Best Electrical Engineering Degree Programs in Maryland in 2026
Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins make advanced electrical study possible through noticeably different curricular structures. Maryland has a large EE elective block with protected laboratory and capstone categories. Johns Hopkins specifies six advanced laboratory credits and offers approved choices reaching into photonics, embedded machine intelligence and microfabrication.
This 2026 ranking of electrical engineering degree programs in Maryland reviews the College Park BS and Johns Hopkins’ residential Baltimore BS. Start with the laboratory or design work you hope to complete, then examine entry requirements and the cost of the correct undergraduate route. Department research interests alone do not establish which courses satisfy a bachelor’s degree.
Electrical Engineering bachelor’s rankings by state+
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Inside this ranking
How we ranked electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Maryland
The reviewed selection contains two Maryland institutions with exact electrical engineering bachelor’s evidence. The Maryland review addresses College Park, and the Johns Hopkins review addresses the full-time residential Whiting program. Separate locations, professional programs and other engineering awards need their own enrollment and pricing review.
Maryland College Park leads for its substantial advanced electrical elective structure and clearly documented first-year and transfer pathways. Johns Hopkins follows for design beginning in the first year, a two-course capstone and a detailed advanced-laboratory list. This editorial order weighs the documented undergraduate plans rather than institutional research rankings.
$6,417.50 resident tuition and mandatory fees per semester
Cost basis & conditions +
For fall 2026 and spring 2027 at 12 or more credits, Maryland lists $6,417.50 per resident semester or $22,043 per nonresident semester in tuition and mandatory fees. Full-time junior/senior Engineering majors additionally pay $1,687.50 in differential tuition per semester. Part-time tuition and differential rates follow separate per-credit rules. Applicable insurance, other charges and living costs are additional.
Maryland College Park gives electrical students a substantial elective block while preserving specific practical requirements. For students entering from fall 2024, twenty-two EE elective credits must include advanced theory or applications, an advanced laboratory and a capstone design course. Three broader technical credits follow a separate approval process. The department describes a 120–123-credit degree range, and the current catalog’s sample plan totals 122. This review addresses the College Park BS, where first-year admission, the later gateway review and transfer admission have distinct requirements. Applicants should evaluate that entry process alongside the advanced electrical area they intend to pursue.
Where it stands out
Maryland is a useful choice to investigate if you want flexibility among electrical subjects while retaining explicit laboratory and capstone requirements. Transfer applicants can use the published gateway list to compare prior calculus, physics and chemistry coursework with the entry requirements before committing to a College Park plan.
What to weigh
Direct first-year admission is followed by an academic review at 45 Maryland credits, and transfer applicants face different GPA and course conditions. Senior-project research cannot substitute for the capstone category. Engineering differential tuition applies at junior/senior standing, and electrical students cannot add a second Computer Engineering major or degree.
Attendance:The department gives a 120–123-credit degree range; the current catalog’s sample plan totals 122. This review addresses College Park, with the separate Southern Maryland route requiring its own attendance and transfer plan.
The electrical foundation combines mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering design, programming and the electrical core.
For students entering from fall 2024, the 22-credit EE elective block requires advanced theory/applications, an advanced laboratory and a capstone design course.
Three additional general technical elective credits follow separate approval rules. EE students may not earn a second major or degree in Computer Engineering because of the curricular overlap.
Admission & progression
First-year Clark School admission is competitive; applicants may name an engineering major or initially enter Undecided Engineering.
Directly admitted freshmen undergo a review at 45 Maryland credits, requiring the specified gateway courses, minimum grades and at least a 2.0 overall GPA.
Internal and external transfer applicants need a 3.0 cumulative college GPA, the specified gateway courses and grades, and compliance with the limited-repeat policy; a withdrawal counts as an attempt.
Design & practical experience
At least three credits in an approved capstone design course are required within the EE elective block.
At least two advanced-laboratory credits are required. Approved senior-project research can satisfy designated theory or laboratory requirements within limits, but cannot replace the capstone category.
The 2026–27 university catalogue lists Whiting School of Engineering full-time undergraduate tuition of $68,670 for the academic year before aid. The $500 matriculation fee, housing, food, books, insurance and other listed attendance expenses are separate. This is the residential undergraduate tuition category; Engineering for Professionals per-course rates do not price this BS.
Johns Hopkins’ electrical degree begins with First Year ECE Design and continues through a two-course senior capstone. The Fall 2026 requirements specify a 126-credit BS with digital systems, signals, electromagnetics, electronics and programming, plus at least six advanced laboratory credits. The approved laboratory list makes several special interests tangible, including FPGA work, embedded machine intelligence, electronics design, biophotonics and microfabrication. Seven focus areas provide another way to organize advanced study. Students should distinguish the approved laboratory categories carefully, because ECE and other-engineering labs contribute differently to the separate required electrical-credit block.
Where it stands out
Johns Hopkins merits consideration if you want design activity from the first year and advanced laboratory options connecting electrical engineering with medical imaging, photonics or intelligent devices. Its focus-area and laboratory lists make a proposed course plan more useful than a general interest in the department’s research topics.
What to weigh
Advanced laboratories from different departments do not all satisfy the same ECE credit requirement, and minimum-grade and GPA rules apply to the technical plan. First-year applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores under the current policy. The published Whiting undergraduate tuition is a full-time annual amount before aid and separate living, insurance and other costs.
The Fall 2026 curriculum requires digital systems, signals and systems, electromagnetics, electronics with a laboratory, intermediate programming and two capstone courses.
At least six advanced-laboratory credits can come from the approved ECE or other-engineering lists; the effect on the separate 45-credit ECE requirement differs by course category.
Focus areas include computing systems, integrated circuits/microsystems, machine learning/AI, medical imaging, photonics/optoelectronics, robotics and signals/systems/communications.
Admission & progression
First-year applicants follow the university’s application requirements, including the required standardized testing and academic recommendations/documents.
The current testing policy requires first-year SAT or ACT scores; enrolled students who self-report scores must subsequently provide official reports.
The reviewed requirements apply to degree-seeking students entering in fall 2026. Designated courses require C− or better, with at least a 2.0 GPA across the required ECE credit block.
Design & practical experience
First Year ECE Design is required before the later electrical sequence.
Capstone Design Project I and II provide the two-course culminating project.
Approved advanced laboratory choices include FPGA synthesis, embedded machine intelligence, electronics design, biophotonics and microfabrication.
What matters in electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in Maryland
Meaningful elective choice
An elective block is useful only when its laboratory, capstone and course-category restrictions are understood.
Entry and progression
We distinguish competitive first-year admission, later gateway review and the requirements facing transfer applicants.
The correct tuition category
College standing and degree route can change tuition. Residential undergraduate rates must not be replaced with professional-program prices.
Choosing electrical laboratories in Maryland
Maryland’s electrical engineering catalog requires students entering from fall 2024 to complete 22 EE elective credits, including advanced theory or applications, an advanced laboratory and a capstone design course. Three additional general technical credits have separate rules. Approved senior-project research can fulfill certain theory or laboratory requirements within limits, but it cannot replace the capstone category. A proposed research project therefore needs a degree-audit check before it enters the completion plan.
Johns Hopkins’ Fall 2026 BS requirements specify 126 credits, First Year ECE Design and Capstone Design Project I and II. The six-credit advanced-laboratory requirement can draw on approved ECE and other-engineering lists. Those lists affect the separate 45-credit ECE requirement differently. Students considering biophotonics, FPGA work or microfabrication should map both the laboratory requirement and the electrical-credit total.
Maryland engineering entry and transfer rules
At College Park, first-year Clark School admission is competitive, and directly admitted students face an academic review at 45 Maryland credits. The required gateway courses and minimum grades apply alongside a 2.0 overall GPA at that review. Internal and external transfers have a different route: a 3.0 cumulative college GPA, specified calculus, physics and chemistry grades, and limited course repeats. A withdrawal counts as an attempt under the published policy.
Johns Hopkins’ current first-year testing policy requires SAT or ACT scores. That application requirement is separate from the BS course rules, which include C− minimum grades in designated courses and a 2.0 GPA across the required electrical credit block. Applicants should use the current application page for their admission cycle while using the relevant entering-class catalog for degree planning.
Pricing the College Park and Baltimore degrees
Maryland’s Fall 2026/Spring 2027 bill schedule lists full-time resident tuition and mandatory fees of $6,417.50 per semester, or $22,043 for nonresidents. Engineering students at junior/senior standing pay an additional $1,687.50 per full-time semester in differential tuition. A four-year estimate should account for that later charge instead of extending the freshman bill unchanged across every year.
Johns Hopkins’ 2026–27 university catalogue lists $68,670 in annual full-time undergraduate tuition for Whiting before aid. Matriculation, living costs and other applicable expenses are separate. Engineering for Professionals per-course prices belong to a different enrollment category and do not price this residential electrical BS. Compare aid-adjusted annual attendance costs after making those scopes consistent.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Can Maryland electrical students add Computer Engineering as a second major?+
Maryland’s department says EE students cannot earn a second major or degree in Computer Engineering because of the curricular overlap. Students interested in computing should examine approved electrical and technical elective choices instead.
Does undergraduate research replace Maryland’s EE capstone?+
No. Approved senior-project research can satisfy certain advanced theory or laboratory requirements within published limits, but the catalog excludes it from the capstone category.
How many credits are in Maryland’s electrical BS?+
The department publishes a 120–123-credit range; the current College Park catalog’s sample plan totals 122. The reviewed Johns Hopkins BS separately requires 126 credits for Fall 2026 entrants.
Which Johns Hopkins electrical laboratories can undergraduates choose?+
The approved lists include electronics design, FPGA synthesis, embedded machine intelligence, biophotonics and microfabrication. Prerequisites, availability and the distinction between ECE and other-engineering laboratory credits still govern the final course plan.
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.
