The recent shortage of qualified teachers makes a degree in education a solid career choice. And the degrees on our list will produce graduates with some of the most sought-after skills.
A holistic bachelor’s in education degree produces the most skilled teachers that can work in various settings and around students of specific school-age groups.
As educators or teachers, graduates of an online bachelor’s in education must have a passion for this extremely important work and possess strong problem-solving and communication skills to do their jobs effectively.

Table of Contents

What’s In An Online Undergraduate Degree in Education

A bachelor’s degree in education is a four-year program that prepares you for a career in education or teaching. For online schools, this program may also be completed in four years, although some schools offer acceleration programs to allow students to finish the course more quickly.

People who hold an online bachelor’s in education degree usually work as high school teachers, middle school teachers, and elementary school teachers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), teaching positions are expected to grow 4-5% in the next decade.

Find out what is the best career path for a teacher with an online bachelor’s in education.

Online Bachelor’s in Education Degree Courses

Educational Foundations: In this course, you will learn about theory in education. This course specifically focuses on ethics, history, and politics. You will also study the origins of the American education system, as well as the legal roles and responsibilities of teachers.
Educational Technology for Teaching and Learning: This online education degree course covers the strategies you can employ to integrate technology into your classroom. This course supports digital learning experiences, student engagement, and creativity. Especially in light of the pandemic, teachers are expected more than ever to be knowledgeable in using technology in their classrooms.
Introduction to Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Upon completion, students are equipped to assess crucial issues in teaching. This course demonstrates the personality traits and skills needed for graduates to become effective teachers, as well as draft standards-based, clear lesson plans and assessments.
Educational Psychology: This course provides online education degree students an overview of the theories and principles of psychology in relation to education. You will understand how children learn, how you can help them develop psychologically, and how you can motivate them.
Managing Engaging Learning Environments: This course discusses the theoretical and practical principles around classroom layouts and how they correlate with providing positive behavioral reinforcement.

Online Bachelor’s in Education: Keys to Success

Check state certification requirements: Every educational certification varies across states. Make sure you check first that the certification from the online education program you are considering meets your state’s requirements.
Be prepared for field experience: While online bachelor’s in education is offered, be prepared for some in-person experience. Usually, fieldwork can be completed during an internship, practicum, or student teaching.

If you seek a teaching job in a specific age group or subject area, make sure you use the required field time to obtain experience in this specific area. Employers will prefer applicants who know the job they are applying for.

Embrace technology: As you go through your coursework in your education degree, make sure you have soaked up as much knowledge as you can, especially on the system used in delivering your course. Know about the best methods suitable for online-based teaching because soon, you will be on the other side of the equation. You will be the one giving assignments, and no longer be the one completing them.
Networking: This is interrelated to your field experience. If possible, try to create and establish as many networks as you possibly can during your education schooling. Many teachers are hired based on recommendations from their college instructors, especially when they are impressed with the student teacher’s performance. It’s best to make a solid network of education professionals even when you’re still completing your bachelor’s.
Continued Professional Development: For teachers, completing a bachelor’s degree in education is just the beginning. Learning never ends for educators. That is why after you secure a teaching position, you should continue taking additional classes. Oftentimes, school districts offer continuing education programs with reimbursed tuition.

Also, consider continuing on to get a master’s degree. This degree usually results in better career opportunities and higher salaries.

There are many professional training opportunities and lectures available to teachers as well. Many of them cover the latest curriculum trends and technology. Be sure to take advantage of them.

Learn more about how to major in education.

How do we determine the best online education bachelor's degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Ranking The Best Online Bachelor’s in Education Programs

An online bachelor’s degree program in education offers every student the opportunity to truly become experts in their field. We indexed some of the country’s best web-based education degrees at the undergraduate level. All are considered excellent programs.

A standout feature of each school is the superior coursework they offer to impart to every future teacher the modern theories, principles, and techniques of the practice.

Besides technical knowledge and the basics of ethical practice, the coursework also promotes the most important skills for a teacher to possess, including patience, a genuine love for teaching, and a deep concern for the welfare of students.

Professors who are notable for their contributions to the field make up the teaching staff in the bachelor’s in education online programs of the schools on our list.

Each program has earned the nod of regional accrediting academic agencies, proving the top-quality teaching degree online programs they offer.

50 Best Online Bachelor’s in Education Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Education Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Educational Leadership And Administration

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $10,110
Avg. Expenses*: $17,870
Avg. Starting Salary*: $37,536
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $40,062
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 13 years
Job Growth: 0.66%
Number of Jobs: 671,600
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Training and Development Managers	7.41%	$125,040
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	-0.51%	$103,460
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	2.91%	$102,610
Education Administrators, All Other	2.43%	$88,460
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare	-2.10%	$54,290

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Training and Development Managers	$125,040
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$103,460
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	$102,610
Education Administrators, All Other	$88,460
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare	$54,290

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Did you know that an online bachelor’s of education degree is one of the best college majors for weathering an economic downturn?

Frequently Asked Questions About Education Degrees

Why get a bachelor’s in education?

Leading a classroom is an incredibly rewarding career. The best path to becoming a teacher is by first becoming a student in an education program. The bachelor’s degree in education prepares students to sit for the teacher certification exams mandated by each state.

What will I learn when getting a bachelor’s degree in education?

Education majors will learn everything they need to successfully manage a classroom, network with parents and administration, and create engaging assignments and assessments. A degree in education will typically focus on one age group or subject area so that students have a deep understanding of the group they plan to teach.

How long does it take to get a bachelor’s degree in education?

Programs take 4 years or less and can be completed online or in-person. Both types of degree usually require students to complete a practicum in a classroom in order to gain real world teaching experience.

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Online Bachelor’s of Education Degree Programs for 2024

Top 10 Online Bachelor's in Education Degrees

Featured Programs

Key Takeaways

What’s In An Online Undergraduate Degree in Education

Online Bachelor’s in Education Degree Courses

Online Bachelor’s in Education: Keys to Success

Ranking The Best Online Bachelor’s in Education Programs

50 Best Online Bachelor’s in Education Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of Georgia

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of Missouri

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at Arizona State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of South Carolina

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of Arkansas

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Old Dominion University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at East Carolina University

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Northern Arizona University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at Empire State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at Appalachian State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at Idaho State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of Southern Mississippi

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Mississippi University for Women

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at St. Petersburg College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Charter Oak State College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Education degree at Granite State College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Concentrations

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Western Carolina University

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Education degree at Bluefield State University