Engineering degrees online
For graduate students in engineering, the two-year master’s degree is most commonly followed by a traditional research doctorate (Ph.D.). However, the engineer’s degree provides an alternative to the doctorate for professional engineers rather than academicians. Some graduate programs, such as those offered at Stanford, Caltech and the Naval Postgraduate School, require a thesis for the engineer’s degree but the research requirements are generally less than those of Ph.D. candidates and more comparable to those of master of science students. Other universities, such as Santa Clara University, do not have a specific research requirement. For this reason, some consider an engineer’s degree to be on a level between a master’s degree and a doctorate.
In the United States, registration or licensure of professional engineers and engineering practice is performed by the individual states. Each registration or license is valid only in the state where it is granted. Many professional engineers maintain licenses in several states for this reason, and comity between states can make it easy to obtain a license in one state based on license in another state without going through the full application process.
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. It develops, administers, and scores the examinations used for engineering and surveying licensure in the United States. It also facilitates professional mobility and promotes uniformity of the U.S. licensure processes through services for its member licensing boards and licensees. These services include the records program, study materials, credentials evaluations, exam administration, and more.
Traditionally an engineering degree was available only for students enrolled in classic campus programs but lately there are various universities offering engineering studies online.
An online degree is an academic degree (usually a college degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology and the increasing use of the Internet worldwide have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
From 2006 federal student aid for all online studies, including engineering ones is available in the form of federal loans, grants, and work-study available in the U.S. for students enrolled in an eligible online degree program at an accredited Title IV-eligible institution.
