Best Electrical Engineering Degree Programs in New Jersey in 2026
The electrical engineering degree programs in New Jersey reviewed here make three different choices visible. Rutgers offers an electrical option inside its BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Stevens awards a Bachelor of Engineering with concentration choices and repeated design work. NJIT separately publishes standard and cooperative-education plans for its BS in Electrical Engineering. Our 2026 ranking examines those actual qualifications and the requirements attached to each route.
Rutgers in Piscataway, Stevens in Hoboken and NJIT in Newark also have different tuition structures. Residency matters at the public institutions, while Stevens distinguishes incoming and continuing students in its full-time credit bands. Before deciding which program offers the strongest fit, compare the electrical coursework you would complete with a semester-by-semester budget.
Electrical Engineering bachelor’s rankings by state+
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How we ranked electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in New Jersey
This selected ranking reviews three New Jersey institutions with named electrical or eligible electrical-and-computer engineering bachelor’s degrees. Rutgers is included specifically through its electrical option. Each review distinguishes the degree route being assessed rather than treating every program in a shared ECE department as equivalent.
Rutgers leads for its extensive required electrical laboratory sequence within a flexible ECE degree structure. Stevens follows for its recurring design work, team capstone and concentration choices. NJIT adds a useful standard-versus-co-op decision with clearly distinct catalog plans. These positions reflect an editorial review of undergraduate curricula and practical requirements.
BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering — Electrical Engineering option
Piscataway, NJ
Semester credits
123
Study format
On campus
Program accreditation
Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET
2026–27 tuition
$8,804.50 resident engineering tuition per semester
Cost basis & conditions +
2026–27 New Brunswick School of Engineering full-time undergraduate tuition is $8,804.50 for New Jersey residents or $21,518 for nonresidents per semester. The schedule separately lists a $1,596 student fee, $230.50 school fee and $221 technology fee. Applicable insurance, course charges and living costs are additional.
Rutgers awards the same BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering through its electrical and computer options, but the course differences are meaningful. The reviewed EE route retains electronic devices and digital electronics alongside circuits, programming, architecture and signal processing. Many of those subjects include a required laboratory. The current departmental handbook lists 123 credits and a senior capstone introduction followed by the capstone itself. A common first year and shared sophomore foundation leave time to examine the two options before the more specialized work. That makes the option-level curriculum more informative than the combined degree title alone.
Where it stands out
Rutgers is useful for students who want substantial computing exposure while retaining required electronics and circuit work. The EE option’s laboratory sequence gives applicants concrete subjects to ask about, especially if they are deciding between an electrical emphasis and a more computer-focused curriculum.
What to weigh
Both options produce the ECE degree title, so students should retain the option checklist when evaluating courses or transfer credit. Electives occupy different categories and cannot be substituted freely. The engineering school’s tuition and school fee differ from other Rutgers units; use New Brunswick engineering rates for a valid budget.
The EE option requires electrical principles, digital logic, programming, computer architecture, electronic devices and digital signal processing, with associated laboratories.
Electrical and computer options share the first two years; the EE route retains required electronic devices and digital electronics.
Upper-level choices include electrical electives, technical electives and a restricted elective drawing from computer engineering.
Admission & progression
Engineering students follow a common first-year curriculum and declare a major at the end of the second semester.
The current first-year guidance exempts ECE from the general chemistry II requirement; placement and the intended major determine the individual schedule.
Design & practical experience
Introduction to Capstone Design precedes Capstone Design in ECE in the senior year.
Laboratory requirements accompany circuits, logic, computer architecture, devices, digital electronics and signal processing.
The department describes internships and co-ops as additional professional opportunities.
2026–27 fall/spring undergraduate full-time tuition is $32,765 per semester. The published band is 12–18 credits for incoming freshmen and 12–20 for continuing students; consult the applicable overload rule when planning registration. General service and activity fees add $1,012 and $338 per semester, including co-op terms. Health insurance may be waived with qualifying comparable coverage; living costs are additional.
Stevens structures electrical engineering around a broad engineering foundation, repeated design work and a substantial list of concentration choices. The Bachelor of Engineering can connect electronic hardware with embedded systems, power, wireless communication or robotics and control, while computing-oriented options extend into AI, architecture and security. The senior year includes a significant team project, following the engineering Design Spine. Prototyping facilities provide another concrete feature to investigate when visiting. The range of concentrations is most useful when paired with a proposed course and project plan, especially for students whose interests cross the electrical and computer engineering boundary.
Where it stands out
Stevens suits students who want design activity throughout their undergraduate education and a formal way to organize advanced electrical or computing study. Applicants interested in building connected devices can compare the electronics/embedded systems, wireless and robotics options against the projects and fabrication resources they would use.
What to weigh
The broad concentration list does not remove prerequisite and scheduling requirements, and optional co-op should be planned separately from the standard academic route. New-student full-time tuition covers 12–18 credits, with overload charges beyond that band. Mandatory service and activity fees continue during co-op as well as enrolled course terms.
Electrical engineering coursework builds on the School of Engineering and Science’s mathematics and science core.
Elective choices can include electrical engineering, computer engineering and other approved Stevens coursework.
Listed concentrations span electronics/embedded systems, power, wireless communications, robotics/control, AI and other computing-related fields.
Areas of focus
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Architecture
Electronics and Embedded Systems
Image Processing and Multimedia
Networks and Security
Power Engineering
Robotics and Control
Software Engineering and Design
Wireless Communications
Admission & progression
Recommended engineering preparation includes four years of mathematics through calculus and three years of laboratory science.
First-year applicants use the university’s application process; the CSS Profile and FAFSA have distinct roles in applying for institutional and need-based aid.
Design & practical experience
The engineering Design Spine includes hands-on design work across the undergraduate curriculum.
Students complete a significant team-based project in the senior year; the program describes a two-semester senior design sequence.
The MakerCenter supports prototyping and fabrication, and students can pursue optional co-op or undergraduate research experiences.
Residency-based tuition for a 12–17-credit semester
Cost basis & conditions +
NJIT’s FY2026–FY2027 undergraduate schedule applies a flat tuition rate at 12–17 credits during fall and spring and flat mandatory fees at 12 or more credits. Part-time enrollment and credits above the tuition band carry per-credit charges. Select the undergraduate Newark residency category; applicable insurance, course fees and living costs are separate.
NJIT’s electrical engineering catalog makes the difference between its standard and cooperative-education routes explicit. The standard BS requires at least 120 credits, while the separately listed co-op plans require 145. That distinction is central to evaluating the program’s time commitment and course schedule. The electrical foundation covers circuits, electronics, signals, electromagnetics and digital systems, following a first-year base in engineering design, computing, mathematics and science. Laboratory and senior project work provide the practical component. Applicants comparing routes should use the matching catalog plan from the beginning rather than attach co-op expectations to the standard credit total.
Where it stands out
NJIT deserves a close look if you want an electrical degree in Newark and want to compare a standard study plan with a formally documented co-op route. The side-by-side catalog requirements are useful for transfer students assessing how prior courses fit the particular option they intend to complete.
What to weigh
The co-op plans add requirements and should not be described using the standard 120-credit minimum. Tuition also has a 12–17-credit full-time band; registration above that band carries additional per-credit charges. An individual semester plan matters more than multiplying one typical tuition bill by four years.
Attendance:The standard catalog plan has a 120-credit minimum. Separate cooperative-education options list 145 credits and require their own course and work-term plan.
The curriculum begins with engineering design, computing, chemistry, calculus and physics before the electrical sequence.
Electrical courses cover circuits, electronics, signals/systems, electromagnetics and digital systems.
Students use the catalog’s technical-elective rules to select further electrical and computer engineering coursework.
Admission & progression
Applicants follow NJIT’s undergraduate admission process, with distinct first-year and transfer pathways.
The degree’s calculus, physics and engineering sequence makes prerequisite and transfer-credit placement important when constructing the first-year schedule.
Design & practical experience
The electrical curriculum includes a senior project sequence and laboratory work.
The catalog separately presents cooperative-education options with substantially different credit requirements from the standard degree.
What matters in electrical engineering bachelor’s programs in New Jersey
Electrical content in the degree
A combined ECE title qualifies here when the documented option requires substantial electrical study, rather than computer coursework alone.
Practice across the program
We examine required laboratories, design sequences and the status of co-op opportunities in the actual degree plan.
Enrollment and billing details
First-year major selection, credit bands and residency-specific engineering charges shape the practical cost of completing each route.
Read the option behind a New Jersey electrical degree title
Rutgers’ current undergraduate handbook explains that its electrical and computer options produce the same BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The EE route retains electronic devices and digital electronics, alongside circuits, programming, computer architecture and signal processing. Required laboratories accompany several of those subjects. Students who are undecided between electrical and computer work can use the shared first two years to assess which later requirements they prefer.
Stevens’ BE in Electrical Engineering provides formal concentrations including electronics/embedded systems, wireless communications, power engineering and robotics/control. Computing-oriented options are also available. The useful next step is a proposed course schedule: concentration names tell you the direction of study, while the required and elective courses establish what you would actually learn and build.
Compare a capstone with the commitment of a co-op route
Rutgers places Introduction to Capstone Design before Capstone Design in ECE. Stevens describes a significant team project in the senior year, following its broader engineering Design Spine. Ask to see a completed project and the tools used to test it. That conversation can help distinguish an interest in fabrication, communications or embedded software from a general preference for practical coursework.
NJIT’s electrical catalog distinguishes its 120-credit standard plan from separate 145-credit cooperative-education options. The choice affects more than one work placement: students need the matching academic and work-term sequence. Stevens also offers optional co-op, while Rutgers describes internships and co-ops as professional opportunities. Keep each opportunity’s status clear when comparing time to completion.
Build the first-year plan and the engineering budget together
Rutgers engineering students share a first-year curriculum and declare a major at the end of the second semester. Its current guidance notes that ECE does not require the second general chemistry course. Stevens recommends high-school mathematics through calculus and laboratory science. Transfer applicants at NJIT should map prior coursework to the selected standard or co-op plan, since prerequisite placement affects later registration.
Rutgers’ 2026–27 engineering rate sheet separates resident and nonresident tuition from student, school and technology fees. Stevens’ tuition schedule distinguishes incoming freshmen’s 12–18-credit band from continuing students’ band, with mandatory service and activity fees also applying during co-op. NJIT’s standard full-time tuition band is 12–17 credits. Compare aid offers using the same enrollment and housing assumptions, and include any additional charges created by your actual course plan.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
Does Rutgers award an electrical engineering degree?+
Rutgers awards a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Students can follow its Electrical Engineering option, which includes required electronics, circuits, signal processing and laboratories. The degree title is shared with the Computer Engineering option, but the later course requirements differ.
What is the distinction between Stevens’ BE and the BS degrees here?+
BE is Stevens’ published Bachelor of Engineering title. Evaluate its electrical curriculum, engineering accreditation and design requirements directly. A title abbreviation alone does not establish greater depth, a different professional license or a better employment outcome.
Does NJIT’s 120-credit total include its co-op options?+
The current catalog lists the standard BS in Electrical Engineering at a 120-credit minimum. It separately presents co-op options with 145-credit plans. Use the credit total and sequence attached to the route you intend to complete.
Which tuition schedule should a Rutgers EE applicant use?+
Use the New Brunswick School of Engineering undergraduate schedule and the appropriate residency category. School fees and engineering tuition differ from other Rutgers units. The published semester tuition is one component of the full attendance budget.
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.
