Master of Engineering Online - Penn State or NC State?

College Search & Selection Online Degrees
1

Hello,

I’m presently employed full-time (working for 3 years now since college graduation, BS Engineering) and considering studying for a Masters in Engineering degree online without leaving my current job. I researched all relevant and recognized online Engineering programs and finally applied to Penn State and NC State with the view of following an Industrial/Systems Engineering program.

Penn State program: [Penn</a> State | Online Masters of Engineering in Systems Engineering](<a href=“http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/MasterInSystemsEngineering.shtml]Penn”>http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/MasterInSystemsEngineering.shtml)

NC State program: [NCSU</a> Master of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/master/]NCSU”>http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/master/)
[Engineering</a> Online @ NC State University](<a href=“http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu%5DEngineering”>http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu)

Last week I was notified that I’ve been accepted to the Master of Engineering Online programs of both Penn State and NC State. I am now contemplating which program I should select with regard to below factors:

  1. Cost: The total tuition cost for the Penn State degree will be around $31,000 while the NC State program costs approx $22,000. Since I’m working full-time at the moment, I’m able to pay the Penn State tuition without taking any loans - but I really wouldn’t mind the $10,000 I would save if I opted for the NC State program.

  2. Recognition: I’m currently located in North Carolina but I’m uncertain (as we all are) whether I’ll stay in North Carolina for long. I’ve heard that NC State University is pretty well recognized by employers in North Carolina, but I’m not sure how well recognized it will be outside of the state. In this regard Penn State is far more recognized, right?

  3. Degree awarding institution: The Penn State online program is administered through “Penn State World Campus” which makes the program not affiliated with the conventional Graduate School or College of Engineeing. The NC State online engineering program, however, is directly administered through the NC State College of Engineering. Is this really important? How would employers look at this?

  4. Online course delivery: Early correspondence with both Universities and also by browsing around their respective websites, I felt that the Penn State program would be superior than the NC State program in terms of the quality of the course and also of delivery methods of the courses.

I would appreciate any advice you can give me to make a better decision!

Thank you so much.

2

Penn State for sure !!!

3

Go to NCSU. It’s probably better known in NC Research Triangle anyways. Penn State is decent and better known in north, but it isn’t worth the extra $10k.

Some other cheap options (might be a bit late at this time though) are Texas A&M, Purdue, and GeorgiaTech distance learning programs.

4

If you don’t mind me asking, what was your GPA/GRE, etc?

I’m a similar position as you (except with less work experience) and am applying to similar schools for the online program.