Accelerated Online Doctoral and Ph.D. Programs You Can Complete Faster

The fastest online doctoral programs can help you reach the highest level of education in your field in as little as 18 months to three years, while many doctoral programs require four to seven years.

Compare tuition costs, completion times, and standout features of accelerated online doctoral programs from nine universities below.

The fastest doctoral programs can take as little as 16 months to 3-4 years, depending on the credits you bring in, the instructional, research, and dissertation requirements.

Some schools, like Northeastern, have different tuition rates and completion times per program, which we will list as a range and do not apply to all programs offered by that school.

* UF Online’s Ed.D. tuition cost

Franklin offers five online accelerated Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) tracks — including one for students with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing — and five Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) tracks. These doctoral programs require dissertations, but Franklin’s No-Fear DissertationⓇ approach gives students research and writing prep as well as faculty support.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 60

Northeastern’s Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) is built to grow your leadership skills within your workplace to move into higher roles. The DPS is a practice-based leadership program that focuses on problem-solving and innovation within the workplace. Choose from four concentrations in project management, organizational leadership, regulatory policy and compliance, and artificial intelligence. You have the option to finish full-time within three years or continue working and take longer through part-time enrollment.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: Varies

Walden offers 12 accelerated programs, some with multiple concentrations, all of which can be completed in three years or less. Walden also offers scholarships to apply for in doctoral programs.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: Varies

Penn State, Pennsylvania’s public flagship university, has been in online learning since 1998. You can finish your Ed.D. online with no in-person requirements. The Doctor of Engineering also requires just five days of on-campus residency, either spread out during your program or completed in a single session.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 37-45 credits

If you want some in-person experience and collaboration with your peers and professors, OSU requires two weekends of face-to-face cohort meetings on campus per term.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 108 and 150 credits, respectively

UF Online’s Ed.D.s are only $448.73 per credit, the most affordable on this list. UF offers seven Ed.D.s in areas including educational leadership, administration, curriculum and instruction, and special education. BestColleges could not find tuition prices for the Ph.D. and DNP programs.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 60-90 hours

Vanderbilt offers four doctoral programs, with the Ph.D. in Nursing Science being the only fully funded program for nursing Ph.D. students. Although the program is not the most accelerated, taking four years, it’s the only program on our list that does not cost anything for any enrolled student.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 36-104 credits

All three of UNC-Chapel Hill’s doctoral programs train you in practical leadership through clinical and field experience instead of dissertations. The DrPH requires a practicum project, the Ed.D. requires one capstone project, and the DNP requires hours for completion.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 49-76 credits

Ohio State offers six BSN-to-DNP degrees in psychiatric-mental health, pediatric, anesthesia, neonatal, family, and adult-gerontology; the most nursing programs on our list. If you prefer to pursue a leadership position in academia and healthcare, Ohio State also offers a Doctor of Nursing Education and Post-master’s DNP in nurse leadership.

Degrees Offered:

Credits Required: 44-108 credits

Doctoral degrees are among the most varied in terms of time to completion, since they require extensive research and — sometimes —a dissertation. This work can take some students longer, depending on the intensity of the research, your relationship with your professor, and the time to write and present your dissertation.

In an accelerated online doctorate, your classwork will typically account for two-thirds of your program, with the remaining third dedicated to research.

An accelerated Ph.D. program will condense your coursework into shorter, more intensive time frames to help you graduate faster.

Degree completion programs, like those at Walden University, allow you to transfer in as many credits as possible and work on or finish your dissertation without the need to do classwork you’ve already completed.

The average cost of tuition for a Ph.D. in 2020 was $20,600, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average per-credit-hour cost on our list was around $979, which at 30 credit hours (roughly one year) was $29,394. For tuition per-semester programs, tuition averaged at $40,928.

These programs often vary based on the credits and degree you bring into the program. For example, Northeastern’s BSN to DNP can range from $98,621-$159,572. Another consideration is whether your program offers stipends and benefits to offset costs.

Consider whether your program and faculty align with your research goals, and assess what will be required of you in person, and whether it aligns with your flexibility.

Here are a few things to look out for: