The New York Times recently published a piece on the classic PhD archetype: the ABD (All But Dissertation). Sound familiar? Maybe you or someone you know is stuck on this final obstacle to the doctorate degree. Sure, you’ve survived the classes and the teaching, but there’s still this many-paged monster breathing down your neck (and I’m referring here to the dissertation, not your advisor).

But there’s hope! According to the Times, the Council of Graduate Schools is working its way through a long-term project designed to shorten the average time students spend earning their PhDs (which is currently at a staggering 8.2 years) and reduce the high number of dropouts (50 percent).

Different schools are trying different methods to make the PhD a tad more attainable. Some require more frequent meetings with advisors; others are shifting requirements to three pretty big papers instead of one enormous one. Princeton keeps its PhDs on a short leash by fully funding them–for five years only. And in some fields, universities are breathing new life into that redheaded stepchild of graduate work, the master’s degree.

The Times ignores (but we won’t, for obvious reasons) another way to make that PhD more manageable. All together now: the online PhD degree! They aren’t yet as popular as other online degrees, most likely because of the stigma still associated with online education. The PhD is the pinnacle of academic achievement, and those who labor long and hard for that Dr. in front of their names want to make sure it’s respected.

However, they’re beginning to increase in popularity as working adults are finally able to exercise the option to get the degree. (Remember my first post? Probably not, so I’ll repeat it here: it’s not online vs. traditional ed. It’s online vs. NO ed.) When you’re taking courses on your own schedule, you can take them faster if you want, and you’ll already be accustomed to the independent work habits required for your dissertation. Most online doctorate programs still require a certain amount of residency in order for you to interact with your peers, but overall you have the opportunity to get the most prestigious degree available–in your pajamas on your couch. What could be better?