How Online Programs Work
You can earn your petroleum engineering degree online from UND while you continue to live and work in your own community.
Your transcript and diploma will look the same as for a student who graduated from UND by taking traditional on-campus courses.
You’ll receive the convenience of online learning with the personal contact and connection of being with classmates through online tools – ways of communicating across distances, connecting to others and their ideas, and presenting information.
Campus Visits for Online Students
While the majority of your petroleum engineering program is offered online, you’ll get to come to the UND campus in Grand Forks, ND to complete portions of the program. Your time on campus is designed to integrate, extend and apply the knowledge you’ve learned during your online courses. This time may include:
- Hands-on labs
- Simulators
- Opportunities to interact with faculty and other students
As a petroleum engineering student, your are required to attend two labs on-campus. Each lab is one week in length and you'll apply concepts that you've learned theoretically to enhance your understanding of the main concepts that will be reinforced throughout the program.
You also have the opportunity to use the two simulators and visit the North Dakota Geological Survey Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library.
The hands on experience necessary for petroleum engineering can only be gained on your campus visit, where you work over a short period of time with dedicated faculty and teaching assistants to build experience and master the job skills you need.
What’s the difference between online and on-campus classes?
Whether in-person or online, UND classes are designed to help prepare you for success. As an online student, you'll have the same professors, you'll start and end the semesters at the same time and you’ll take the same classes as a student on campus.
Online classes are no more or less difficult than on-campus classes. In most online courses, you will:
- Access course materials, assignments and recorded lectures online.
- Communicate with instructors and classmates in a virtual classroom.
- Take supervised (proctored) exams using ProctorU.
Online students have access to the same student services offered to our campus students – just in a different format. You’ll have access to online tutoring, digital library, tech support, career services, and academic advisors.
Why UND Online?
The breadth of online programs offered at UND rivals all other non-profit universities in the upper Midwest. Reportedly high alumni salaries and job placement rates, coupled with affordable tuition makes UND a best value university for online education.
Leaders in Online Education
UND began educating at a distance in 1911 with correspondence by mail courses. Today, we serve thousands of students across the globe and are recognized as a national leader in online education.
You’ll take courses from UND professors and earn a degree that’s fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Your transcript and diploma are exactly the same as our on-campus students.
At UND, online student support is all-encompassing. You’ll encounter:
- Tutors to help you get through tough classes.
- Advisors to ensure you are staying on track.
- Library services to help you find learning resources.
- Career service staff who can help you apply your skills and find a job.