Engineering

The Master of Engineering distance education program is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in engineering or a closely related field who wish to pursue a graduate degree in engineering. The 30-credit-hour degree program does not require a thesis, final oral exam or on-campus residency. The Master of Engineering allows a student to put together their own degree plan that best meets the student's career or employment goals. Courses must be taken from at least two engineering disciplines to create a general degree program.

Created to address the needs of students whose schedule or location does not allow on-campus study, convenience and flexibility are the key advantages of this degree program.  The program is administered by Engineering Online at NC State.

Eligibility

Applicants must have:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics or related sciences. Individuals who do not have an undergraduate degree in these areas will have to complete certain prerequisites before being admitted to the program.
• Must have completed an engineering-based calculus series including differential equations prior to applying to the program.
• A minimum overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.0.
• GRE scores are not required BUT are highly preferable.
• All international applicants must take the TOEFL or IELTS exams (no more than two years old) unless they have completed one year of study in the United States, Canada or Great Britain.
• All international applicants must provide an officially translated transcript certifying course-by-course equivalence with USA grading system and the cumulative GPA from one of the accredited foreign credential evaluation services (NACES “National Association of Credential Evaluation Services”).
• A completed online application.
• Official transcripts of all universities or colleges attended.
• A personal statement.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation.

Plan of Study

• Completion of 30 credit hours of graduate level courses with an overall grade-point average of 3.0.
• All classes must be graded, NOT audited; in other words, all 30 hours must be in graded classes.
• Completion of 21 hours of engineering classes with at least 18 hours taken from the College of Engineering Online classes and from more than one engineering discipline or computer science.
• The remaining 9 hours are Online classes, except approved transfer credits, in science related classes, business, math or engineering management.
• Must take a minimum of three (3) courses from a single specialty area.
• The subplan area will appear on the student’s transcript if five (5) courses are taken in that specialty area. No more than six (6) classes will be allowed in a single area. Splitting the POW between 2 disciplines (5+5 in each) IS NOT ALLOWED, ONLY ONE concentration area is allowed. All subplan area classes MUST be taken from the College of Engineering at NC State University, transfer classes will not count for concentration area.
• The subplan areas available for the Master of Engineering degree are (note that there is no concentration in Civil Engineering):
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • and Engineering (undesignated).
• Completion of the degree program within six years, except for summer sessions. A student must remain continuously enrolled for a minimum of one course per fall and spring semesters until graduation. A leave of absence can be granted for two semesters under reasonable justification.
• No thesis or on-campus residency requirements.
• Completion of a graduate Plan of Work (POW) after the completion of 15 hours of NC State credit taken in the Engineering Online program and submitted to the Graduate Program Director.

Career Prospects

Whether you are interested in moving up to a managerial position in engineering or you want to make a switch from one type of engineering to another, the Master of Engineering at NC State is a flexible online degree program that is easily tailored to support your career goals. Choose the two engineering subfields that align most closely with your career plans to gain an advantage in qualification and depth of knowledge.

Additional Resources

For detailed information regarding engineering online programs and how to apply and enroll, please visit the Engineering Online website.