Choosing Your Major | American Public University

There’s a Lot to Consider When Choosing Your Major

The online education program you choose and the courses you take must be relevant to your career interests and today’s job market. You'll want to choose what to study as carefully as you chose where to study. We know it’s not always easy to make this decision, and that’s why we’re here to help.

Programs at a Glance*

Associate Degree	Bachelor's Degree	Master's Degree	Certificate
Ideal if you seek a 2-year degree as your final degree in higher education. If you plan to pursue an advanced degree, it may be better to start with a bachelor’s program instead of associate.	The traditional 4-year degree commonly recognized as the standard credential of higher education in the U.S. and most industrialized nations.	Master's degrees offer in-depth study of your undergraduate degree or the opportunity to pursue new study in a different field. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a popular graduate degree.	Available for undergraduate and graduate students, certificates are 6- to 8-course programs that focus on specific subject areas. May be taken concurrently with a degree program or stand alone.
60 credit hours (about 20 courses)	120 credit hours (about 40 courses)	36-47 credit hours (about 13 courses)	18-27 credit hours (about 6 courses)
2 years to complete	4 years to complete	2 years to complete	1 year to complete
7 years allowed to complete program	10 years allowed to complete program	7 years allowed to complete program	3 years allowed to complete program
45 transfer credits accepted (maximum)	90 transfer credits accepted (maximum)	15 transfer credits accepted (maximum)	9 transfer credits accepted (maximum)
Explore All Associate Degrees	Explore All Bachelor's Degrees	Explore All Master's Degrees	Explore All Certificate Programs

*This chart represents the average of most of our programs. Credits required for completion, number of courses, and credits accepted for transfer may vary by program. (For example, the Bachelor of Engineering degree is 128 credit hours for completion and the Bachelor of Nursing degree completion is 5 years) Completion time is dependent on transfer credits accepted and the number of courses completed each term. Please view your individual program for more detailed requirements.

Non-Degree Seeking Students

You may enroll in the University without committing to a degree program. When you complete the admissions application, select “Non-Degree Seeking” to take courses here for personal knowledge or to transfer to another university.

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Need Help Choosing?

Program Comparison

Use our program finder to search more than 200 programs to find your areas of interest. Compare up to 3 programs in a side-by-side view and also compare concentrations and courses within the programs.

Preliminary Transfer Credit Evaluation

If you have previous college credits, you might want to choose your major based on which program offers you the most transfer credit options. Our admissions coach can perform a preliminary evaluation of your previous transcripts and provide this answer before you enroll.

*The University reserves the right to accept or deny credits according to the policies outlined on these transfer credit webpages. Actual time to completion will be based upon transfer credit evaluation and eligibility.