communication. They do not charge by the credit hour; they charge a flat rate of $3,000 per 6-month term. You can complete as many credits as you can per term for that price. There have been people who have completed competency-based masters in six months; one year should be doable for most people.
    Visual Communication - Master's Degree | Hodges University
     
  8. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    I am too late, both of my recommendations have been taken. +2 on Competency Based Degree programs, the main benefits are cost and speed at which you can finish. Hodges for Masters in Visual Comm and WGU for a Masters in Education both are virtually identical in price and time to finish is dependent on the person... They are both RA and have a pretty good recognition and reputation in my books.
     
  9. Sacricolist

    Sacricolist Member

    Also if you already have any graduate level credits which are related in anyway to the three masters degrees already mentioned (Hodges, Western Governors and Western New Mexico) you may be able to transfer in up to 6 credit hours. This would reduce the time and cost needed to finish a graduate degree.

    Actually this would be true for any grad degree selected provided the credits were related to the program or could be used as some type of elective credit in the grad degree selected.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 8, 2016
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    If you have loose graduate credits lying around you might consider Excelsior. I believe you can transfer in 15 of the 30 required credits. But I also believe that they kind of clamped down on that program a bit so just 5 random LA credits might not get you where you need to be. But if you have the coursework already it is worth a shot. Knocking through 15 credits in one year would certainly be possible.
     
  11. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

  12. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    This is a nice program but it is expensive unless you limit yourself to two courses per semester and courses may not be always available.
     
  13. TESOLer12

    TESOLer12 New Member

    Midway University in Kentucky offers a complete online MEd in Education and Teacher Leadership. It only costs $220 per credit hour and I believe the entire program can be completed in a year. University of the Cumberlands in KY also offers similar programs.
     
  14. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Love when they blow in here in a big hurry, make their one post.....then we never hear from them again.
     

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