For decades, a four-year bachelor’s degree has been the standard in the US. That model is changing now as more colleges introduce three-year degree programmes that require fewer credits.As of this spring, colleges in 26 US states offered at least one reduced-credit, three-year bachelor’s degree, according to an analysis by the nonprofit research group RAND. By May, 119 such programmes had been publicly announced.The new programmes allow students to complete a bachelor’s degree with as few as 90 credit hours, compared with the typical 120 hours required for a four-year degree. While the change can cut a year from college, it can also reduce the cost of tuition and living expenses.The shorter route can also be attractive for students who need to start working sooner. Giles Sims, 34, turned to a three-year programme after being laid off as a web developer. He said he could not spend another four years out of the workforce while supporting his wife and widowed mother.“I can’t afford to be out of the workforce for four years. That just seems like forever, and the three-year made it seem less daunting,” said Sims, who studies at Ensign College in Salt Lake City, news agency Associted Press reported.
Three-year degrees cut credits
Three-year college programmes are not entirely new. US colleges have long offered accelerated programmes that allow students to graduate earlier by taking summer classes, using transfer credits or completing shorter academic terms.The newer model is different because it reduces the total number of credits needed for a bachelor’s degree. Instead of completing the usual 120 credit hours, students can graduate after completing 90.Three-year bachelor’s degrees are already common in countries including the UK, India, France and Italy. In the US, however, the four-year model has been in place for more than a century.According to John Thelin, author of “A History of American Higher Education,” some of the earliest colleges in colonial America had three-year degrees. The four-year system became established by the 19th century, partly because there was not yet an established public high school system to prepare students for college. “The colleges would have to kind of start from scratch,” he says.The idea of shorter US degrees received renewed attention in 2009, when Robert Zemsky, founding director of the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, argued that three-year degrees could change higher education. At the time, accreditation rules stood in the way.That changed years later. In 2023, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities approved reduced-credit programmes at Ensign College and Brigham Young University-Idaho. Other accreditors followed.
Business and tech lead shift
The growth comes as students and families question the cost of a college education. Tuition and fees averaged $11,950 for in-state students at public colleges and $45,000 at private nonprofit colleges during the last school year, according to the College Board.The shorter programmes could therefore save students money by removing a year of tuition and other college expenses. At Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, 20-year-old Gabriella Staten estimates that her reduced-credit digital marketing programme will save her at least $20,000.Private nonprofit colleges account for about three-quarters of the reduced-credit programmes, with many of them offered online. Business programmes, including marketing and management, are the most common. Computer and information sciences are also among the leading fields.Some subjects are harder to compress. Engineering, for example, has extensive mathematics requirements. Teacher education is another difficult area because students may need practical classroom experience and must meet state licensing rules.RAND found only six reduced-credit degrees in teacher education. Jenna Kramer, a RAND policy researcher, said programmes connected to state licensing are among the biggest concerns.
Ohio explores three-year degrees
The shorter-degree movement is also reaching Ohio. According to Axios, a state law that took effect in June 2025 required officials to study whether three-year bachelor’s degrees could work in the state.Higher education leaders are considering 90-credit programmes, with officials from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and 10 universities taking part in discussions. Ohio State University is among the institutions exploring the idea.At Ohio State, planning is still at an early stage. University spokesperson Ben Johnson says the university is interested in reducing costs while maintaining academic standards.The University of Cincinnati is also considering programmes in information technology and professional studies. The latter is already offered online and is popular with working adults.Participating Ohio universities are working towards offering two 90-credit programmes as early as spring 2028.
What students may lose
Three-year model is a way to make college more affordable and help students enter the workforce earlier. But critics argue that reducing credits could limit what students learn during their degree.The American Association of University Professors has criticised the approach, saying it could weaken the value of a college credential. Its president, Todd Wolfson, says, “This is not innovation. This is just cutting corners.”There are also concerns about whether employers will view a three-year degree in the same way as a traditional four-year degree. RAND found that the programmes are still too new for standard practices to have developed around graduate school admissions.Some professional careers could create additional problems. Wesley Hardy, a 22-year-old Ensign student studying accounting, likes the idea of entering the workforce sooner. But he is unsure how the shorter degree would affect his plans to become a certified public accountant.CPA requirements vary by state. Many states require 120 semester hours to sit for the exam and 150 hours to become licensed, meaning some students may need additional coursework. “Would I have to take extra classes?” Hardy asks. “It’s definitely something I have thought of.”
