Best Electrical Engineering Degree Programs in Idaho in 2026
For an electrical engineering degree in Idaho, the Moscow and Boise programs reviewed here make different planning questions visible. Idaho requires laboratories across electrical energy, electronic devices, microcontrollers, electromagnetics and signals. Boise State emphasizes a year-long team project with industry sponsors and publishes a specific transfer policy for electrical coursework. Our 2026 ranking evaluates these two campus bachelor’s programs through those academic and practical requirements.
Students bringing college credit should start with the major’s remaining sequence. A university can accept credits toward general graduation requirements without those courses replacing the electrical preparation needed before a laboratory or senior project. The rules in both reviews provide a more useful basis for an application decision than a simple tally of accepted credits.
Electrical Engineering bachelor’s rankings by state+
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Inside this ranking
How we ranked electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Idaho
The selected Idaho ranking includes the University of Idaho’s regular Moscow BSEE and Boise State’s BS in Electrical Engineering. Idaho’s separate international MESA arrangement is outside the reviewed route. This is a researched selection of two institutions, not a claim to include every electrical or engineering-technology program in the state.
Idaho leads for its extensive required electrical laboratory sequence and defined technical-elective structure. Boise State follows for its project preparation, year-long industry-sponsored design experience and specific electrical transfer guidance. The ordering is editorial; students targeting an emphasis such as semiconductors or seeking a Boise location may reasonably favor the second program.
$9,824 annual resident undergraduate tuition and fees
Cost basis & conditions +
The 2026–27 regular undergraduate cost-of-attendance table lists annual tuition and fees of $9,824 for Idaho residents or $29,300 for nonresidents. WUE/Invitation scholarship pricing requires eligibility; the separate MESA international engineering arrangement is not the regular Moscow route reviewed here. Housing, food, books, transportation and applicable program/course expenses are additional.
Idaho’s BSEE makes laboratory work a recurring part of the required electrical curriculum. Students complete laboratories in energy systems, electromagnetics, microcontrollers, signals and microelectronics as well as the earlier circuit and logic subjects. The 129-credit plan then adds a two-course senior design sequence and 18 technical-elective credits, with minimum electrical and specified advanced-course requirements. This combination is useful for students who want an electrical foundation that remains broad before specialization. The review addresses the regular Moscow degree and its university tuition categories, rather than the separate international MESA arrangement appearing on the cost page.
Where it stands out
Idaho suits students who want required exposure to both electrical energy and electronic/computing systems, supported by named laboratories in each area. The technical-elective rules also give students a concrete framework for planning greater depth without abandoning the shared electrical core.
What to weigh
Upper-division access depends on completing the specified lower-division courses with the required grades, and the program limits accumulated D/F grades in relevant coursework. Transfer applicants should therefore compare prerequisite equivalencies as well as accepted credits. Nonresident scholarship pricing and international program arrangements have separate eligibility conditions.
The required electrical curriculum includes circuits, microelectronics, energy systems, electromagnetics, digital logic, microcontrollers and signals, with associated laboratories.
Students complete 18 technical-elective credits, including at least 12 in electrical engineering and at least nine from the specified advanced EE list.
Approved technical work can also draw from upper-division engineering, mathematics, physics, statistics and computer science.
Admission & progression
Upper-division engineering classes require specified first- and second-year chemistry, programming, engineering, mathematics and physics courses with C or better.
Electrical students must pass the sophomore seminar and meet the listed course-grade conditions before upper-division ECE registration. The catalog also limits accumulated D/F grades in specified mathematics, science and engineering courses.
Design & practical experience
EE Senior Design I and II form a six-credit culminating sequence.
Required laboratory courses accompany energy systems, electromagnetics, microcontrollers, signals, microelectronics and the earlier circuits/digital foundation.
Fall 2026/Spring 2027 undergraduate tuition and fees for 11–16 credits are $4,894.50 for Idaho residents or $14,738.50 for nonresidents per semester. Each credit beyond 16 adds $252. The schedule separately lists new-student curriculum, advising, library and card charges, and course fees may apply. Living expenses are additional; the rate is not an all-inclusive electrical degree price.
Boise State’s electrical engineering degree brings circuit and digital study into a laboratory-heavy sequence before a year-long industry-sponsored team project. Its published plan includes microprocessors, microelectronics, signals, control and Electrical Engineering Practice, with several of those courses serving as prerequisites for senior design. The department also identifies emphasis areas in semiconductors, integrated circuits, power and biomedical applications. This review uses the published 2025–26 course plan alongside current advising information, which flags curriculum changes and separate 2026–27 elective guidance. Transfer applicants receive unusually specific advice about the electrical coursework that may count toward the BSEE.
Where it stands out
Boise State merits consideration if your interests connect electronic hardware, embedded processing and a sustained team design project. Its semiconductor and integrated-circuit emphasis areas are useful starting points for a discussion about advanced courses, laboratory work and a possible capstone application.
What to weigh
The published transfer policy distinguishes engineering from engineering technology courses, so a related credential does not automatically shorten this BSEE. Senior design also depends on completing its preparatory courses on time. Tuition covers an 11–16-credit band, with an additional per-credit charge above 16.
Attendance:The detailed course sequence is the department’s published 2025–26 BSEE plan. Current advising separately lists 2026–27 electives and directs students to an advisor about curriculum changes.
The published plan includes electric circuits, digital systems, electronic materials, microprocessors, signals, microelectronics, electromagnetic/wave theory and system modeling/control.
Laboratories accompany several electrical subjects, and Electrical Engineering Practice precedes the senior project.
The department identifies emphasis areas including biomedical work, integrated circuit design, semiconductor devices/processing, signals/controls and power.
Areas of focus
Emphasis areas: biomedical engineering; computer engineering; integrated circuit design; semiconductor devices and processing; signals, systems and controls; power systems engineering
Admission & progression
Students bringing 14 or more transferable semester credits after high school use the transfer-admission route; those below that threshold follow freshman requirements.
The ECE department evaluates transferred EE/ECE/computer engineering coursework with advisor and program-chair approval. Engineering technology coursework does not substitute for the BSEE’s required ECE courses under the published policy.
Design & practical experience
The degree concludes with a year-long team design project involving industry sponsors.
Microprocessors, signals, microelectronics and EE Practice courses in the published plan prepare students for Senior Design Project I.
What matters in electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Idaho
Electrical laboratory foundation
Required experiments in distinct electrical subjects show the practical range students encounter before specializing.
Transfer and prerequisite fit
The most useful accepted credits are those that satisfy actual major requirements and preserve access to the next course.
Design and cost planning
The senior-project sequence and credit-band tuition rules should fit the same realistic completion schedule.
Compare required laboratories before choosing an electrical specialty
Idaho’s current BSEE catalog requires 129 credits and names laboratories in energy systems, electromagnetics, microcontrollers, signals and microelectronics, alongside circuits and digital logic. Its 18 technical-elective credits require substantial EE study, including courses from a specified advanced list. Students can use the required laboratories to discover which subjects they want to take further.
Boise State’s published BSEE plan includes laboratory work in circuits, digital systems, microprocessors, signals and microelectronics. Several preparatory courses are prerequisites for Senior Design Project I. The detailed plan is labeled 2025–26, while the current advising hub separately lists 2026–27 electives and directs students to an advisor about curriculum changes. Establish which edition applies before finalizing a transfer schedule.
Read the electrical transfer policy before counting saved semesters
Boise State’s ECE transfer policy distinguishes coursework from engineering programs from engineering technology courses. Approved EE, ECE or computer engineering work may satisfy ECE requirements after the department’s evaluation; engineering technology coursework does not replace the BSEE’s required ECE courses under that policy. This is particularly relevant to applicants considering a technology-to-engineering transition.
Idaho’s College of Engineering rules require specified lower-division courses with at least C grades before upper-division engineering work. The EE catalog adds its own seminar, course-grade and accumulated D/F conditions. An individual degree audit should therefore show both what transfers and which requirements remain before the next advanced course becomes available.
Connect the senior project to the semester budget
Idaho requires EE Senior Design I and II. Boise State describes a year-long team project involving industry sponsors, following its electrical preparation. Ask how project work fits around other final-year laboratories, how the team’s topic is selected and what course availability might extend the sequence. A lighter course load can be helpful, but it should not inadvertently separate consecutive required project courses.
Boise State’s 2026–27 schedule uses an 11–16-credit full-time band and adds a per-credit amount above 16. Idaho’s cost-of-attendance table separates regular resident and nonresident tuition from scholarship categories and the special MESA arrangement. Use the regular campus and eligibility category that applies to you, and include fees, living costs and supplies in an engineering degree budget.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Which Idaho electrical degrees are ranked here?+
The reviewed selection includes the University of Idaho’s BSEE in Moscow and Boise State’s BS in Electrical Engineering. Both are campus bachelor’s routes. The ranking does not substitute engineering technology credentials or the separate MESA international arrangement.
Will engineering technology courses replace Boise State ECE requirements?+
The department’s published BSEE transfer policy says engineering technology coursework does not count toward required ECE courses. Coursework from qualifying engineering programs also requires approval by the program chair and advisor; transfer acceptance is not an automatic major substitution.
Which Idaho program requires energy-systems laboratory work?+
The University of Idaho’s electrical curriculum explicitly requires Energy Systems I and its laboratory. It also requires laboratories in electromagnetics, microcontrollers, signals and microelectronics before the later design and elective work.
Does Boise State charge more above the full-time band?+
Yes. Its Fall 2026/Spring 2027 undergraduate schedule covers 11–16 credits at the full-time amount and adds $252 for each credit above 16. Other course charges and living expenses remain separate from that tuition-and-fee band.
Keep researching
Choosing a electrical engineering degree
Learn what an electrical engineering degree covers, including circuits, signals, lab work and design, plus admissions, transfer and online study.
