Best General Engineering Degree Programs in Idaho in 2026
General engineering degrees in Idaho offer a choice between Boise State’s customizable Engineering Plus B.S. and Northwest Nazarene’s Engineering BSE with six concentrations. These rankings compare their shared technical foundations, required applied work and the decisions that shape each student’s complete degree.
Both programs combine mechanical, electrical and quantitative study, but they organize the later years differently. Boise State separates engineering electives from PLUS pathway electives. NNU uses prescribed concentration requirements after a broad common core. Read those structures alongside the university setting, admission route and current tuition schedule.
How we ranked general engineering bachelor’s programs in Idaho
This reviewed selection covers two complete broad engineering bachelor’s awards in Boise and Nampa. A concentration within NNU’s BSE remains part of that broad award, while Boise State’s PLUS pathway is evaluated together with its engineering requirements.
Boise State leads for its distinct engineering and pathway elective structure, supported by a required three-course design sequence. Northwest Nazarene follows for its extensive shared engineering core, associated laboratories and six concentration choices within a Christian university setting.
$4,894.5 · Idaho resident tuition and fees per semester
Cost basis & conditions +
The resident full-time schedule covers 11–16 credits. Nonresident tuition and fees for that band are $14,738.50 per semester; credits above 16 cost an additional $252 each. Course charges, applicable new-student and other fees, and living expenses can add to the published schedule.
Boise State’s Engineering Plus leads to a B.S. in Engineering built from a shared engineering foundation and two sets of electives. Students develop technical depth through engineering courses while a separate PLUS pathway connects that study to another interest. Possible directions include semiconductors, sustainability, cybersecurity, business and psychology. The current plan includes laboratory science, mathematics, materials, mechanics, computing, CAD, circuits and statistics. Engineering Design I, II and III and an Engineering Laboratory provide specific applied requirements. The result is a broad engineering award whose elective choices can explain a student’s intended direction more precisely than the degree name alone.
Where it stands out
Consider Engineering Plus if you want to pair engineering with a second area that affects how technology is used, developed or managed. The distinct engineering and pathway elective blocks provide room to make that connection while retaining required design, laboratory and quantitative foundations.
What to weigh
A customized pathway needs early advising about prerequisites and how much advanced engineering it contains. The published plan flags semester-specific offerings for some required courses, so transfer timing matters. Tuition uses an 11–16-credit full-time band; a semester above that band adds per-credit charges even when the extra course advances the degree.
The engineering foundation includes calculus, differential equations, laboratory chemistry and physics, materials science, mechanics, computing, CAD, circuits and statistics.
The published 2026–27 plan separates engineering electives from PLUS pathway electives, with upper-division study in each.
Possible pathways include semiconductors and microelectronics, sustainability, cybersecurity, business and psychology; students develop their plan with the engineering advising office.
Areas of focus
Customized engineering and PLUS pathway electives
Admission & progression
Use Boise State’s application route for the appropriate first-year, transfer or other applicant category.
For nonresident students applying from accredited high schools, admission review uses the cumulative unweighted high-school GPA and does not require or use test scores.
The nonresident automatic-admission band is 3.00–4.00; lower GPA bands have different review requirements. Students in other categories should use their corresponding university admission standards.
Design & practical experience
The current four-year plan includes Engineering Design I, II and III.
Engineering Laboratory connects technical analysis and experimentation within the engineering foundation.
The department describes research-team, community-based learning, internship and study-abroad opportunities alongside the required curriculum.
Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under General Criteria
2026–27 tuition
$42,430 · Annual undergraduate tuition
Cost basis & conditions +
The fall-and-spring block rate covers 12–18 semester credits per term. Annual full-time student fees are $750 and health-services fees are $150. Tuition below 12 credits or above 18 uses separate rates; housing, meals and individual course or equipment expenses are additional.
Northwest Nazarene’s Engineering BSE shares a substantial common core before students complete one of six engineering concentrations. Statics, dynamics, digital systems, electrical circuits, materials, thermodynamics and controls are required across those choices. Laboratories accompany several of these subjects, and the two-course Senior Design Project must be completed at NNU. Concentrations range from Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering to Computer, Electrical, Civil and Engineering Physics. The Civil option includes specified coursework at Boise State, while the Agricultural and Mechanical plans include mechatronics and its laboratory. The university frames engineering practice within a Christian liberal arts education.
Where it stands out
Consider NNU if you want broad mechanical and electrical preparation with a named concentration and a required laboratory sequence. Its common foundation can support a student who wants to explore several engineering systems before the later concentration courses define a more specific professional or graduate-study direction.
What to weigh
Concentration choice changes the course and location plan: Civil includes Boise State coursework, while the capstone must remain at NNU. Applicants who are not ready for calculus should examine the department’s five-year option. The engineering-major credit subtotal is only part of the bachelor’s degree, and the full-time tuition block has an 18-credit ceiling.
The university requires at least 124 semester credits for a bachelor’s degree; the engineering major and concentration account for 89–91 credits.
All engineering students study CAD and prototyping, software skills, statics, dynamics, digital systems, circuits, materials mechanics, thermodynamics, controls, economics and ethics.
Required concentration options are Agricultural, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical and Engineering Physics; the Civil concentration includes specified courses at Boise State.
Areas of focus
Agricultural Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Physics
Admission & progression
First-year applicants submit an application and a current high-school transcript, followed by an official final transcript or applicable GED results.
The catalog says ACT, SAT or CLT testing may be required, with GPA, class rank and official scores considered in admission.
The engineering department offers a five-year plan for students who do not begin in calculus.
Design & practical experience
Required laboratories include digital systems, electrical circuits, materials and thermodynamics, and control systems.
Senior Design Project I and II form the capstone and must be completed at Northwest Nazarene.
Agricultural and Mechanical concentration plans include mechatronics and a mechatronics laboratory.
What matters in general engineering bachelor’s programs in Idaho
Structure behind the flexibility
We assess how pathways or concentrations define technical depth beyond a broad degree title.
Required applied work
Design courses, laboratories and capstone requirements provide concrete evidence of practice.
A workable completion plan
Prerequisites, partner-campus courses, entry mathematics and tuition credit bands affect the practical comparison.
Choose general engineering degrees in Idaho by pathway structure
Boise State’s Engineering Plus divides elective study between engineering and a complementary PLUS pathway. The options page suggests directions including semiconductors and microelectronics, sustainability, cybersecurity, business and psychology. A useful plan explains how the two sets of courses work together, including which advanced engineering subjects support the intended application.
Northwest Nazarene requires a concentration after a shared core that already includes circuits, digital systems, mechanics, materials, thermodynamics and controls. Agricultural, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical and Engineering Physics provide distinct later sequences. A student drawn to automation can inspect the Agricultural and Mechanical concentration requirements alongside mechatronics programs, since both NNU options include mechatronics and laboratory study.
Compare laboratories and design with the location of required courses
Boise State’s current plan identifies Engineering Design I, II and III plus an Engineering Laboratory. Its department also describes research, community-based projects, internships and study abroad as opportunities beyond the required courses. Applicants should distinguish those optional experiences from the sequence every student must complete.
NNU requires digital-systems, circuits, materials-and-thermodynamics and controls laboratories within its common core. Senior Design Project I and II must be taken at NNU. The Civil concentration also requires specified courses at Boise State, so applicants should discuss registration, travel and how those credits fit the home university’s degree and billing arrangements. The presence of a partner course does not turn the complete NNU BSE into a preparatory transfer award.
Account for mathematics placement and full-time tuition bands
NNU offers a five-year engineering plan for students who do not start in calculus. At Boise State, the published plan identifies semester-specific offerings for some required engineering courses. Students bringing community-college credit should arrange a course-by-course review that accounts for prerequisites and when the remaining design or laboratory courses are offered.
Boise State’s 2026–27 resident tuition-and-fee schedule uses an 11–16-credit full-time band, with extra charges above 16 credits. NNU’s tuition block covers 12–18 credits, with separate student and health-services fees. These different bands can matter when a mathematics prerequisite, concentration requirement or complementary elective adds a course to a semester. Compare an adviser-approved schedule and the applicable financial-aid offer before projecting total out-of-pocket cost.
Questions, answered
What else should you know?
What degree does Boise State’s Engineering Plus award?+
Engineering Plus leads to a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Students combine required engineering foundations with engineering electives and complementary PLUS pathway electives.
Does Northwest Nazarene offer a mechanical engineering concentration?+
Yes. Mechanical Engineering is one of six concentrations within its Engineering BSE, with mechatronics, thermal-fluids and other specified technical courses.
Are both reviewed Idaho programs accredited by ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission?+
Yes. Boise State’s Engineering Plus page and NNU’s engineering department explicitly identify EAC accreditation for these programs.
Does NNU require all engineering courses to be taken on its own campus?+
No. Its Civil concentration includes specified courses at Boise State. However, the catalog requires Senior Design Project I and II to be completed at NNU.
Keep researching
Choosing a general engineering degree
Learn what a general engineering degree covers, how concentrations build technical depth and how broad bachelor's programs compare with specialized majors.
