Online Engineering Labs Explained

Labs are the part of an engineering degree that people most often assume cannot be done online. In practice, online programs handle them in several ways: kits you use at home, remote control of campus equipment, simulation, short in-person lab sessions, or a mix of these. Which model a program uses affects how often you travel, what equipment you buy and how the program fits around a job. This guide explains each model with examples taken from schools' own pages.

Why labs matter

ABET's criteria for accredited engineering bachelor's programs require at least 30 semester credit hours of college-level mathematics and basic sciences "with experimental experience appropriate to the program," and they require that laboratories appropriate to the program "must be available." ABET also says it evaluates programs "against the same criteria regardless of delivery method," so an online pathway in an accredited program has to meet the same standard as the campus version.

The criteria do not prescribe a format. That is why lab arrangements vary so much, and why you should read them closely before you apply. This matters most at the bachelor's level, where lab courses are part of the core curriculum. Many online master's programs are coursework-based and have few or no labs.

Five common lab models

Most programs use one or more of the following arrangements. A single degree can mix them course by course.

Model 1: Lab kits at home

Some programs ship equipment to you or ask you to buy a kit, and you run experiments at your kitchen table.

• Lamar University tells online electrical and computer engineering students that they are "required to purchase the recommended (and very versatile) hardware kit" used in course assignments.
• Stony Brook University says students in its online BS in Electrical Engineering "purchase equipment to do the lab at home," with a USB oscilloscope as the major item, which it prices at roughly $200.
• National University expects students in its online lab courses for the BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering to order lab kits "at least two weeks prior to the start of term." Its lab courses run alongside the lecture courses for eight weeks.
• Johns Hopkins University says that in select courses of its online electrical and computer engineering master's, students "receive kits by mail to build, test, and experiment from home."

In these examples, kits appear mainly in electrical and computer engineering courses, where the equipment is small enough to ship. The University of North Dakota likewise says its electrical engineering labs are completed remotely "by purchasing lab kits and/or other materials." Budget for kit costs on top of tuition, and ask whether the kit is reused across courses.

Model 2: Remote access to campus equipment

Here the equipment stays on campus and you operate it over the internet.

• Colorado State University says students in its online materials engineering master's can work with equipment "such as XRD, SEM, and MTM, all through remote access."
• Johns Hopkins adds that its online electrical and computer engineering students "can also remotely connect to equipment on campus to conduct measurements."

Remote labs suit expensive or large instruments that cannot be shipped. Ask how sessions are scheduled, especially if you live in a different time zone.

Model 3: Simulation and virtual labs

Some programs replace part of the physical lab work with simulation software or virtual lab environments. Johns Hopkins describes its online applied biomedical engineering master's as using "hybrid laboratories, virtual reality environments, and take-home experimental kits." Simulation is often combined with one of the other models rather than used alone. If a program says only "virtual labs," ask whether any hands-on component is required and where.

Model 4: Short in-person lab sessions

Many online bachelor's programs keep a small number of hands-on labs on campus and compress them into weekends or a few days.

• University of Alabama: its primarily online BS in Mechanical Engineering states that three courses "have an in-person lab requirement totaling 6 visits to Tuscaloosa, AL," completed on weekends.
• Lamar University: its online 2+2 BS in Industrial Engineering is online "except for a 3 day manufacturing lab that requires one weekend visit to Beaumont, Texas."
• Liberty University: its online BS in Civil Engineering includes on-campus intensives that provide "hands-on training in material properties, fluid properties, and surveying."
• Penn State World Campus: in its online Master of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering, students without a nuclear engineering bachelor's degree or equivalent coursework take a lab course that "includes a 3 day residential laboratory experience at University Park campus."

These visits are usually short, but they are fixed. Plan for travel, lodging and time off work, and check how far ahead the dates are published.

Model 5: Summer labs on campus

A few programs gather the lab work into concentrated summer sessions.

• University of North Dakota, petroleum engineering: two required labs, each "5 days in length," and the school says "All labs may be completed in one summer or over two summers."
• University of North Dakota, chemical engineering: the online BS in Chemical Engineering has all required courses online "except for the hands-on chemical engineering Labs, which are offered in condensed 2-week summer sessions on campus." The school's summer lab page lists three lab courses of 12, 14 and 15 days, taken over multiple summers.

Summer labs mean fewer trips but longer ones. If you work full time, you may need to plan vacation time around them for more than one year.

Labs you take somewhere else

Some programs do not offer every required course online at all. Mississippi State University notes for its online BS in Electrical Engineering that "some of the required courses are not available online," and that a transferable equivalent "will need to be taken through another institution." Those are often lab-based science courses. Check which courses fall into this category, and confirm with a local college that it offers them on a schedule you can manage.

What our data shows

In our directory (October 2026), only a handful of the 320 online engineering programs record a required in-person lab: 4 list an on-campus lab session, 4 an in-person laboratory and 5 a summer lab session (methodology). The bigger issue is missing information: for 170 programs, the school's public pages do not clearly say whether any campus attendance is required. An absent lab statement does not mean there is no lab. Programs marked fully online are those where the school itself states the degree can be completed without coming to campus.

Questions to ask before you enroll

1. Which courses have labs, and which lab model does each use?
2. Are there any in-person sessions? Where, how long, and how often?
3. What equipment must I buy, and roughly what will it cost?
4. Are remote lab sessions scheduled at fixed times?
5. Are any required courses unavailable online, so that I must take them elsewhere?
6. Is the online pathway covered by the program's ABET accreditation? See ABET Accreditation for Online Programs.

Get the answers in writing, from the program page or an advisor, before you commit.