Why are engineering degrees not offered on-line?

Question

I have wondered this because it seems to be about the only degree that isn't offered on-line. Is this because it is government regulated?

Answer 1

Depending on the level and specialty, engineering degrees are offered online.

Some specialties would be very difficult to do without the labs at a university but some can be done easily with local resources and a nice powerful computer full of expensive software.

Take a look at:

U Alabama

Michigan Tech

U North Dakota

for some examples.

at the master's level, you can't beat Stanford.  http://scpd.stanford.edu/scpd/programs/

at the master's level there are a lot of choices out there including the likes of Auburn, Penn State, VaTech, Arizona State, Columbia (NY), Miss. State, Texas Tech, UFlorida, UMass, UTenn, and many more.

Answer 2

Competitive programs already get way more applications than they take in students so the incentive to provide easier access for students isn't always there.  Engineering is a much higher caliber program than, say, programs in the social sciences (not trying to knock anyone, but it's just true).  It takes a lot of money and resources to get programs online to which the demand likely does not exist with engineering programs.  Some schools do offer online courses but it's slow to transition an entire degree to take online.  In contrast, programs in social sciences and such have so many students available on tap to apply and the entry requirements are little, to none, other than general university entrance requirements.  I'm sure in the next 10 years you will see more and more programs available online that traditionally aren't as common right now, such as engineering.

Answer 3

It isn't offered online because a lot of times it is sort of an advanced degree.  You need to be a higher level of math, at least Calculus 2 to understand some of the concepts as well as advanced physics courses to understand a lot of the material.  That being said, there's also a lot of labs that you need too to complete your degree which you can't do online.  As well, sometimes other colleges won't accept online degrees because people don't have to apply or get based on their skill level.  So if you wanted to transfer they wouldn't let you in.  I would go to a community college to take classes, maybe get an associates in science and then maybe transfer to a college.  It may cost more, but it will be an accredited degree

Answer 4

No, you could still pass the exams by taking it online - but many of the courses require a lab component, as do the sciences, so even if you took some of the courses online you'd need to be in a classroom for the others.