Online MSME: UIUC or NCSU?

pdsuprise
Thu, 08 Aug 2013 21:35:42 +0000

I have a full-time job and am currently enrolled in the online mechanical engineering master of science programs at both University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and North Carolina State University (NCSU)…I need to choose one in the next couple of weeks. My intention with the MSME is to get an entry-level engineering job (my situation is a little strange…I have a BS in biochemistry from UT Austin and 60 hours of coursework in ME…I switch majors late). Obviously, UIUC has a higher ranked graduate engineering program (5th vs. 29th), but, as expected, the program cost is higher ($34,000-$37,500 vs. $22,500). Also, because the UIUC course offering during the summer is limited and the program is less flexible, it will take longer to get the degree by as much as a year and a half. My thoughts are as follows - I’ve already taken 2 online MSME courses from NCSU and was pleased with the course delivery and quality, and I actually prefer the course offering at NCSU, so, I’m leaning toward NCSU. However, even though the online MSME degrees awarded by both schools are identical to their respective campus degrees (the diplomas will look exactly the same) and I feel the quality of education is not compromised (even superior in some respects), I realize there may be a stigma against online degrees. So, I’m thinking the higher-ranked UIUC might be worth the extra time and money to offset any negative bias an employer might have if it gets brought up during an interview. How important is school rank to a second tier engineering company? I’m not necessarily concerned about landing a job at a first tier company (Shell, Boeing, etc.) Any thoughts?

Thanks.

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