The Best Online Bachelor’s in Materials Engineering

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Materials engineering is the ideal engineering concentration for students with an interest in using materials like metal, glass, and plastics to produce innovations. Earning an online bachelor’s in materials engineering degree can provide you with the skills to work in a wide range of professional settings, including processing, manufacturing, and industrial design.

Your study will combine basic engineering subjects such as electronics and mechanics with courses on the behavior and application of various materials, including metallurgy, kinetics, thermodynamics, and more. Your engineering bachelor’s degree program will also include foundational STEM subjects like calculus and physics. Earning your bachelor’s degree in materials engineering from an ABET-accredited college or university degree program is an important basic threshold on your way to becoming a licensed Professional Engineer (PE).

Learn more about Programmatic Accreditation for online bachelor’s degrees in engineering.

Find out how you can become a licensed Professional Engineer (PE).

Focusing your online engineering degree program on the materials engineering concentration will help prepare you for an array of exciting career prospects, including manufacturing systems engineer, patent examiner, and biomedical engineer. 

Earning your materials engineering degree online provides a convenient, flexible and accessible way to balance the pursuit of your undergraduate degree with your existing career and personal responsibilities. Bear in mind that many online bachelor’s degree programs may include a practicum or laboratory requirements, which could necessitate you to meet in-person once or several times during a semester. Be aware of any such requirements as you search for the right online engineering bachelor’s degree program.

Learn more about the benefits of an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering.

These programs were ranked with eight factors: student-to-faculy ratio, degrees-awarded-in-field ratio, graduation rate, retention rate, percentage of online students, concentrated influence, desirability, and exclusivity. The program's cost grade is determined by the average in-state tuition levels and its percentile distribution compared to other online engineering institutions. Learn more about our methodology

The Best Online Bachelor's in Materials Engineering Ranking

Online Bachelor's in Materials Engineering FAQ

What Courses Will I Take With an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Engineering?

In addition to introductory courses on core engineering principles and foundational STEM courses like physics and calculus, your degree in materials engineering will likely include some of the following courses:

  • Structure, Mechanical and Physical Properties of Materials
  • Corrosion and Metallurgy
  • Principles of Atomic and Microscopic Structure
  • Materials Processing
  • Transport Phenomena
  • Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials

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What industries Can I Work In With an Online Bachelor’s Degree In Materials Engineering?

A bachelor’s degree in materials engineering could be a pathway into a variety of industries, including:

  • Manufacturing
  • Research & Development
  • Materials Production
  • Technical Consultation
  • Aerospace Development

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What Jobs Can I Get With an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Engineering?

This versatile engineering degree can open the door to a number of exciting career options. With a bachelor’s degree in materials engineering, you could:

  • Contribute to aerospace design
  • Consult on telecommunications research
  • Design military defense systems
  • Develop pharmaceuticals
  • Survey oil and gas production

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Online Bachelor's in Engineering FAQ

Can You Get a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Fully Online?

You can earn a bachelor's degree in engineering online. However, you'll want to make sure that your online bachelor's degree program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Only degrees from ABET-accredited institutions will be viewed as credible by employers, professional associations, scholarly journals, and others.

To learn more, find out what you can do with an online bachelor's degree in engineering.

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What Kind of Accreditation Do I Need for an Online Bachelor's Degree in Engineering?

Accreditation is important in higher education, but it takes on added importance in certain fields. Engineering is one of them. Engineering accreditation is actually an essential requirement if you plan to become a licensed Professional Engineer (PE). So in addition to seeking out a college or university with accreditation from a Department of Education-recognized accreditor, you should also seek out a school with an engineering program that has earned programmatic accreditation. In the engineering field, programmatic accreditation must be granted by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in order for the resulting degree to confer licensing eligibility.

To learn more, check out our Guide to Programmatic Accreditation for Engineering.

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What Kinds of Online Bachelor's in Engineering Degrees Are There?
  • Bachelor of Science Engineering (B.Sc.Eng.)
  • Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.)
  • Bachelor of Engineering Science (B.Eng.Sc.)
  • Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.)
  • Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.)

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How Long Does It Take To Earn an Online Bachelor's Degree in Engineering?

The typical online bachelor's degree in engineering will require you to earn 120 credits. For full-time students, this can typically be completed over the course of four to six years. Part-time students who are balancing their online education with job responsibilities and commitments to home and family may require longer.

If you're interested in bundling your online bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering into a single program, learn more about Accelerated 4+1 Online Engineering Degree Programs here.

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What Are Some Important Engineering Societies?

Engineering societies are an essential part of the engineering discipline and professional sector. In addition to the numerous benefits that these professional associations provide to members, many of the leading engineering societies also play a direct role in granting accreditation to degree programs and awarding licenses to professional engineers. It's a good idea to become familiar with the engineering societies, professional associations, and student-run groups that represent the engineering field. This can be especially appealing if you're working toward an online engineering degree. The following are some noteworthy professional engineering societies:

For a closer look, check out our Guide to the top Professional Engineering Associations.

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Career Information

Materials Engineer Career Information

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a materials engineer career requires a bachelor's degree for entry into the field.

Materials Engineer Hourly Wages by Percentile
PercentileHourly Wage
Mean$47 per hour
Tenth Percentile$28 per hour
Twenty-Fifth Percentile$35 per hour
Fiftieth Percentile (Median)$45 per hour
Seventy-Fifth Percentile$58 per hour
Ninetieth Percentile$72 per hour
Materials Engineer Annual Wages by Percentile
PercentileAnnual Wage
Mean$97,890
Tenth Percentile$57,340
Twenty-Fifth Percentile$72,420
Fiftieth Percentile (Median)$93,360
Seventy-Fifth Percentile$120,180
Ninetieth Percentile$148,960
Materials Engineer Employment Outlook 2019-2029
MeasurementEmployment
2019 Employment27,500 people
2029 Employment27,900 people
Employment Percent Change from 2019 to 20292%

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Published: .

Updated: .


An institution’s program specfic score is calculated with seven data points: (1) its student-to-faculty ratio, (2) its the graduation rate, (3) its retention rate, (4) its percentage of online students, (5) its concentrated Influence (a measure of the academic importance of a school), (6) its desirability (a measure of how many students chose to go to an institution), and (7) its exclusivity (a measure of how selective the insitutionis).
 
For each data point, we score schools based on where they fall compared to the other institutions on our site. Because our scores are based only on institutions with engineering programs and not tied to institutions without these programs, they accurately reflect an institutions’s value to the engineering student. Institutions with missing data receive a zero for that data point.
 
We weigh each data point and calculate an institution’s raw score. Then we create an adjusted raw score by combining a schools's score with a base score of 50. Finally, we score and rank institutions based on their adjusted score’s comparison to the top scoring relevant program.
 
Check out our detailed methodology here.

We weren’t able to get all the data we needed for this institution. This score is based on the information they have reported. An institution’s program specfic score is calculated with seven data points: (1) its student-to-faculty ratio, (2) its the graduation rate, (3) its retention rate, (4) its percentage of online students, (5) its concentrated Influence (a measure of the academic importance of a school), (6) its desirability (a measure of how many students chose to go to an institution), and (7) its exclusivity (a measure of how selective the insitutionis).
 
For each data point, we score schools based on where they fall compared to the other institutions on our site. Because our scores are based only on institutions with engineering programs and not tied to institutions without these programs, they accurately reflect an institutions’s value to the engineering student. Institutions with missing data receive a zero for that data point.
 
We weigh each data point and calculate an institution’s raw score. Then we create an adjusted raw score by combining a schools's score with a base score of 50. Finally, we score and rank institutions based on their adjusted score’s comparison to the top scoring relevant program.
 
Check out our detailed methodology here.

Focused on online engineering colleges, our relative cost score compares the average in-state tuitions of institutions with online engineering programs.
 
Check out our detailed methodology here.