The top engineering programs in the United States receive independent accreditation for their undergraduate programs from ABET, Inc. – formerly Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology – the nonprofit company which reviews the quality and professionalism of various engineering programs.
While hundreds of quality university engineering programs have received ABET accreditation for their undergraduate programs, only a small number of these offer online degree programs at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.
This article reviews the top three online programs in civil engineering which come from schools with ABET-accredited undergraduate programs, and explores how their distance learning works.
Civil Engineering Online Degree – University of Florida
The University of Florida offers a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Courses are delivered via the UF Edge online platform, which streams recorded, on-campus lectures for students to review at their convenience. This asynchronous structure gives students a high degree of flexibility while allowing them access to the same instructional experience on-campus students receive.
The UF Edge platform also provides students access to library resources, discussion forums, and electronic course materials.
The University of Florida projects that students can complete an online engineering degree in 24 months, though this is dependent upon a given student's course load.
For additional information about online learning at the University of Florida, prospective students can call (352) 392-9670.
Civil Engineering Online Degree – Kansas State University
Kansas State University offers a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. The KSU online program delivers its courses to students using several different methods:
- K-State Online offers interactive classes to students on an asynchronous schedule
- Videotapes of previously recorded lectures are provided as a physical supplement in select courses
- In courses which use physical CD-Rom technology, students are given compact disks containing lectures, learning materials, and slide shows
- Audiocassette tapes are provided in select courses which have audio recordings of lectures
Students also have access to discussion forums via the online platform, which allows students and professors to interact and communicate during the semester; additionally, students are allowed to contact professors directly using course email accounts.
For more information on admission requirements or tuition, contact the Division of Continuing Education at 1-800-622-2KSU.
Civil Engineering Online Degree – University of North Dakota
UND offers an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, which is one of the only such online accredited bachelor programs in the United States.
Lectures given on-campus by College of Engineering faculty are recorded and posted to the online learning platform, where students have the flexibility to view recorded lectures whenever it is most convenient for them.
While this asynchronous course schedule is highly flexible, UND does have a yearly travel requirement which prospective students must consider. Each summer, online students are required to attend an extended lab in Grand Forks, North Dakota which typically lasts around one or two weeks.
While the bachelor degree typically takes students six years to complete, UND does reduce the credit requirements for those students with applicable work experience.
For more information on admission requirements or tuition, contact UND at 1-800-342-8230.
Benefits of Civil Engineering Online Degree
For working engineers and nontraditional students who would like to pursue an advanced degree, but have neither the time nor the flexibility to attend a campus-based program, online degrees in civil engineering provide the ability to simultaneously work and learn from home.
It's important to note that earning an online engineering degree from one of the above schools is just as valuable as those earned by on-campus students, as neither universities nor employers differentiate between the two.
For more information, reference Learnon.org's guide to distance degrees, from which the information for this article was gleaned.
For additional information on other engineering online degrees, see also:
Computer Engineering Online Degrees
Chemical Engineering Online Degrees
David Harris-Gershon - David Harris-Gershon – a blogger for Tikkun magazine and a freelance writer on Israel, the Middle East and America’s role in ...
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