How To Finish a Bachelor's Degree in 1 Year - 12 Month Online Bachelor's Degrees

Many career fields require a bachelor's degree, and by accelerating your higher education, you can reach your career goals faster. Some students even get a head start in high school with college-level classes.

The fastest way to get a bachelor's degree varies by student. By utilizing prior learning experiences and choosing the right school, you could potentially finish your bachelor's degree in 12 months. Keep reading to learn more about how to earn a bachelor's degree in as little as a year.

10 Ways To Earn Your Bachelor's Degree in 1 Year

While it can be very difficult to earn your bachelor's degree in just one year, it's not impossible, especially if you have previous college experience. Looking at accelerated bachelor's degrees online are often your best bet, as they're designed to get you through the program quickly.

Below, we've highlighted 10 ways you can accelerate your bachelor's degree program for a 1-year bachelor's degree.

1. Find a 100% Self-Paced Degree Program

Self-paced programs are programs that allow students to move through their coursework entirely at their own pace. Typically, students start by taking an assessment that determines their current level of knowledge. Then, the school gives them a curriculum that covers whatever they still need to learn.

These programs often take advantage of a student's prior learning through more nontraditional methods, like military or workplace experience. Students usually pay a flat rate per semester and can take as many or as few courses during that time as they'd like, which can potentially save them money. There are a few different accredited self-paced online colleges in the U.S.

2. Enroll in an Accelerated Degree Program

Accelerated degree programs, as we mentioned above, are specifically designed so students can finish their degree more quickly. They may use several methods to help students fast-track their program, including offering shorter, condensed terms, courses during the summer months, and accepting a high number of transfer credits.

Without previous college experience, you can sometimes finish an accelerated college degree in two to three years. However, if you have transfer credits, you may be able to earn your bachelor's degree in 12 months.

3. Maximize Transfer Credits

Transfer credits are college credits that you earned at another institution and are bringing into your new school. This prevents the time and money you already put into your college learning from going to waste.

Some schools, like Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), will accept up to 90 transfer credits, meaning that you only need about 30 more to finish your bachelor's degree. That makes finishing your degree in a year much more doable.

Note that regionally accredited institutions, which is what most large schools are, often do not accept transfer credits from schools that are nationally accredited. Before starting your education, carefully consider the type of accreditation a school has.

4. Use an Associate Degree

Using an associate degree works very similarly to using transfer credits. It's very common for students to earn their associate degree at a community college, then transfer to a bachelor's degree program at a four-year institution.

Most associate degrees are 60 credits, and most bachelor's degrees require 120. Earning an associate degree leaves you with 60 credits left to earn. With careful planning, you may be able to finish your bachelor's in less than a year. Look for degree completion programs, which are specifically for students with associate degrees.

5. Choose a College With No Credit Limits

Most full-time students in undergraduate degree programs take 12 to 15 credits per semester. Typically, schools will cap the number of credits you can take per term at 18. However, some schools don't have a cap at all.

Without a limit on credits, you can take more courses each semester, allowing you to finish your degree in less time. Keep in mind, though, that there's usually a reason for these caps�taking too many credits per semester doesn't allow you to give as much energy to each course. If you have to retake a class, you're going to slow yourself down. Don't take on more credits than you can handle.

6. Maximize Course Load and Year-Round Enrollment

Many schools offer college courses year-round, allowing students to take classes in the summer and during winter break. This is especially common with online colleges, where many students don't feel they need that extended time off and would rather finish their degree faster.

Taking courses year-round will allow you to cut a few semesters or terms off of your degree program without forcing you to take on a credit load you can't handle. You can still take a full-time schedule, but will be able to dedicate the appropriate amount of effort to each course.

7. Choose a Competency-Based Program

Competency-based programs are programs that base the curriculum off of what each student already knows. Most self-paced programs are also competency based, but some competency-based programs run on a more traditional schedule.

These types of programs are most common with online bachelor's degrees. In these programs, students take an exam that determines what they still need to learn. When they finish a course, they take an exam to ensure they learned everything they were supposed to. If they pass, they can move on to the next class.

8. Find a Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Program

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) programs are programs where schools allow students to gain credit hours for a variety of prior learning experiences. These programs vary between colleges, but often allow students to earn credit for things like:

• standardized exams
• workplace or industry certifications
• military experience
• professional training

Some schools also offer a portfolio option, in which you put together a small project that showcases your knowledge in a specific subject. CPL options are often offered in addition to transfer credits.

9. Take Advantage of Alternative Credit Options

Alternative credit options refer to other ways that students can earn college credit outside of a traditional degree program. These can include Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other online courses that offer credit. You can find these through sites like Coursera, edX, and Study.com.

It also includes standardized exams, such as:

• DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST)
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams
• Advanced Placement (AP) exams

Some colleges use the terms ''alternative credits'' and ''CPL'' interchangeably. Most colleges will list what types of alternative credits they're willing to accept.

10. Leverage Work Experience for Credit

Some colleges allow you to use previous work experience to reduce the amount of time you spend in your degree program. This may include experience you have working in the field, as well as professional training and certifications.

Depending on the work experience you have, you may not be able to leverage it into every type of degree. For example, healthcare experience could count toward a healthcare degree, but not necessarily a business degree.

Fastest Online Degree Programs

The fastest online education options are going to be those that offer self-paced programs and accept transfer credits and credits for prior learning. These include:

• Western Governors University: WGU is a private, nonprofit online university that offers self-paced, competency-based programs in fields like business, education, healthcare, and technology.
• UMass Global: The private nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in business administration and computer science in its self-paced, competency-based MyPath format.
• Walden University: Walden University, a private for-profit online school, offers bachelor's and master's degrees in its self-paced Tempo Learning format. Areas of study include business, criminal justice, education, and psychology.

FAQs About 12-Month Bachelor's Degrees

Below, we've answered some frequently asked questions about 1-year bachelor's degree programs.

Is It Possible To Earn My Bachelor's in a Year?

It is possible to finish your bachelor's degree in a year. However, it depends on your previous college experience and the degree requirements for the program you're pursuing. If you have not earned any college credits, you cannot finish a bachelor's degree in 12 months.

What Is an Accelerated Degree Program?

Accelerated degree programs are programs that allow students to fast-track their higher education. There are a few ways programs do this, including:

• accepting a high number of transfer credits
• offering shorter, condensed terms
• offering terms year-round

It's important to note that accelerated degree programs still require the same overall number of credits, which is 120 for a Bachelor of Science or Art. They just help students earn those credits more quickly.

Learn More: Pros and Cons of an Accelerated Degree Program

What Is the Fastest You Can Get a Bachelor's Degree?

If you don't have any college experience or credits, the fastest you can earn a bachelor's degree is usually three years. To do this, you'll need to take a full credit load each term and take courses in the summer.

However, with college credits or alternative credit options, you may be able to finish your degree more quickly than that. Check to see what options your school offers for alternative credit.

Explore Fast-Track Bachelor's Degree Programs

Fast-track your college degree by exploring the programs featured on Learn.org. Reach out to specific schools for more information on transfer options, accelerated degrees, and more.