Universities and Colleges not offering evening classes 1

[Datsun72]

Hello,

I currently have an A.S in auto technology, B.A in Finance and a A.S in M.E. I am currently looking to do my Bachelors or Masters(if allowed) in M.E.

I have some questions and would be grateful for your help.

1. Is it possible to do a Masters in Mechanical Engineering with what I have completed?
2. It is difficult to find evening classes for the Bachelors program, and my job(pays 75% of my tuition) does not have the option to accomodate a day schedule. Would an online program be a good option?
3. How can I ask my supervisor to allow me to work from home or come to work when the office is closed?

Thanks for your help

 

[IRstuff]

You're probably at least 1 yr's worth of classes away from being fully qualified. Did you take a GRE and get good scores? You might possibly find a school that will allow you to start your program and make up the pre-requisites later, although you might wind up paying more for the classes than otherwise possible.

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[GregLocock]

So far as (2) goes I think you face great difficulty with Mechanical Engineering. I spent roughly 16 hours a week in labs. Not all that time was productive. Not all that time was relevant to Mechanical Engineering. But I'd be hard pushed to point out which bits were worthless. I have done a MOOC on physics which made great use of videos of experiments, and simulations. That was OK, in context, but that's just high school or 101 stuff.



Cheers

Greg Locock


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[jpankask]

You will have a number of pre-requisite classes to take before you would be ready for a master's degree. As IRstuff said, at least a year, probably more. There are very few distance learning bachelor degree programs, but I have seen a few advertised. I haven't researched them to know how good they are. If you look at this path, you need to ensure that the program is accredited, and how you fulfill the laboratory classes. Several of your undergrad ME classes will be laboratory type classes.

Just ask! Assuming that you're looking to get your degree to help you with career progression at your job. Tell him/her what your goals are, why you desire the special accomodations and what your plan is for fulfilling your job duties. Working full time, you can only realistically take 3-6 hours of college engineering classes, maybe 9 if all you do is work, sleep and do homework. But if your company is paying you to work full time, and paying part of your tuition, your first obligation is to make sure you're giving the company a full 40 hours of work each week. If they agree to let you do that on weekends or evenings, consider yourself lucky and make sure you fulfill that obligation.

 

[andriver]

1) Speak with universities in the area, only they could answer this.
2) Research universities...
3) After researching universities, and determined the best program that suits your needs, determine what your schedule would look like. inform your employer of your unique challenges, and specifically when you would need to work from home.

Sounds like you need to do some research, with the schools around your area.

 

[TomBarsh]

I went to university with a young woman who had a BS in (being a gym teacher, whatever that would be). She had decided to get into engineering and found that for the time involved she was better off working on her MS. Of course, she had to take numerous undergraduate engineering classes as well. But overall it was to her advantage to do this. She worked as a teaching assistant for one of the professors. So it can be done, but there likely would be much to make up for undergraduate. She did graduate, and she's a good engineer.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Datsun72 - I have put together a listing of over 70 colleges and universities in the USA that offer online master degrees in various engineering fields. Perhaps you can review this list, find a program that is of interest, then talk with that school about the exact details of what you need to accomplish to enter their program.

Here is the link: Online Engineering Masters Degree Programs In The USA

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[HamburgerHelper]

I have no idea how online line coursework fits with mechanical engineering with not having access to labs but for power engineering it was worth my time. I haven't to my knowledge had anyone look down on my degree. I don't feel out of water when I interact with people that got graduate degrees on-campus, either.

 

[zdas04]

As for evening classes, many urban universities have been doing this for a while and it can work out really well. I went to night school at the University of Colorado (Denver) and it is the same credential I would have gotten had I spent a couple of years on campus in Boulder. This grad school model is really becoming prevalent (I had 6 hours of pre-requisites prior to entering my MSME program and I was able to take those courses at night as well).

There are several regularly contributing eng-tips.com members who have gotten distance learning engineering degrees. On person (I can't remember his handle) said that he did his undergraduate at one of the big name universities (I want to say Auburn, but I'm not certain) and was able to work it out with no time on the main campus (it seems like he did labs at a satellite campus, but again I'm not certain). This guy said his diploma was identical to the on-campus students (no "As seen on TV" in the fine print). I heard about an North Dakota program where you could do all of your labs by spending a 2-week vacation on campus.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

 

[MatthewL]

Ditto to zdas04 comments, but from the undergrad side. I went to Drexel at night for my BS in ChemE, and had the same classes as the regular students. Labs were done on Saturdays. The senior project design courses didn't start until 4PM to accommodate the night students. I was lucky and entered just as they started the three year rotation schedule for the ChemE core courses, and was able (with the forbearance of my SO, bless her ) to keep up with the challenging coursework. I had previously almost completed my BS in Chemistry education, which meant I was able to skip most of the first two years, and had credit for all of my general electives and ~1/2 of my technical electives.

Matt

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