Affordable online electrical engineering programs are less about finding the lowest advertised rate and more about lowering your total cost to finish. Three levers move the number: the per-credit price you pay, how many credits you pay it on, and which charges arrive on top of tuition. This major adds cost categories most degrees do not have, because electrical engineering carries laboratory work, engineering software, and often a credit total higher than the usual 120 semester hours.
Quick Answers
What actually lowers the cost of an electrical engineering degree?
Transferring in the calculus and calculus-based physics sequence, choosing a school with a flat online rate rather than an out-of-state rate, and counting the real credit total rather than assuming 120. Reducing the number of credits you pay full price for beats chasing a single low advertised rate, and in this major the transferable block is large.
Do online programs charge in-state tuition to out-of-state students?
Many public universities charge a flat online rate regardless of residency, but not all do, and some apply out-of-state rates to online students living elsewhere. Engineering programs at public universities also sometimes add a differential or program-specific rate on top of the base rate. Confirm both policies with each school.
Are engineering degrees more expensive per credit?
Often, yes. Many universities charge an engineering differential in addition to base tuition, on the reasoning that laboratory and equipment costs are higher. Ask specifically whether an engineering, technology, or laboratory differential applies to online students, because the answer varies and it is rarely on the general rate page.
What fees should I expect on top of tuition?
Technology fees, laboratory or lab-kit fees, proctoring charges for online exams, and sometimes a course-materials charge for engineering software licenses. Hybrid programs add travel and lodging for required campus laboratory sessions. Ask each school for an itemized fee schedule at your degree level.
Do I need to buy equipment or software?
Sometimes. Programs that use at-home laboratory kits may bill the kit as a fee or expect you to purchase it. Simulation and design software is often provided through a student license, but not always, and licenses for specialized tools can be a real line item. Ask which licenses the school supplies and which you must obtain.
Yes. A BSEE commonly runs about 128 to 132 semester hours rather than 120. Eight to twelve extra credits at the same rate is a genuine difference between this major and a non-engineering one, and it is invisible if you compare per-credit rates alone.
At a Glance
- Compare: Flat online rates against out-of-state rates, and check for an engineering differential
- Check: Transfer credit policies for calculus, physics, and lower-division engineering courses
- Ask about: Laboratory kit fees, proctoring charges, software licenses, and campus lab travel
- Count: Total required credits, which commonly exceed the usual 120 semester hours
- Calculate: Per-credit rate multiplied by total required credits, plus fees – not the rate alone
For a full overview of program options, start with the Electrical Engineering Program Guide.
Schools to compare
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$102,772
Avg net price
$12,116/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 64
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$124,080
Avg net price
$13,807/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 100
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
11%
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$92,446
Avg net price
$13,481/yr
TuitionIn‑state$16,347
Out‑of‑state$50,547
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 127
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
98%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$110,066
Avg net price
$6,128/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 47
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$128,566
Avg net price
$16,075/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 30
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
85%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$83,847
Avg net price
$13,269/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 92%
- Programs offered: 8
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 28
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$143,372
Avg net price
$20,111/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 99%
- Programs offered: 53
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Ways to lower the cost of an online electrical engineering degree
Transfer the math and science core
This is the largest lever in this major and it is larger here than in most. Calculus I through III, differential equations, linear algebra, calculus-based physics, and chemistry make up a substantial block of a BSEE, and they transfer more readily than upper-division engineering courses do. Community college sequences are the standard source. Ask each school:
- The maximum number of transfer credits accepted
- The minimum grade required, which is frequently higher for math and engineering prerequisites
- Whether the laboratory portion of a physics or circuits course transfers with the lecture
- Whether the transferred course satisfies the prerequisite, not merely the credit hour
- Residency requirements, meaning the minimum credits you must complete at the degree-granting institution
Verify articulation before you enroll anywhere. A calculus sequence that transfers as elective credit rather than as a prerequisite has cost you the term you thought you saved.
Flat online rates and engineering differentials
Many public universities set one online rate for all students regardless of home state, which can be substantially below an out-of-state campus rate. Then check the second layer: whether the engineering college adds a program differential, a per-credit laboratory charge, or a technology surcharge that the base rate page does not mention. Two schools with identical advertised rates can bill quite differently once the engineering differential is applied.
Fees beyond tuition
Ask each school for an itemized schedule covering:
- Technology and online-platform fees, charged per term or per course
- Laboratory kit charges, and whether the kit is purchased or loaned
- Proctoring charges for online exams, which engineering programs use heavily
- Software licenses for simulation, schematic capture, and circuit board layout tools
- Travel, lodging, and time off work for any required campus laboratory intensive
- Graduation or capstone project material costs, since hardware projects have a bill of materials
Count the real credit total
The comparison that matters is per-credit rate multiplied by total required credits, plus fees, across the whole program. Because a BSEE commonly requires more credits than a standard bachelor’s, ask each school to confirm the total in writing alongside the rate. At the master’s level, programs commonly run about 30 to 36 semester hours, and that spread is wide enough to change which program is cheaper overall.
Pacing and time enrolled
Finishing faster through an accelerated format rarely reduces the per-credit rate, but it can reduce total cost by shortening how long you are enrolled and limiting exposure to rate increases in later years. Weigh that against what compression does to the courses that gate the degree, and against the cost of repeating a failed prerequisite that only runs once a year.
Ask each school three cost questions in writing: the total credits required for the degree, whether an engineering differential applies to online students, and what the laboratory requirement costs including any travel. A program with a lower headline rate, more required credits, and two campus lab weeks per year can cost more overall than a shorter program with a higher rate.
Cost factors to compare
- Tuition per credit and the total credits required, which often exceeds 120 semester hours
- Whether an engineering, laboratory, or technology differential applies to online students
- Whether the school bills a flat per-term rate or strictly per credit
- Laboratory kit, proctoring, and software license charges
- Transfer credit policy for the math and physics core at the bachelor’s level
- Whether any campus laboratory intensive is required, and the travel that comes with it
Degree level and cost
At the bachelor’s level the biggest lever is transfer credit, because the math and science core is large and portable. It is also where the credit-total surprise lives: budgeting for 120 credits and discovering 132 is a meaningful miss. See Online Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering for what the degree requires.
At the master’s level the comparison shifts to per-credit rate, total required credits, and whether the specialization you want is actually offered often enough that you can finish on schedule. A program that runs your required elective once every two years has a hidden time cost. See Online Master’s in Electrical Engineering.
Do not treat cost in isolation from the accreditation question. A less expensive program that is not ABET-accredited under the Engineering Accreditation Commission is a different product, not a discount on the same one, and the difference shows up in licensure eligibility and in some employers’ screening. Weigh cost against a specific use of the degree in Is an Online Electrical Engineering Degree Worth It.
The cost of repeating a course
This is the cost item nobody advertises, and in engineering it is larger than in most majors. A failed or dropped course in the prerequisite chain does not simply cost you that course’s credits again. It can cost you the terms that depend on it, because the next course in the sequence may run only once a year in a thin online catalog. One repeated circuits course can push graduation by two semesters, and every additional term carries its own technology fees whether or not you are taking a full load.
Two practical defenses. First, ask each school how often every required engineering course runs, and treat a once-a-year rotation as a risk premium on the advertised rate. Second, do not stack two laboratory courses in one term early in the sequence, particularly if you are working. Advisers in engineering colleges will usually tell you this directly if you ask, and the advice is worth more than a modest difference in per-credit price.
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Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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