Admission Requirements

Another issue to take into consideration is that your background meets the requirements of the university where you would like to apply to.

The University of Phoenix has the following graduate requirements:

1. applicants must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university or college;
2. they must have a minimum g.p.a. of 2.5;
3. they must be employed when they enroll, and they must have three years of what the university deems as "significant work expedience;"
4. they need teaching experience in their specialization area; and finally
5. they need to meet state residency restrictions depending on the specialization selected.

Capella University requires its applying graduates to have:

1. a minimum g.p.a. of 2.7;
2. an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university;
3. have teaching experiences and/or have a valid teacher’s license; and
4. they must speak English proficiently.

As opposed to the other two programs, WGU applicants must go through a fairly rigorous application and qualification process including:

1. an intake interview;
2. a WGU Readiness Assessment;
3. have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university or college;
4. they must pass a criminal background check;
5. take an online aptitude test, and
6. pass state specific basic skills tests like the PAXIS I or other similar tests.

Completion Time

Knowing how long your online degree program will take will also help you decide on the right program for you. Most online M.Ed. programs should be about 48 credits and take about two to three years to complete. This is the case for all three of the featured programs. However, the exact amount of time will depend on transferring credits, specialization and your pacing.