An online master’s in electrical engineering is the most established distance credential in this field, and for a straightforward reason: graduate coursework is analytical rather than lab-bound. Where a bachelor’s program has to solve the problem of getting an oscilloscope in front of a remote student, a master’s course in digital signal processing, power system analysis, or semiconductor device physics is math, simulation, and design work that travels well over a network.
The typical student is already working. Titles are MS in Electrical Engineering, MSEE, MEng in Electrical Engineering, or MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. This page explains how those differ, what specializations exist, what admissions actually screen for, and what a master’s does and does not do for licensure.
Quick answers
What is the difference between an MS and an MEng in electrical engineering?
The MS is the research-leaning degree, often with a thesis option and a path toward a doctorate. The MEng is the practice-leaning professional degree, usually all coursework with a capstone project instead of a thesis. For a working engineer adding depth in power systems or signal processing, the MEng or a non-thesis MS is the common choice. If a PhD is a possibility, take the thesis option and work with a faculty adviser.
Do I need an ABET-accredited bachelor’s to be admitted?
Not always, but you need the prerequisite knowledge. Programs typically expect a bachelor’s in electrical engineering or a closely related field, with circuits, signals and systems, electromagnetics, and mathematics through differential equations. Applicants from physics, computer engineering, or engineering technology are often admitted with bridge or leveling courses. Ask the department to evaluate your transcript before you apply rather than after.
Does ABET accredit master’s programs?
ABET does accredit some master’s-level engineering programs, but graduate accreditation is far less common and far less consequential than at the bachelor’s level. Licensure boards look to the ABET-accredited bachelor’s. Treat a master’s without ABET accreditation as normal, and verify recognized institutional accreditation instead.
Will a master’s help me get a PE license?
It can shorten the required experience period in some states, and it does not replace the education requirement. If your bachelor’s is not from an ABET-accredited engineering program, adding an online master’s rarely fixes the licensure path on its own. Check with your state board before you enroll expecting it to.
What specializations are available online?
Power systems and energy, control systems, communications and digital signal processing, microelectronics and integrated circuits, embedded systems, electromagnetics and radio frequency, and increasingly machine learning applied to signals and hardware. Availability varies sharply by school. Look at the actual elective list and how often each course runs, not the marketing page’s list of “focus areas.”
How long does an online master’s take?
Most programs run about 30 to 36 semester hours. A working engineer taking one or two courses per term commonly finishes over two to three years. Confirm total credits, the maximum time allowed to complete, and whether courses run every term or on a rotation.
At a Glance
- Degree types: MS in Electrical Engineering (research-leaning) or MEng (practice-leaning, project capstone)
- Typical credits: Commonly about 30-36 semester hours
- Admissions: Bachelor’s in electrical engineering or a related field, with circuits, signals, and math through differential equations
- Capstone: Thesis, an independent project, or coursework only, depending on track
- Accreditation: Institutional accreditation is the check; ABET accreditation at the master’s level is uncommon
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
The listing above shows related engineering and technology programs alongside electrical engineering master’s options, so read each result for degree level and specialization before requesting information.
Typical topics in a master’s program
| Course Topic |
What You Learn |
| Advanced Digital Signal Processing |
Multirate systems, adaptive filters, spectral estimation, and practical implementation constraints |
| Power System Analysis |
Load flow, fault analysis, stability, protection coordination, and interconnection of distributed resources |
| Linear and Nonlinear Control |
State-space methods, observability and controllability, optimal and robust control |
| Semiconductor Devices and VLSI |
Device physics, CMOS design flows, timing and power analysis, verification |
| Communication Systems |
Modulation, coding, channel models, and link budget analysis |
| Electromagnetics and RF Design |
Antennas, propagation, microwave circuits, and electromagnetic compatibility |
| Embedded and Real-Time Systems |
Processor selection, real-time scheduling, firmware architecture, hardware-software co-design |
| Thesis or capstone project |
A sustained technical investigation or design under a faculty adviser |
Who the degree is actually for
Three groups get clear value from it.
Practicing engineers changing lanes. A test engineer moving into power systems, or a hardware engineer moving into signal processing, needs coursework a job will not teach in order. A master’s is the structured version of that shift, and employers read it that way.
Engineers whose employer expects it. Some defense, semiconductor, and utility organizations effectively treat the master’s as the promotion gate for senior technical roles. If that is your situation, the specific specialization matters more than the school’s name.
Career changers with a quantitative bachelor’s. Physics, applied mathematics, and computer engineering graduates often enter through leveling courses. It is a real path and a slow one, since the leveling sequence is undergraduate work you pay graduate-adjacent attention to.
The group that gets less value is a recent BSEE graduate with no work experience who is unsure what to specialize in. Working first sharpens the choice and, for many, changes it. Architectural and engineering managers, the eventual destination for a share of this population, had a median annual wage of $171,270 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), and that role is reached through practice rather than through a second degree alone. If management is the actual target, compare engineering management before defaulting to a technical master’s.
Skills and outcomes to compare
- Whether the degree is an MS or an MEng, stated in the catalog rather than in marketing copy
- Which specializations are genuinely deliverable online, and how often each elective runs
- Whether a thesis option exists, and whether remote students can access advisers for it
- Whether laboratory or hardware courses exist in the track, and how they are delivered
- Whether the program admits students from adjacent fields and what the leveling sequence costs in time
- Whether faculty in your specialization actually teach the online sections
For delivery details, see How Online Electrical Engineering Degrees Work.
How to compare online master’s programs
- Confirm recognized institutional accreditation through the U.S. Department of Education database.
- Identify the degree type: MS with thesis, MS without thesis, or MEng.
- Match the elective list to a specialization you can name, and check the course rotation calendar.
- Have the department evaluate your transcript for prerequisites before you apply.
- Ask whether the online section is taught by the same faculty as the campus section.
- If licensure is part of your plan, confirm with your state board what the master’s does and does not count for.
- Compare total required credits and fees rather than an advertised per-credit rate alone.
A master’s in electrical engineering is a specialization credential, not a substitute for the ABET-accredited bachelor’s that most state boards recognize as the education requirement for licensure. If the Professional Engineer license is central to your plan, resolve the bachelor’s question first.
Admissions requirements
Most programs require a completed bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a closely related field, transcripts, a statement of purpose, a resume, and letters of recommendation. Standardized graduate test scores are frequently optional or waived, particularly for applicants with several years of engineering work. A minimum undergraduate grade point average is common, and departments often look hardest at grades in the math and core engineering courses rather than at the overall figure.
What actually decides borderline cases in this field is the prerequisite audit. Applicants missing signals and systems or electromagnetics are usually admissible with conditions. Get that list in writing, because it determines your real timeline and cost.
Master’s vs bachelor’s pathway
An online bachelor’s in electrical engineering is the entry credential and the licensure-relevant one. It is also the harder degree to obtain online because of laboratories. The master’s is the easier degree to obtain online and the one that assumes you already have the foundation.
Electrical engineers had a median annual wage of $120,630 and employment of 192,000 in 2024, projected to grow 7.2 percent through 2034 with 11,700 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Electronics engineers, except computer, had a median annual wage of $130,220, and computer hardware engineers $161,740 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). A master’s does not guarantee movement into the higher-paying occupations; specialization, industry, and experience drive that.
Compare degree options:
For a value and fit discussion, see Is an Online Electrical Engineering Degree Worth It. If digital systems and computer architecture are closer to the work you want, compare the Computer Engineering Program Guide.
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.
← Back to Best Online Electrical Engineering Degrees (2026)
