Electrical engineering math and computing requirements
Expect mathematics to stay connected to the technical work. Calculus, linear algebra, differential equations and probability give you tools for describing changing signals, analyzing systems and understanding uncertainty. Programming lets you simulate a circuit, process data or control hardware. These subjects are preparation for later design work, rather than a separate hurdle to finish and forget.
Compare the actual first-year sequence when choosing an electrical engineering degree. MIT's degree chart, for example, makes programming and algorithms part of the required foundation. Your starting mathematics placement and accepted prior coursework can change when you reach the technical core.
Circuits, Signals, Devices and Fields
The core gives you several ways to understand an electrical system. Circuits describe how components interact. Signals and systems examine how information changes as it moves through a device. Electromagnetics connects electrical behavior to fields and waves. Semiconductor courses examine the devices that make modern electronics possible.
The Illinois electrical engineering BS illustrates how these topics fit alongside computing and digital systems. When comparing schools, identify which subjects every student must take and which appear only in the elective list. A long catalog is useful only if the courses fit your degree plan.
What You Do in Laboratories and Design Projects
Laboratory classes ask you to put analysis into practice: build or configure a system, measure its behavior, compare the results with a model and explain the difference. Design projects add choices about requirements, components and performance. Look for a sequence of practical work across the electrical engineering degree, not only a final project title.
Colorado Boulder includes an electronics design laboratory before its two-part capstone laboratory. Illinois specifies hardware work within its laboratory requirements. Ask a department how project teams work, how equipment is provided and what students submit at the end. These details help you judge the learning environment.
Choosing an Area of Electrical Engineering
Advanced study can focus on energy, controls, communications, semiconductors, embedded systems or another EE area. Some programs name formal concentrations; others organize elective sequences. Iowa State requires an approved sequence so students develop depth within the broader degree.
Choose a direction by comparing the work you want to do with the required preparation. Building a motor controller, designing a communication circuit and analyzing a semiconductor device draw on different advanced courses. Use our electrical engineering degree program reviews to find programs whose published options match your interests.
Admissions and Transfer Planning
University admission, entry to an engineering major and progression through the major can involve different rules. Read each one. For transfer students, ask for an evaluation of how previous courses satisfy specific requirements, including laboratories and prerequisites.
A large credit balance does not by itself establish a short remaining path. Iowa State requires specified upper-level professional and technical work at its own campus, including senior design. Colorado Boulder sets minimum grades for courses that unlock later requirements. Use an approved semester plan to estimate the time left in your electrical engineering degree.
Studying Electrical Engineering Online
An online electrical engineering degree can be useful when campus attendance is difficult, but the delivery details matter. ASU's online BSE includes electrical engineering courses and a team capstone, with longer upper-division terms than the short sessions used earlier.
Confirm how the school handles laboratory equipment, examinations and group work. Ask which activities have scheduled meeting times. Review engineering-specific admission standards as well as general university admission, and check the exact online degree's accreditation. A university's other online offerings do not establish the format of its EE bachelor's.
Cost, Accreditation and Your Next Step
Compare tuition for your residency and study format, required fees, equipment and the semesters remaining after transfer. An institution's published price is different from the amount you pay after aid. The engineering degree cost guide explains how to organize that comparison.
Then verify the named degree through the school's curriculum and the accreditation guidance. ABET's electrical engineering criteria address both breadth and depth, but the decision still depends on your intended courses and experience. Build a shortlist from the reviewed electrical engineering degree programs, then compare their requirements side by side.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
How long does an electrical engineering degree take?
The campus curricula reviewed here commonly publish four-year study sequences. Your actual timeline depends on starting coursework, prerequisites, transfer credit, course availability and any co-op schedule. Ask the school to map the remaining requirements rather than estimate from credits alone.
Do you need programming for electrical engineering?
Yes, the reviewed curricula include programming or computing alongside electrical engineering. The amount and emphasis vary. MIT makes computing prominent in the degree's title and requirements, while other programs place it within embedded systems, numerical work and technical electives.
Can a general engineering degree prepare you for electrical work?
It can include relevant electrical coursework, but you need to inspect the actual curriculum and available concentration. Compare the general engineering programs with the circuits, signals, devices and design requirements of a dedicated electrical engineering degree.
Sources & further reading
School-specific sources are listed with each program. These references support the guidance on this page.
- BLS electrical and electronics engineers occupational profile · Checked 2026-09-05
- MIT Electrical Engineering with Computing degree chart · Checked 2026-09-05
- Illinois electrical engineering BS requirements · Checked 2026-09-05
- Iowa State electrical engineering BS curriculum · Checked 2026-09-05
- Colorado Boulder BSEE requirements · Checked 2026-09-05
- ASU Online electrical engineering BSE · Checked 2026-09-05
- ABET engineering criteria, 2026–2027 · Checked 2026-09-05