Best Electrical Engineering Master’s Programs in North Carolina
NC State's electrical MS includes a one-credit orientation course in its thirty-one-credit total. That detail matters when a prospective student plans a schedule around the more familiar thirty-credit graduate degree. The program also sets technical breadth and advanced-course requirements, so an acceptable plan must do more than collect ten convenient electrical electives.
Our 2026 selection of electrical engineering master’s programs in North Carolina reviews NC State's MS, including its online non-thesis route. The online format uses recordings of campus lectures, but students still work to the course's assignment and examination calendar. Compare that academic structure with your available study hours, and keep campus tuition figures separate from the university's distance-education billing rules.
Electrical Engineering master’s rankings by state+
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How we ranked electrical engineering master’s programs in North Carolina
NC State's MS in Electrical Engineering is the reviewed North Carolina graduate selection. The catalog establishes the degree requirements, while Engineering Online explains the attendance, admission and examination conditions for distance students. The review identifies when a statement applies specifically to online study or campus enrollment.
NC State is selected for its explicit electrical course requirements and documented online delivery. The assessment weighs the breadth of technical study, the mandatory orientation credit and the practical limits on study alongside full-time employment. The selection reflects those verified program features rather than a promise about employment or admission.
$9,682.25 resident campus tuition and listed fees per semester
Cost basis & conditions +
For the campus electrical MS at nine or more credits, NC State lists $5,268.50 resident tuition,$2,400 tuition increment,$1,263.75 required fees and $750 COE fee, totaling $9,682.25 per semester. The nonresident total is $20,650.75. Distance education uses its own billing schedule. Insurance and living expenses are separate.
NC State's electrical MS requires thirty-one credits, including a mandatory first-semester orientation course. Its core protects electrical depth and breadth, with advanced-level work and courses spanning multiple specialty areas. The university offers thesis and non-thesis plans, and the Engineering Online distance route is non-thesis. Online students watch recorded campus lectures but follow the campus calendar for assignments and exams. That combination suits a working engineer who wants academic flexibility without assuming the program is self-paced or that every electrical graduate option is offered remotely.
Where it stands out
NC State fits an applicant looking for graduate electrical study in areas such as power systems, power electronics, photonics, nanoelectronics or communications while preserving a broad course distribution. The distance route has an explicit advising process and clear expectations for working students, including a recommended lighter first semester.
What to weigh
Full-time employed distance students are limited to two online courses per semester, and in-class exams require proctoring. Orientation adds a credit beyond a thirty-credit course plan. Campus and distance billing rules differ, and the thesis route should be evaluated separately from the online non-thesis format.
Attendance:The distance track is non-thesis, follows the semester schedule and requires proctored exams.
Both catalog routes require 31 credits, including one credit of ECE 600 orientation,21 core credits and nine additional approved credits.
Electrical depth, major-course and breadth requirements apply within the core. The non-thesis plan requires at least three 700-level EE credits and at least fifteen EE credits.
Distance students must complete orientation in their first semester, maintain a 3.0 GPA and finish within six years of the first course on the graduate transcript.
Admission & progression
The distance route requires an electrical or computer engineering bachelor’s degree and an overall 3.0 GPA. Other backgrounds must satisfy the department’s additional preparation rules.
Applicants submit a statement of purpose and three recommendations. GRE scores are not required for the online MS.
Approved graduate transfer and nondegree-study credits can total up to twelve, with B or better in each course, after admission to the degree.
Research & project requirements
Online lectures are recorded from campus classes, with the same content and academic schedule. All in-class exams must be proctored.
Full-time employed distance students can take at most two online courses per semester. The program recommends one course in the first semester.
The campus thesis option allows supervised thesis research under an academic committee. The distance route has no thesis requirement.
What matters in electrical engineering master’s programs in North Carolina
Electrical depth and breadth
The non-thesis plan combines advanced electrical work with study across three specialty areas.
A defined online calendar
Recorded lectures offer viewing flexibility while assignments and proctored exams retain course deadlines.
Applicable graduate charges
Campus MS tuition includes program and engineering charges that should not be applied automatically to distance enrollment.
Planning the NC State electrical MS course requirements
The graduate catalog lists twenty-one core credits, nine additional credits and the required one-credit orientation. ECE 600 is taken during the first semester. For the non-thesis route, the technical plan includes at least three credits of 700-level electrical engineering and at least fifteen credits in electrical engineering tracks. Coursework must also provide breadth across three distinct specialty areas.
Start with a likely technical direction and work backward through those distribution rules. A plan centered on power electronics, for example, still needs the required breadth, course prerequisites and advanced-level work. Engineering Online describes study across areas including nanoelectronics, photonics, communications and power electronics. An applicant can use that range to identify possible courses, then confirm the actual approved plan and term offerings with the graduate program.
Online electrical engineering master’s programs in North Carolina
NC State's online electrical MS is non-thesis. Lectures are recorded from campus classes, and distance students follow the same assignments, examinations and deadlines as the campus section. The university states that in-class examinations must be proctored. Flexibility therefore concerns where and when you watch a lecture, while examination arrangements and due dates still need a place in your weekly schedule.
Engineering Online limits students who are employed full time to two courses per semester and recommends beginning with one. That is useful guidance for estimating completion time: a thirty-one-credit degree may fit around work, but an aggressive full-time campus schedule is not the appropriate assumption. The online program describes a six-year completion limit and a 3.0 graduate GPA requirement. Compare the workload with the other formats in the national master’s ranking.
Admission preparation and NC State graduate costs
The online program expects an electrical or computer engineering bachelor's degree and a 3.0 undergraduate GPA; students from other backgrounds may need additional preparation. Application materials include three recommendations and a statement of purpose. The GRE is not required. Up to twelve qualifying credits from non-degree study and transfer coursework may be applied after admission, with a minimum B grade and the program's approval. Taking a course before admission does not establish a right to enter the degree.
For 2026–27 campus enrollment of nine or more credits, the electrical MS schedule totals $9,682.25 per semester for residents and $20,650.75 for nonresidents. Those figures include tuition, the electrical MS increment, listed fees and the College of Engineering charge. Engineering Online uses a separate distance-education billing arrangement, so an online applicant should obtain that applicable estimate. Use the cost guide to add personal living and study expenses, and read the selection methodology. The North Carolina bachelor’s page covers undergraduate preparation separately.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Does the NC State electrical MS require thirty or thirty-one credits?+
The current catalog requires thirty-one credits, including the one-credit ECE 600 orientation taken in the first semester. That course belongs in the degree and enrollment plan.
Are NC State online electrical MS examinations self-paced?+
No. Distance students follow the course calendar, and in-class examinations must be proctored. Recorded lectures provide viewing flexibility without removing assignment or exam deadlines.
How many online courses can a full-time employee take?+
Engineering Online permits up to two courses per semester for students employed full time and recommends starting with one. Actual completion time depends on the approved plan and course availability.
Does the published campus electrical MS price apply online?+
The campus total is tied to the campus graduate tuition schedule, enrollment level and electrical MS charges. Online students use the applicable distance-education billing rules and should obtain an estimate for that format.
Continue your graduate research
Read the degree requirements behind each ranking
Use the school reviews to check how each program structures coursework, projects and research. Our methodology explains how we select programs and assess their fit.
