Best Electrical Engineering Degree Programs in Illinois in 2026
Illinois electrical engineering students can choose among different laboratory, project and elective structures. Our 2026 ranking examines the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Tech in Chicago and Bradley in Peoria. Each awards a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering; their published requirements give different reasons to consider the program.
The best electrical engineering degree programs in Illinois for a particular student will depend on the technical depth they want and how they prefer to learn it. These reviews examine required laboratories, senior design, course choice and tuition conditions alongside the overall electrical foundation.
Electrical Engineering bachelor’s rankings by state+
Jump to a program +
Inside this ranking
How we ranked electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Illinois
This selected ranking contains three individually reviewed Illinois institutions. It focuses on campus bachelor's programs with substantial official curriculum, admissions and cost evidence. It does not claim to inventory every Illinois electrical engineering degree or online route.
Illinois Urbana-Champaign leads for its substantial technical-elective block with explicit advanced-core and laboratory rules. Illinois Tech follows for its required power/electronics foundation, major design and Interprofessional Projects. Bradley adds a strong project-centered option with a sustained design sequence and named concentrations. The order reflects our editorial assessment of those documented features, not institution size or a composite federal-data score.
Published engineering tuition for students entering Summer 2026 through Spring 2027. The corresponding annual rate is $44,340 for nonresidents and $47,800 for international students. Fees, housing, food and other expenses are additional. Use the entry-cohort rate that applies to you.
Illinois makes laboratory depth an explicit part of its electrical engineering curriculum. The 128-hour BS combines circuits, semiconductor electronics, fields and waves, and computer systems with a substantial technical-elective block. Those electives must include advanced core work and multiple ECE laboratories, including a hardware lab. Students also complete the digital systems laboratory and a senior design requirement. This gives the degree a clear structure for developing practical skills while retaining room to explore electrical engineering specialties. The choice rests on the published undergraduate requirements, rather than the department's research reputation alone.
Where it stands out
Consider Illinois if you want to investigate several areas before committing to one. The elective menu spans power, communications, devices, computing and other applications, while the required core keeps the degree grounded in electrical engineering.
What to weigh
The elective space comes with distribution rules. A collection of interesting courses will not automatically satisfy the advanced-core, laboratory and non-ECE requirements. Plan the sequence with an advisor, particularly when bringing transfer credit or adding a minor.
Published estimate for new undergraduate students before scholarships or other aid. The same annual budget lists $1,850 in fees and $18,548 for housing and food; individual charges vary. All applicants are considered for institutional scholarships, and the net price calculator estimates aid using prior-year data.
Illinois Tech combines a substantial electrical engineering core with two kinds of room to explore: professional ECE electives and advisor-approved career electives. Required study includes power engineering as well as electronics, signals, digital systems and electrodynamics. The professional electives must include laboratory courses and a major design experience, while Interprofessional Projects add work that extends beyond a single disciplinary course. The catalog's 130–133-credit range reflects these course choices. Students considering the Chicago program can examine how a specialty such as embedded systems or electric drives would fit into that larger academic plan.
Where it stands out
Illinois Tech suits students who want electrical depth alongside projects involving other fields. The career-elective sequence can connect engineering with approved science, computing, business or law coursework, while the major-design requirement keeps a substantial technical project within the degree.
What to weigh
Electives need deliberate planning: laboratory and major-design rules limit which combinations satisfy the degree. The credit total can change with the selected courses. Compare the private-university tuition with your actual scholarship offer, and confirm how any transfer courses fit the required core and project sequence.
Attendance:The catalog specifies 130–133 semester credit hours, depending on professional elective choices.
Published undergraduate tuition for 12–16 credit hours per semester, before aid. University fees are $1,010 annually, with a separate $50-per-semester-hour surcharge for College of Engineering and Technology courses. Most credits above 16 per semester cost $1,005 each. Housing, food, books and other expenses are additional.
Bradley's BSEE ties its electrical foundation to a sustained series of design projects. Students study circuit analysis, signals, electronics and microcontrollers, then use design seminars and a system-level design course to prepare for the two-part senior capstone. The university describes that culminating work as a project with industry clients. A required Vertically Integrated Project and approved ECE electives add further ways to develop technical interests. The Computer Option and Robotics and Controls concentrations give the Peoria program identifiable directions for students interested in the connection between electrical hardware and intelligent machines.
Where it stands out
Bradley is worth considering if you want repeated design practice and a clearly identified senior project sequence. The robotics/control concentration offers a focused direction, while the general elective structure also supports interests such as communications, power electronics, embedded systems and digital signal processing.
What to weigh
The 126-credit plan should be mapped against the 16-credit semester tuition ceiling: credits above that level usually cost extra. Engineering courses also carry a separate per-credit surcharge. Transfer students should ask how introductory design and laboratory requirements fit their evaluated coursework before planning an accelerated finish.
Attendance:This review covers the Peoria campus degree and its on-campus undergraduate tuition schedule.
Linear circuit analysis, continuous- and discrete-time signals, electronics, integrated circuits and microcontroller programming.
Fifteen hours of approved ECE electives and nine hours of professional electives.
Required design seminars and system-level design lead into Senior Capstone Project I and II.
Areas of focus
Computer Option
Robotics and Controls
Admission & progression
First-year applications include a high school transcript and personal statement.
Bradley reviews applications on a rolling basis and identifies November 1 as the priority deadline for early consideration. International applicants have additional English-language requirements.
Design & practical experience
The department describes a design project each year and a two-semester capstone with industry clients.
A Vertically Integrated Project is included in the required curriculum.
Student opportunities include faculty research, IEEE and robotics activities; internships are opportunities rather than guaranteed placements.
What matters in electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Illinois
Laboratory depth
We distinguish required laboratory work from facilities or research that an undergraduate may never use.
Design and elective structure
We examine the capstone, interdisciplinary projects and the rules that turn elective choices into a coherent electrical engineering plan.
Cost that matches the course plan
We compare current tuition periods, entry cohorts, enrollment bands and engineering charges before considering a school’s net price.
Compare the required electrical engineering laboratories
Illinois Urbana-Champaign's BS gives laboratory depth an explicit place in the technical electives. Students need multiple ECE laboratories, including hardware work, as well as advanced-core study. The 128-credit curriculum also includes digital systems and senior design. This is useful if you want to sample several electrical areas while retaining a defined experimental requirement.
At Illinois Tech, at least two professional ECE electives must contain laboratories and at least one must satisfy a Major Design Experience. The required core already includes power engineering, electronics and electrodynamics. Those distribution rules matter more than the size of an elective menu when planning a specialty.
Choose the kind of design work you want to complete
Illinois Tech requires Interprofessional Projects alongside ECE work. Bradley instead makes the progression within its electrical degree especially visible: a Vertically Integrated Project, design seminars and system-level design lead toward the senior capstone. Bradley describes annual design projects and a two-semester capstone with industry clients.
A robotics interest can therefore produce different study plans. At Bradley, Robotics and Controls is a named concentration. At Illinois and Illinois Tech, students should examine the relevant technical electives and design opportunities within the reviewed degree. Keep an example project separate from a guaranteed future assignment, and ask how a chosen topic fits prerequisites and the graduation schedule.
Budget for engineering tuition, surcharges and credit loads
The Illinois engineering tuition schedule distinguishes residency and entry cohort. Illinois Tech's annual estimate applies to new undergraduate students and needs to be read alongside the actual aid offer. Both reviews keep tuition separate from housing, food and other charges.
Bradley's campus tuition schedule covers 12–16 credits per semester and adds a surcharge to engineering courses. Most credits over 16 incur an additional charge. That matters when choosing electives or trying to accelerate the degree: a heavier semester is not automatically included in the full-time price. Our engineering cost guide explains how to compare the complete annual budget.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Which Illinois electrical engineering degree programs are ranked here?+
The selected list includes the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and Bradley University in Peoria. Each review covers an actual electrical engineering bachelor’s degree, with its own official curriculum and cost sources.
Does Illinois Tech require a senior design experience?+
Yes. At least one professional ECE elective must qualify as a Major Design Experience, and at least two must include laboratories. The degree also requires six credits of Interprofessional Projects. Those are distinct requirements that need to be included in the course plan.
Can I study robotics within Bradley’s electrical engineering degree?+
Yes. Bradley lists a Robotics and Controls concentration within the BSEE, as well as a Computer Option. Its main program page describes the concentration’s study of robotics, feedback and control systems; the catalog specifies the degree and elective requirements.
Are these Illinois tuition figures total degree prices?+
No. They are current published annual tuition figures or estimates with their stated conditions. Engineering surcharges, extra-credit charges, fees and living costs can change the total. Compare the actual financial-aid offer and academic plan rather than multiplying one tuition figure without accounting for those differences.
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.
