Overview

If you want to earn more money, or advance your career in the field of education, a Masters degree may be a practical option. Studies have shown that people with advanced degrees earn 177% more than people with no degree. However, as a working adult you may think that you don’t have the time or money to go back to school right now to get your advanced degree. While in the past night school may have been your only alternative option to the traditional college classroom experience, today there are many accredited universities that offer quality educational programs that can provide you with the knowledge, experience, and credentials needed to meet your career goals. However, before you commit your time and money pursuing an online degree, you will need to find a school that is able to meet your educational needs, goals, and expectations. To do this you need to know some basic information about the programs offered including: (1) accreditation, (2) cost, (3) financing options, (4) admission requirements, (5) program completion time, and (6) applicable coursework and specializations.

To help you determine which program is the best fit for you, the next section of this article will be formatted to help you identify important features of distance education programs, and then provide you with a comparison of three different online university programs to illustrate how programs differ, and possibly highlight a program that you might be interested in seeking more information on. The three featured Master of Education programs in this article are from the University of Phoenix, Capella University, and Western Governor University. After examining these comparisons you will have the skills and information needed to either select one of these programs, or to conduct your own M.Ed. program search.