Hi everyone, this is my first post and wasn't able to find the asnwer to my question after searching onine for a bit. I recently enrolled @ excelsior college and am currently active duty military. I have alot of credits that will apply towards a B.S in Technology with a focus in either: electromechanical tech and/or power systems. My current enlistment is up in approx 2 years and my plans are to get out if I can get a decent paying job. Once out I would like to use my GI bill to obtain my masters degree in electrical engineering or ralated field but fear that this bachelors degree wouldnt work for admission to this type of program. I would love to get accepted in U of TN seeing how its nearby my hometown. Wanted to see what everyones input is and any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Your question is a bit vague....if you mean will your Excelsior degree be enough to apply to the University of Tennessee in general, the answer is "of course", as it will be regionally accredited. If you mean will your field of undergraduate study satisfy the admissions requirements for the electrical engineering Master's program, the only good answer is going to come from the University of Tennessee. I would tend to think it would, as the undergrad fields you mentioned seem closely related to electrical engineering. Some graduate programs will accept students with undergrad degrees not related to the graduate field of study, but require them to complete some preparatory "bridge courses" to make sure they're adequately prepared for graduate study. For example: California State University - Dominguez Hills
You need to study the entry requirements for any masters degree that interests you. One issue is that some schools may not accept a BSET degree, looking on them as more practical oriented degrees rather than analytical oriented. My experience is that age and experience play a large part of getting accepted into a program. In my case I earned an Excelsior BS in Liberal Studies since I could transfer in 60 engineering credits. This got me accepted at the same time for two grad degrees (which I did sequentially). As someone who has hired engineers I can tell you that a BS engineering degree (such as this ABET degree Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering | Online & Distance Education) counts for more than a BSET + masters degree. Of course experience and ability to perform is a critical asset.
Each school has a different policy, as your degree is not really in engineering but in technology, the most likely scenario is that you will be required to so some make up course work before being admitted into a MSEE. However, it is possible that because you transferred courses into the program some of these courses might be in engineering and allow you to get admission for this degree. By the way, Excelsior is ABET so this makes it a strong program at the eyes of a graduate school.
