How to Get a Master's Degree in Engineering Management
Of all the types of master's degrees available, an engineering management master's degree may be one of the most appropriate matches between a field of study and an advanced degree. Why? Because even separately, both management and engineering are fields of study whose complexity often demands graduate studies. Putting these fields together into engineering management, therefore, easily creates a scope of study especially worthy of a master's degree.
The relevant question for you is whether a master's in engineering management is right for your career goals and interests. This guide can help you consider that question, and then take the appropriate steps toward a master's in engineering management if you decide that's the direction you want to pursue. Specifically, this guide addresses the following issues:
- Why pursue a master's in engineering management? This guide provides reasons why an engineering management master's degree might be important, and how you can decide whether it might be the right step for your career.
- How to research an MS in Engineering Management? If you decide to look at master's programs, this guide can help you find information on programs offering an MS in Engineering management or similar degrees.
- How to choose a graduate engineering management program? Gathering information gives you the raw material necessary to make a decision, but then you must apply analysis to that information to arrive at a well-reasoned conclusion. This guide describes a number of selection criteria you can use to go step-by-step in assessing master's programs.
- What to expect when applying to graduate schools in engineering management? One reason to narrow down your list of possible schools is so you can focus properly when it comes to the application process. This guide tells you what elements you might expect to be part of that process, so you can complete each application effectively.
- How to optimize your MS in Engineering Management? As a final note, this guide suggests some things you can do along with earning an engineering management master's degree to enhance your career prospects.
The first--and perhaps most critical--step is to decide whether a master's in engineering management is right for you.
Why Pursue a Master's in Engineering Management
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, roughly 6.6 percent of the adult population of the United States holds a master's degree, compared with the 17.8 percent which has earned a bachelor's degree. In short, a master's degree remains something of an elite designation--but one which is growing in popularity. With the ability now of students to earn a master's degree online, the popularity of master's degrees seems likely to continue to grow.
Engineering management is a natural fit for an elite degree of academic achievement. After all, engineering itself is something of an elite field, involving a great deal of complexity and an ever-growing body of knowledge. Management is also an elite field, by definition--only the top members of any field can be managers.
Put engineering and management together, and you have a profession which makes multiple demands on its practitioners. Engineering managers should fulfill the following responsibilities:
- Technical leadership. An engineering manager may have a background in one of the many different types of engineering specialties, and while assuming the additional role of manager he or she must still maintain the level of technical expertise necessary to make important engineering decisions in the course of a project. After all, there is often more than one way to solve a problem, and it is the engineering manager's responsibility to decide on the best method for the particular situation.
- Coordination of multiple disciplines. Engineering projects routinely involve more than one branch of engineering, so the manager's role goes beyond expertise in one area. The manager must know enough about the fundamentals of each type of engineering to coordinate work flows and outcomes so that the project makes the most efficient use of engineering principles across different disciplines.
- Application of principles in context. There is often a difference between the best application of engineering principles in theory, and which solutions represent the best fit in a particular context. Cost, timing, degree of certainty, and environmental impact may all be elements of the context in which a manager must determine the best fit for engineering principles.
- Management of human resources. Along with the appropriate use of engineering principles, an engineering manager must also make the best use of human resources. This includes knowing about personnel evaluation, employment law, motivational techniques, and organizational principles.
- Planning and budgeting. Another aspect of management is to be able to judge the timing and cost structure of a project, and then keep the execution of that project within those parameters.
- Reporting. Managers have responsibility for the human and technical elements under their supervision, but they also have upward-looking responsibilities of reporting to senior managers and/or clients. A good engineering manager should be able to summarize the status of a project and make recommendations for additional steps that are indicated in order to meet the organization's goals.
Not everybody was meant to be a manager. Many engineers prefer to focus purely on the research aspects or technical execution of their jobs, without being encumbered by additional responsibilities. Those pure engineering elements probably hold some interest for you, which is why you got involved with engineering in the first place. However, there are several reasons why you may wish to add a management element to the engineering component of your career path:
- You may find a broader set of responsibilities more interesting than one based purely on engineering
- You may consider yourself multi-talented, and thus better suited to multiple responsibilities
- You may believe you have the leadership skills which make you a natural fit for a management role
- You may wish to have a bigger impact on how projects are executed and talent is deployed
- You may aspire to promotion into higher-paying and more powerful positions
If one or more of the above reasons seems to apply to your situation, then you may want to take the step of researching master's programs in engineering management.
How to Research an MS in Engineering Management
Most likely, the degree you are looking for should be an MS in Engineering Management, though you may also find an MBA program with a concentration in engineering management. You should try to keep an open mind about similarly-titled programs, because engineering management programs are not as commonplace as some other types of engineering programs.
According to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, there are about 3,000 accredited engineering programs in the United States, but less than 1 percent of them are engineering management programs. So, even though relatively new options such as the ability to earn a master's degree online have expanded educational opportunities in general, finding master's programs in engineering management is still going to require a careful search.
The following are some tools that can assist you with that search:
- Online educational guides. Online college guides are not solely for people who plan to earn a master's degree online. For example, WorldWideLearn.com also has listings for on-campus programs. In addition, WorldWideLearn.com can provide you with other information related to master's programs, such as how to prepare for standardized tests, and what forms of financial aid may be available.
- Rankings and reviews. Publications like Kiplinger's and U.S. News & World Report regularly publish comprehensive features on the best college programs in different categories, so these can be another source of information on schools which might interest you.
- U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Education's Web site can be a source of information on a myriad of different topics. Of particular interest to people researching master's programs may be sections on accreditation and how to apply for federal financial aid.
- Individual engineering management program Web sites. Once you are ready to move beyond generalities in your research process, visiting the Web sites of specific schools and focusing on pages dedicated to the engineering management program can fill in some of the details you need to make your decision.
Once you have your information sources lined up, you should be ready to sift that information through an analytical process to identify which schools are of greatest interest to you.
How to Choose a Graduate Engineering Management Program
There are multiple factors which go into choosing the right graduate engineering management program. The following is a list of things you should consider:
- Accreditation status. In order for your master's degree to have the desired impact, it is important to make sure the program you choose has been approved by a recognized accreditation agency. The U.S. Department of Education Web site is a good source of information on the accreditation process, and on specific accreditation agencies.
- Cost. Earning an advanced degree can be an expensive process, and it simply isn't worth the time to consider master's programs that are beyond your financial resources. However, be sure to factor in financial aid when determining the affordability of any program. If cost remains a barrier, consider whether online master's degree programs might represent a more affordable alternative.
- Admissions standards. It's generally great to aim high in life, but there is no point in applying to schools whose academic standards are much higher than your track record.
- Location. With engineering management programs being relatively scarce, location may be an important issue. If there is not an appropriate program nearby, you can overcome the location issue if you earn a master's degree online.
- Scheduling flexibility. This can be another reason to earn a master's degree online--if you have family or job obligations, scheduling flexibility may become a paramount issue in choosing a master's degree program.
- Faculty quality. You can get a sense of this by looking at the academic backgrounds and publishing histories of teachers in the engineering management program, and you should also consider factors such as the student/teacher ratio.
- Reputation. Reading and talking to hiring managers in the field can give you a sense of a program's reputation, and looking at job placement statistics can give you a bottom-line perspective on how well a program's graduates are received in the job market.
Type of campus. You may have an ideal type of campus in mind, so this might factor into your decision. On the other hand, you may choose an online master's degree program as a way of neutralizing such environmental factors.
Especially given the relative scarcity of accredited engineering management programs, you should have no problem narrowing down your list of possible schools once you've considered the above criteria. Once you've arrived at your short list, you should be able to give each school's application process the attention it deserves.
What to Expect When Applying to Graduate Schools in Engineering Management
Engineering managers are often called upon to exercise project management skills, and applying to graduate schools is very much a project management exercise. You can expect to have to coordinate the following elements:
- Application forms from different schools
- Letters of recommendation
- Financial aid forms
- Academic transcripts
- Standardized test results
Since each school may have a different set of requirements and deadlines, plan the application process by assembling a project calendar which takes into account all the different deadlines and necessary lead times involved.
How to Optimize Your MS in Engineering Management
As you continue your studies, and even once you've earned your degree, there are a variety of additional steps you can take to enhance your career prospects in engineering management. The following are some suggestions:
- Read engineering and management journals. Engineering and management are both fields which are continually evolving. Reading relevant journals should become a lifelong habit. It can help you keep abreast of new developments and benefit from the experiences of others.
- Write or assist with articles for publication in engineering or management journals. This can help you establish a reputation which could put you in greater demand.
- Join a professional society. Joining an organization like the American Society of Engineering Management can be a good source of information and networking contacts.
- Gain relevant experience. Even while you pursue your master's degree, gaining experience with engineering projects through part-time work or internships should make you a more attractive candidate when it comes time to apply for jobs.
Engineering and management are two highly-demanding disciplines. Combining the two requires a special skill set, which a master's in engineering management can help you develop.
Sources
- Accreditation Board for Education and Technology
- American Society for Engineering Management
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- O-Net Resource Center
- University of Kansas
- U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Department of Education
Collapse 
