Types of College Degrees
Campus and Online College Search
If you decide to go to college it is a good idea to start thinking about what type a degree you would like before you start applying. Degrees are not to be confused with the degree programs. The type a degree program you decide on determines basically how many credits you need before you graduate college. There are five recognized types of degree programs: certificate of completion, associate's degree, bachelor’s degree, master's degree, and a doctorate degree.
Certificate’s of completion are sometimes called mini degrees. They typically take anywhere from eight weeks to a year to complete, making them the fastest degree program available. If you're planning a career in any of the following fields then a certificate of completion may be all you will need; criminal justice, food service, financial planning, and technology.
Students are typically two times more likely to finish a certificate degree program than they are to finish any other degree program. If a student is unsure if they'll be able to complete college, a certificate degree program may be a good starter option.
Most community colleges offer associate's degree programs. Associate's degree programs are approximately sixty credit hours of study. Many students who complete an associate's degree program later transfer into a bachelor’s degree program where the hours accumulated are added directly towards a bachelor’s degree. If you are considering a career in paralegal, hospitality, or telecommunications industries an associate's degree is a good choice.
Students with 120-128 credit hours typically finish school with a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor’s degree is the most popular of all the degree programs. Public administration, computer systems development, human resources, and the divinity careers typically require a bachelor’s degree. The average student takes four years to complete a bachelor’s degree program.
If a student is willing to devote one to three years of their life to the academic world after completing a bachelor’s degree to earn a master's degree they may be able to earn an average of two hundred dollars more a week than if they had settled for just their bachelor’s degree. Before they can complete their Master’s Degree, students must write a thesis paper or be able to apply work experience to the degree program. Students interested in jobs or careers involving international business and technology find that a master's degree is invaluable. An MBA is a master's degree that focuses on the business industry.
The absolute highest college degree a student can receive is a doctoral degree. Students who receive a doctoral degree earn an average of thirty-seven thousand dollars more a year then students who settled for a bachelor’s degree according to a recent study done by the US Census Bureau. It takes approximately 5 years for the average student to complete a doctoral degree. Students who have successfully completed a doctoral degree have written a publishable thesis, completed their own original research, and completed a course of study.
In this amazing new world of technology that we now inhabit it is actually possible to obtain most, if not all, of these degree programs without ever stepping foot in a classroom.
While you're trying to decide which type of degree program best suits your needs you must also decide which type of degree you would like to receive.
If you're interested in obtaining your degree from an online university you should be aware that most of the degrees offered at online universities lean towards the academically inclined. If you're interested in a career that is heavy in English, math, computer, law, or business you are probably going to be able to obtain your entire degree from an online college. If you're interested in pursuing a career where the studies include quite a bit of lab or field work, such as science or medicine, you should probably consider looking into a traditional university.
Before you settle on a degree there are some basic things you should probably consider. Can you picture yourself spending the rest your life working in a related field? Is it possible to be employed in a similar field? Will you have to relocate in order to find work in your chosen career?
It is important to remember that nothing is chiseled in stone. Many students start college with a specific career in mind only to discover that they aren't quite as interested as they thought. If this happens to you, you need to simply reevaluate your options.
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