2027 Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs With University Scholarships: Awards, Eligibility, and Net Cost
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An online electrical engineering degree can look affordable until fees, required lab experiences, and limited online-only scholarship eligibility change the final bill. College Board reported average published 2024-25 tuition and fees of $11,610 at public four-year colleges and $43,350 at private nonprofit colleges. This guide helps prospective undergraduates, transfer students, working adults, and military learners compare institutional awards, renewal terms, and actual net cost - not tuition alone - before choosing an online electrical engineering program.
Key Things You Should Know
- University-funded scholarships for online electrical engineering students are not automatic: eligibility can depend on admission type, residency, GPA, transfer status, enrollment intensity, and whether the electrical engineering program is classified as fully online or distance-accessible.
- There is no standard institutional award amount for online electrical engineering; compare the written annual award, the maximum number of renewal years, and all tuition and required fees. Federal Pell Grant eligibility can also matter: the maximum Pell Grant for the 2024-25 award year was $7,395.
- The best offer is the one with the lowest realistic net cost after grants and scholarships, not necessarily the largest advertised scholarship. Loans, work-study, lab fees, proctoring, travel, and a scholarship's renewal conditions can materially change out-of-pocket cost.
Which Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs Offer University Scholarships?
Online electrical engineering options are less common than online business or information technology degrees because undergraduate EE programs may require hands-on laboratory work. Scholarship access also differs by school: an institution may fund scholarships broadly while excluding students enrolled exclusively online, students in a specific partner-delivered format, or students who are not degree-seeking.
Start with universities that operate an established online engineering division or permit electrical engineering students to complete substantial coursework at a distance. The programs below are useful starting points for direct financial-aid verification, not a promise that every applicant will receive institutional scholarship funding.
| Program type or university option | Typical credential | What to verify before applying | Why the check matters |
| Arizona State University Online | Online bachelor's-level electrical engineering pathway | Whether the specific degree format qualifies for ASU-funded scholarships and whether residency affects aid | University-wide awards can have separate rules for online enrollment |
| University of North Dakota distance engineering options | Online or distance-accessible electrical engineering graduate study | Program delivery requirements, graduate scholarship availability, and campus attendance expectations | Graduate awards may be department-specific and competitive |
| Public university online master's programs | MS in electrical engineering or electrical and computer engineering | Whether tuition is charged by credit, whether employer discounts apply, and whether online students may use graduate awards | Lower public tuition can outperform a larger award at a higher-priced school |
| Hybrid or low-residency bachelor's programs | BS in electrical engineering | Required labs, travel costs, ABET status, and scholarship treatment for hybrid enrollment | Required in-person components affect both affordability and licensure preparation |
Ask each school for a written answer to one precise question: "Are students admitted to this exact online electrical engineering degree eligible for university-funded scholarships, and which awards can be renewed?" Admissions staff can confirm the program, while the financial-aid office should confirm the award rules.
If you are comparing technical fields with different delivery models, reviewing best online AI degree programs can also show why scholarship policies and equipment costs vary considerably by discipline.
For undergraduate electrical engineering, accreditation deserves separate attention. Confirm that the specific degree - not merely the university or engineering school - has appropriate ABET recognition when professional-engineer licensure, employer preference, or graduate-school preparation is important to you. Online coursework alone does not establish that the entire degree meets every state's licensure expectations.
How Much Scholarship Money Can Online Electrical Engineering Degree Students Receive?
Institutional scholarship amounts vary too much by university and student profile to treat a published maximum as a likely award. Some awards cover a fixed annual amount, some reduce tuition by credit, and some are limited to one term. A university scholarship is money funded by the institution, its foundation, or an affiliated donor; it generally does not need repayment when the student meets the terms.
The following comparison separates aid categories so that students do not mistake a financial-aid package for a guaranteed university scholarship.
| Aid category | How the amount is usually determined | Typical limitation to examine | Effect on net cost |
| Institutional merit scholarship | Academic record, transfer GPA, test scores where used, leadership, or a competitive application | May exclude fully online students or require full-time enrollment | Usually reduces tuition directly for the stated term or year |
| Institutional need-based grant | Financial need information, often through FAFSA or a school form | May change when income, enrollment, or other aid changes | Can substantially lower remaining billed charges |
| Departmental engineering scholarship | Electrical engineering major, academic performance, faculty review, or career interests | Often limited in number and may require a separate application | May supplement university-wide aid |
| Federal Pell Grant | FAFSA-based eligibility and enrollment intensity | Available only to eligible undergraduate students and subject to annual federal limits | Can be combined with qualifying scholarships, subject to the school's aid rules |
For context, the maximum Federal Pell Grant was $7,395 for the 2024-25 award year. That is federal need-based grant aid rather than a university scholarship, but it is essential to a realistic affordability comparison because it can reduce the amount a student must cover after institutional aid.
Request an itemized offer that distinguishes scholarships, grants, loans, work-study, and estimated charges. A package can look large while containing mostly loans, which increase future repayment obligations rather than reducing the degree's price.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Online Electrical Engineering Degree Scholarships?
Eligibility rules are set by the awarding university and can differ even among scholarships at the same school. "Online student" is often an administrative category, so do not assume that admission to an online electrical engineering major automatically creates scholarship eligibility.
- Admission status: many awards require full admission to a degree program rather than provisional, nondegree, certificate, or visiting status.
- Academic record: merit awards may use high-school GPA, transfer GPA, prerequisite grades, or cumulative college GPA.
- Enrollment intensity: awards may require full-time enrollment, a minimum credit load, or continuous enrollment each term.
- Program and modality: the scholarship may be limited to specific majors, campus-based students, residents, or students taking courses directly through the university.
- Financial need: need-based institutional grants commonly require FAFSA information and may require satisfactory academic progress.
- Application materials: essays, recommendations, a résumé, financial-need documentation, or a separate foundation application may be required.
- Deadline and start term: scholarship dates can precede admission deadlines, particularly for fall entry.
Electrical engineering applicants should also check prerequisites. Calculus, calculus-based physics, programming, circuits, and prior college credits may determine entry placement and time to degree. A scholarship is less valuable if missing prerequisites add multiple paid terms before students can begin core EE courses.
Students considering adjacent management paths can use the same eligibility checklist when researching a business administration degree online, although major-specific laboratory and accreditation requirements are usually less central in business programs.
Apply early because admission, FAFSA processing, and separate scholarship review may operate on different calendars. A complete application also gives the school enough information to determine whether you qualify for automatic merit consideration, need-based institutional grants, or engineering-department awards.
Use this sequence to avoid missing awards that require more than an admissions application.
- Identify the exact electrical engineering degree, delivery format, start term, and expected enrollment level.
- Ask financial aid whether degree-seeking online students in that program are eligible for institutional and departmental scholarships.
- Submit the admission application before the school's priority scholarship deadline and send all requested transcripts promptly.
- Complete the FAFSA if you are eligible to file it, even if you expect to receive merit aid, because it may be required for need-based university funding.
- Search the university foundation and engineering department scholarship portals for separate applications.
- Prepare concise evidence of academic preparation, technical projects, employment, military service, leadership, or financial circumstances when requested.
- Read the award letter and acceptance terms before committing, then save a copy of every condition and deadline.
A strong application connects your preparation to the program: for example, calculus performance, technician experience, electronics projects, coding work, or a clearly described goal in power systems, communications, controls, embedded systems, or semiconductor work. Do not exaggerate project responsibilities; scholarship reviewers may ask for verification.
Working professionals sometimes compare technical education with leadership credentials. If that is part of your longer-term plan, an online doctorate in organizational leadership has different admissions and funding patterns from an engineering degree, so evaluate it as a separate financial decision.
Some scholarships renew, but renewal is never automatic unless the written terms say so. Renewable aid means an award may continue beyond the first term or year if the recipient continues to meet specified conditions. It does not necessarily mean the amount will remain unchanged, particularly when tuition, enrollment, financial need, or available funds change.
Compare the renewal language in every offer using the factors below. The award letter and scholarship agreement control; verbal assurances should be confirmed in writing.
| Renewal condition | What it can mean for an online EE student | Question to ask |
| Minimum GPA | A cumulative GPA threshold may apply after each term or academic year | Is the GPA measured each term, annually, or after attempted credits? |
| Enrollment requirement | Part-time study, a co-op, or a reduced course load may lower or end the award | What credit load is required, and are summer courses counted? |
| Satisfactory academic progress | Students must generally complete a required share of attempted credits and remain in good standing | How do withdrawals, repeats, incompletes, and prerequisite courses affect eligibility? |
| Maximum duration | The award may last a stated number of semesters, credits, or years | Does time spent completing prerequisites count against the limit? |
| Annual application or fund availability | Departmental awards may require reapplication and may not be guaranteed in later years | Is renewal guaranteed if conditions are met, or is it competitive again? |
Build a conservative budget that assumes a nonrenewable award ends after its stated term. This approach is especially important for part-time adult learners, whose enrollment pattern can fall outside scholarship rules designed for traditional full-time students.
In many cases, yes. FAFSA can establish eligibility for federal grants, work-study, and federal student loans, while a university scholarship may be added to the package. However, the school must follow federal and institutional packaging rules, and additional aid can change the composition of the offer.
A school may reduce loans, work-study, need-based grants, or other components if combined assistance exceeds the institution's cost-of-attendance budget or a scholarship's stated limit. That is why students should ask whether an outside scholarship or employer benefit will displace self-help aid first or reduce institutional grant aid.
Review these items before accepting or reporting additional funding.
- Whether FAFSA is required for the university scholarship or only for need-based awards.
- Whether outside scholarships must be reported and how they are applied to the student account.
- Which aid category is reduced first if total aid exceeds the cost-of-attendance budget.
- Whether employer tuition assistance is paid upfront or reimbursed after grades are issued.
- Whether veterans education benefits, military tuition assistance, or state benefits affect institutional award eligibility.
- Whether the scholarship can pay required fees, books, online proctoring, or only tuition.
Do not decline federal aid before seeing the final packaged award. Loans should be evaluated cautiously and can be reduced or declined, but they may be a temporary option when a scholarship is delayed or billed charges fall before employer reimbursement arrives.
Net cost is the amount you and your family must cover after scholarships and grants, before borrowing. It is more useful than sticker tuition because electrical engineering students may face technology, laboratory, proctoring, residency, and travel expenses in addition to tuition. Loans reduce the bill due now but are not a reduction in net cost because they must usually be repaid.
College Board's 2024-25 national published tuition-and-fee averages - $11,610 for public four-year institutions and $43,350 for private nonprofit four-year institutions - illustrate why comparing only an award amount is risky. These are broad campus-based benchmarks rather than price quotes for a particular online EE degree; use the school's own per-credit rate and fee schedule for a decision.
Use the following calculation with each school's written figures. Keep tuition and mandatory fees separate from optional living costs so you can compare both the billed amount and your full budget.
| Net-cost component | What to include | How to use it |
| Direct academic charges | Tuition, mandatory fees, online learning fees, lab fees, and required residency charges | Add these charges for the expected academic year |
| Required education expenses | Books, software, computer upgrades, kits, proctoring, and travel for hands-on requirements | Estimate separately because scholarships may not cover them |
| Gift aid | University scholarships, institutional grants, Pell Grant, state grants, and qualifying outside scholarships | Subtract only confirmed grants and scholarships |
| Remaining amount to cover | Direct charges and required expenses minus confirmed gift aid | Compare this figure across schools before considering loans |
Request a revised financial-aid estimate if your enrollment plan changes from full-time to part-time or if transfer credit changes the number of terms needed. The lowest per-credit tuition is not always the lowest degree cost: a program that accepts more applicable transfer credit or has stronger renewable aid can cost less overall.
Applicants who are also weighing a business-focused alternative can compare the funding model for a bachelor of business administration online; however, do not assume its shorter or more flexible course format will match electrical engineering's laboratory and prerequisite costs.
Yes, but eligibility commonly depends on how the university categorizes the student. Transfer, adult, military-connected, veteran, first-generation, returning, and part-time students may have access to dedicated institutional or foundation awards, yet many scholarships still require a minimum number of credits completed at the new institution.
Transfer students should ask whether merit review uses the transfer GPA, all prior college work, or only credits accepted by the university. They should also confirm whether an associate degree, technical coursework, or military training transfers into the EE curriculum. Credit that transfers only as elective credit may not shorten the sequence of calculus, physics, circuits, electronics, and laboratory courses.
Military-connected learners should distinguish among military tuition assistance, GI Bill benefits, state benefits, institutional military discounts, and scholarships. These benefits can work together, but each program has its own enrollment verification, course-approval, and payment timing rules. Contact the school's veterans-services office and financial-aid office before registering.
Adult learners who need part-time enrollment should focus on awards without a full-time requirement. A smaller part-time-eligible scholarship may be more valuable than a larger award that disappears when work or family obligations require a lighter course load.
Creative and technical programs can also differ in how they evaluate nontraditional portfolios and prior learning. For comparison, an online graphic design degree may weigh portfolio evidence more heavily than an electrical engineering scholarship review, which often emphasizes quantitative preparation and prerequisite performance.
Merit-based scholarships are awarded primarily for achievement or potential, such as grades, transfer performance, technical accomplishments, leadership, or a competitive essay. Need-based scholarships and grants are awarded primarily because the student demonstrates financial need under the institution's methodology, often using FAFSA information. A student can qualify for both types.
The distinction matters because the risks are different. Merit aid may be more predictable when it has a stated GPA threshold and renewal schedule, while need-based aid can change after an income change, a FAFSA update, a change in enrollment, or revised aid packaging. Neither type should be assumed to be available to every online student.
| Feature | Merit-based institutional aid | Need-based institutional aid |
| Primary basis | Academic achievement, talent, experience, or competitive selection | Demonstrated financial need and available funds |
| FAFSA role | May be optional, depending on the scholarship | Often required for eligible students |
| Common renewal focus | GPA, completed credits, program status, and enrollment | Continued need, FAFSA completion, academic progress, and enrollment |
| Best use in planning | Review the published renewal threshold and duration | Budget conservatively because annual financial circumstances can change |
Apply for both whenever eligible. The better category is not universal: a high-achieving student with limited financial need may prioritize merit awards, while a student with substantial demonstrated need may find need-based grants more important to reducing net cost.
How Should You Compare Scholarship Offers From Online Electrical Engineering Degree Programs?
Compare offers on a multi-year, program-specific basis. An offer with a larger first-year scholarship can still cost more than a lower-priced alternative if it is nonrenewable, excludes online fees, requires full-time enrollment, or does not apply during prerequisite terms.
Create one worksheet for each school and enter only amounts documented in the official aid offer or fee schedule. These questions reveal the trade-offs that marketing pages often leave unclear.
- What is the total annual tuition and required-fee charge for my expected credit load?
- Is the scholarship guaranteed, competitive, automatic, or subject to annual fund availability?
- What exact GPA, credit load, program status, and deadline apply to renewal?
- How many terms or credits can the award cover, and do summer or prerequisite courses count?
- Are online learning, laboratory, proctoring, technology, and required travel costs included or excluded?
- Will a transfer-credit evaluation shorten the degree plan, and when will the official evaluation be completed?
- Does the program's delivery model and accreditation fit my career, graduate-school, or licensure goals?
- If FAFSA, employer assistance, military benefits, or an outside scholarship is added, which part of the package could be reduced?
Common mistakes include comparing a one-year scholarship with four-year tuition, treating loans as scholarship money, overlooking part-time restrictions, and committing before receiving an official transfer evaluation. Avoid these errors by requesting a written cost projection for your intended schedule and by retaining every scholarship term.
Finally, weigh affordability against educational fit. Electrical engineers work across power systems, electronics, controls, communications, and computing-related applications. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a May 2024 median annual wage of $111,910 for electrical engineers and projected 9% employment growth from 2023 to 2033. These national figures describe an occupation, not a guaranteed outcome; program quality, location, experience, specialization, and employer demand affect individual results.
Other Things You Should Know About Electrical Engineering
It depends on the university and degree level. Online master's programs are relatively common, while bachelor's programs may use remote labs, mailed kits, scheduled campus labs, or hybrid requirements. Confirm the exact delivery format before enrolling, especially if you cannot travel.
ABET accreditation can be important for employers, graduate admissions, and the educational pathway toward Professional Engineer licensure. Requirements vary by state and career goal, so verify accreditation for the specific degree and consult the relevant state licensing board if licensure is a priority.
Yes, many university scholarships can be applied to mandatory charges such as lab fees, software licenses, and course materials if the award is posted to the student account. In 2027, students should confirm whether the scholarship excludes fees, books, or one-time technology charges before enrollment.
A bachelor's degree commonly requires about four years of full-time study, but prerequisite sequencing and transfer credit can extend or shorten the timeline. An online master's program often takes longer for part-time students. Obtain a term-by-term degree plan rather than relying only on a stated program length.
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- How to Get In-State Tuition For An Out-of-State School | ELFI https://www.elfi.com/in-state-tuition-for-an-out-of-state-school/
- The Impact of Student Debt on the Low-Wage Workforce https://workrisenetwork.org/working-knowledge/impact-student-debt-low-wage-workforce
- Scholarships for engineers https://ppi2pass.com/resources/pe-exam/scholarships-for-engineers
- Impact of Graduating with Less Debt | Meeting Street Scholarship Fund https://meetingstreetscholarshipfund.org/how-graduating-with-less-debt-impacts-your-future/
- The Long-Term Effects of Student Loans | ACE Blog https://ace.edu/blog/the-long-term-effects-of-student-loans/
- Scholarships: A Solution to the Student Debt Crisis | Bold.org https://bold.org/blog/solution-to-student-debt-crisis/
- Best Engineering Student Loans in 2026 - Credible https://www.credible.com/student-loans/engineering-student-loans
- Online Engineering Degree Scholarships - Eligibility, Rewards & Deadlines https://www.onlineengineeringprograms.com/features/online-engineering-degree-scholarships
- Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships https://www.ashrae.org/communities/student-zone/scholarships-and-grants/undergraduate-engineering-scholarships
