Math B.S. to Engineering

[Mechanical Ibex]

Hello all, 

Several years ago I used the InstantCert flashcards to help me pass a bunch of CLEP tests and now I have a B.S. in Mathematics. Unfortunately, it hasn't helped me with employment, so I'm considering going back to school for engineering.

My schedule won't allow me to go to school full-time or attend classes in-person, but my employer will reimburse me $5,000 / year for just about any classes, training, or certifications.

I wasn't sure how much information to provide from my transcripts... but I would need to take the Chemistry CLEP to get my A.S. in Engineering, and it would take me three semesters to get a Bachelor's in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, or Biological Engineering at the state university (if I attended full-time).

There is a Masters in Electrical Engineering through the University of Colorado Boulder / Coursera, and I tried the first course, but I really, really struggled with it and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to make it through the whole degree (I don't think I have enough experience with circuits).

Does anyone know of an Online Engineering program with a generous transfer policy?

Thanks!

[MNomadic]

ASU has an online ABET accredited bachelors in electrical engineering. They're not particularly generous on transferring alternative credits(compared to a lot of schools talked about here), but they accept some CLEPs and things. If you were open to a degree in computer science or engineering technology, your options open up a little bit more.

[jch]

As far as major universities go, ASU has quite generous CLEP and DSST equivalencies: https://catalog.asu.edu/credit_exam
However, ASU does have a limit of 60 credits earned from any examination source.

[dfrecore]

Since it's a 2nd bachelor's degree, you probably just need courses in the major. You won't need any alt-credit at all.

So I would look for an online degree for the best price per credit, because alt-credit acceptance is moot.

[Mechanical Ibex]

Since it's a 2nd bachelor's degree, you probably just need courses in the major.  You won't need any alt-credit at all.

So I would look for an online degree for the best price per credit, because alt-credit acceptance is moot.

I think you understand my situation perfectly... and perhaps I should update my post to better clarify. 

I should be about 30 credits from the second bachelor's (I have some engineering classes to transfer too, not just math), but I need to find a school that will both accept 90+ transfer credits and also offers the remaining classes online (and preferably self-paced and reasonably priced... but I know I'm dreaming).

[Alpha]

The University of North Dakota has a bunch of online engineering degrees
Explore 250+ Academic Programs at UND | University of North Dakota

[Silvious]

From your username, I assume you're interested in majoring in ME, the same as I'm. The ultimate goal of any ABET engineering program is to be able to complete the NCEES FE exam. Remember, you could only legally call yourself an Engineer after completing the PE exam 3 years later, even though my thermal-fluid professor allows us to call ourselves an Engineer after completing his course. Taking just 30 engineering credits won't cut it, as one-third of the exams cover static, dynamics, etc stuff from general engineering from sophomore years before branching out to respective disciplines of the major in the junior and senior year.

What you should do now is to grab the NCEES official practice exam and spend a day to seriously do it without the help of the handbook. Figure out which part you already understand/are competent, and which you do not yet know. That should give you an idea of what extra courses you'll need to take.

Taking a few senior electives won't help with the exam at all, as they often are out of scope for the FE exam, but might get you the degree. You missed the golden age of online engineering for the last 3 semesters, but IMO engineering is best done in person with hands-on training due to the nature of working with actual machinery to complete your projects.

My alma mater is ranked top 10 for ME undergrad and does take 90+ transfer credit and min 30 for the successive degree. While most professors are fed up with online learning and most declare in-person next semester, if the delta strain for covid becomes an issue in NJ then they'll easily bounce back online. There are a few that's still offered remotely, but the content will likely be from last semester, which you should be able to self-pace some if you know the mindset behind the topic (not exceeding 12 weeks of the semester).

For strictly online program, ABET site has a section for 100% online engineering degree programs https://amspub.abet.org/aps/online-search

[bjcheung77]

As OP didn't indicate they needed ABET or not, here's a school you might be interested in.  They allow up to 75% transfer for their Bachelors degree programs, they're entirely online as well: ECPI University - https://www.ecpi.edu/online/college-of-technology

For me, the only program I am interested from them is the System Engineering Master's - Mechatronics...  You should at least take a look and see if anything is interesting enough for you.  Undergrad Credit Transfer & Tuition seems reasonable as well:  https://www.ecpi.edu/admissions/transfer-credits - https://www.ecpi.edu/tuition

Furthermore, are you looking at Engineering or Engineering Technology, as some ABET programs at Excelsior and TESU are Engineering Technology options, if those are not the ones you're looking at, it shrinks down the list to that link earlier down to a much smaller number.

[dfrecore]

Since it's a 2nd bachelor's degree, you probably just need courses in the major.  You won't need any alt-credit at all.

So I would look for an online degree for the best price per credit, because alt-credit acceptance is moot.

I think you understand my situation perfectly... and perhaps I should update my post to better clarify. 

I should be about 30 credits from the second bachelor's (I have some engineering classes to transfer too, not just math), but I need to find a school that will both accept 90+ transfer credits and also offers the remaining classes online (and preferably self-paced and reasonably priced... but I know I'm dreaming).

You actually don't need to find a school that accepts 90+ transfer credits; you need to find a school that allows transfer into the major.  The 90+ transfer credits is moot (just like the alt-credit).  This is a second bachelor's degree, and you're conflating a first degree policy with a second degree policy - they are not the same.

I would just start to search for online engineering degrees (whichever type of engineering you're looking for), then look at the number of credits left x price per credit to get a price for each school.  Then see if any will allow transfer in the major (some won't).

[Alpha]

Remember, you could only legally call yourself an Engineer after completing the PE exam 3 years later, even though my thermal-fluid professor allows us to call ourselves an Engineer after completing his course... 

While this may be true in some places it is not true in most places.  In the US, this is regulated on a state to state basis.  People call themselves Engineers all the time with no consequences.