6-Week Online College Course Guide

Fast-track your college degree by taking 6-week college courses online. Learn more about the most popular courses and how to earn an accelerated degree.
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Want to fast-track your college degree? Then, consider taking a six-week course. By working through your classes on an accelerated track, you can graduate in less time and put your degree to use. All you have to do is choose a class to get started.

What are the most popular six-week college courses online? You can study business, criminal justice, education, or healthcare, all in an accelerated format.

Popular Online 6-Week College Courses

Plus, you can turn your six-week college classes into a degree — jumpstarting your career. Discover some of the accelerated course options available, and decide whether one of them is right for you.

1. Accounting

Want to become an accountant in less time? Then research 6-week online courses for accounting majors. Many colleges offer online accounting degrees with accelerated classes. You can become an accountant, auditor, or budget analyst after finishing your accounting degree.

Featured Accounting Program

Stay on top of your accelerated accounting classes by creating a schedule and tracking assignment deadlines.

2. Business Administration

Build your business skills quickly by taking 6-week college courses online. With an online business administration bachelor's degree, you'll qualify for in-demand roles like financial analyst, market research analyst, and human resources specialist.

Featured Business Administration Program

Did you know that business is the most popular major? Six-week courses can help you finish a business degree in less time.

3. Communications

Strengthen your writing and communication skills with 6-week online courses in communications. By taking accelerated classes, you can earn a bachelor's in communications or specialize in an area like public relations or media communications.

Featured Communications Program

Put your communications degree to work as a journalist, public relations specialist, market research analyst, or editor.

4. Computer Science

If you like all things gadgets and gizmos, consider taking an accelerated computer science course. It's a great way to earn your computer science degree in less time. You'll study software development, database management, and computer science theory in your 6-week online courses.

Featured Computer Science Program

Computer science careers pay high salaries and they're part of a growing field. Plus, an accelerated degree means you'll enter the workforce sooner.

5. Computer Information Systems

Specialize in data management by taking 6-week online courses in computer information systems. You'll learn how to organize and distribute data across networks. With a degree in computer information systems, you can qualify for roles like network administrator and information security analyst.

Featured Computer Information Systems Program

Interested in cybersecurity careers? Courses in computer information systems can help you prepare for these roles.

6. Criminal Justice

Whether you want to work in law enforcement or corrections, a criminal justice degree can help get you there. You can also specialize in areas like criminology, crime scene investigation, or legal studies to prepare for the job market.

Featured Criminal Justice Program

You'll study criminal behavior, investigative procedure, and the justice system in your accelerated classes.

7. Education

An education degree can open doors to careers as a teacher or early childhood educator. And by taking 6-week college courses, you can build assessment, classroom management, and instructional skills. Online programs even incorporate hands-on student teaching experience.

Featured Education Program

Pro Tip: If you know you want to become a teacher, then make sure to check whether the program meets your state's requirements for a teaching license.

8. Finance

Finance is one of the highest-paying fields. By taking accelerated, 6-week college courses online, you can earn a finance bachelor's degree quickly. Then, you'll qualify for roles such as financial analyst. Plus, the field reports a median annual salary of $95,570, according to May 2021 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Featured Finance Program

Accelerated finance classes train you in financial accounting, investment strategy, and portfolio management.

9. Healthcare Administration

Learn how to manage healthcare departments and oversee non-clinical responsibilities with 6-week online courses in healthcare administration. With a healthcare administration degree, you'll qualify for roles like health information specialist and patient services representative. And with experience, you can become a hospital administrator or health services manager.

Featured Healthcare Administration Program

Take classes in healthcare finance, human resources, or informatics to pursue specialized career paths.

10. Information Technology

It's no secret that tech skills are in high demand. By taking 6-week college courses online, you can earn an information technology degree. Use your skills in information security analyst, quality analyst, or database administrator roles.

Featured Information Technology Program

You can even learn new programming languages with accelerated classes — and put your newfound skills to work faster.

11. Management

Hone your leadership skills with accelerated management classes. You can earn a degree in general management or choose a specialty like hospitality management bachelor's instead. With strong analytical and leadership skills, you can take on supervisory responsibilities or launch your own business.

Featured Management Program

Looking for similar classes? Check out supply chain management, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior.

12. Marketing

Learn how to analyze customer demand and outsmart your competition in marketing classes. After taking 6-week college courses online, you can even earn a marketing bachelor's degree. Then, put your analytical and research skills to work as a market research analyst.

Featured Marketing Program

How much can you earn as a market research analyst? The field reports an above-average median salary of nearly $64,000 (BLS, May 2021).

13. Nursing

Launch your career in an in-demand field with accelerated nursing classes. With a bachelor's in nursing, you can earn your nursing license and work as a pediatric nurse, lead nurse, or ER nurse. Or you can choose to specialize in areas like oncology, surgical care, or critical care.

Featured Nursing Program

Nursing is a fast-growing field with many advancement opportunities. If you decide you want a little more responsibility, you can become a nurse practitioner and increase your earning potential.

14. Psychology

Psych majors examine human behaviors and mental health disorders. In 6-week online courses, you can study human development, personalities, and social psychology. With a psychology degree, you can pursue careers in business, social services, or public affairs.

Featured Psychology Program

You'll gain strong analytical, communication, and research skills as a psych major — and those skills can help you in many career paths.

15. Social Work

You can study social welfare and client advocacy by taking 6-week college courses online. Earn an accelerated social work degree to fast-track your career as a caseworker, adoption advocate, or social worker.

Featured Social Work Program

Interested in clinical social work careers? You'll need a master's degree, but a bachelor's in social work can cut time off your MSW program.

Get Your Degree Faster With a 6-Week Certification Course

Most college classes take 15 weeks or longer. But with six-week courses, you can earn credits faster and finish your degree in less time. That means you'll graduate sooner and start seeing the payoff of a college degree. In addition to 6-week classes, some colleges also offer 4-8 week accelerated classes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Six-Week Online Courses

What certification course takes the least amount of time?

You can earn a certificate in real estate, emergency care, or medical coding in a few months. By researching 6-week certification programs online, you can quickly complete a certificate and launch your career.

In many cases, you can also transfer the credits from a certificate program to an associate degree or a bachelor's degree program.

Is a six-week course hard?

Yes, many students find 6-week courses challenging because of the accelerated format. You'll cover the same material as a typical 15-week semester-long course on a faster timeline.

How long does a typical college course take?

Most colleges operate on a semester schedule, so typical courses take 15-16 weeks. Some schools use a quarter system with 10-week classes.

A growing number of colleges offer accelerated classes on a shorter term. For example, some schools break the 16-week semester into two 8-week terms so students can focus on a smaller number of courses at a time.

BestColleges.com is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

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