Engineering Management: A Career in Profile

By admin | October 25, 2017

How do you know if Engineering Management is right for you? That depends on your goals, personality, and desire to move into leadership roles. An engineering manager guides projects from conception to completion and sets the milestones that lead the team to success. Imagine taking a step back from design and implementation and working with people involved in all steps of a project. Does this sound like where you want to be?

A Master of Engineering in Engineering Management degree, available 100% online from UofL, brings together the skills and talents of great engineers and excellent managers. With a focus on business practice, this degree marries the technological and analytical savvy of an engineer with the organizational and tactical abilities of a manager.

A good engineering management candidate has all the characteristic of a dedicated engineer. Whether you’re drawn to design, development, construction or evaluation – and no matter what kind of structure or machine you’re focused on – engineering requires a strong command of math and science.

Engineering managers complement the technical side of engineering with a thorough knowledge of the best practices in business as a whole. Financial management, risk analysis and intellectual property law play a significant part in the role of an engineering manager.

Potential Careers for Engineering Managers

Graduates from UofL’s online engineering management program can apply their credentials to various fields and positions. In the past, these have included:

Civil/construction engineering
Health care engineering
Logistics/distribution engineering
Manufacturing engineering
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
Pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing
Transportation equipment manufacturing
Biomedical engineering
Environmental engineering
Aeronautical engineering
Chemical and petro-chemical engineering
Federal, state, and local government positions

Earning Potential in Engineering Management

According to BLS.gov, the annual median salary for architectural and engineering managers in 2016 was $134,730. Relative to all management occupations, the median for engineering managers was nearly $34,000 higher.

How UofL’s Engineering Management Degree Can Help Advance Your Career

UofL’s online master’s in engineering management is designed for professionals with a bachelor’s in engineering or a hard science who want to develop superior skills in managing engineering projects. The program comprises 10 courses — thirty credit hours — that build upon prior engineering education and experience in the industry.

All courses in the engineering management program are taught 100% online. This allows students to earn their engineering management degree regardless of their location or current life situation. Students can be working or living in the U.S., or any other location worldwide.

The degree can be earned in as few as two years (24 months). Students can transfer up to six (6) credit hours from another graduate engineering program at UofL or from a regionally accredited institution, subject to department approval.

Learn more about the online Master of Engineering in Engineering Management degree from UofL.

About UofL Online Learning

The University of Louisville currently offers online programs in various areas of study for adult learners who are not able to come to a physical campus, but want to earn a college degree or certificate and advance their career.

The University of Louisville is a nationally-recognized, metropolitan research university, with a commitment to the liberal arts and sciences, as well as the intellectual, cultural, and economic development of our diverse community of learners.

UofL Lauded for Outstanding Online Engineering Management Program

By admin | March 16, 2016

Online Learning Makes Award-Winning Degrees More Accessible

The University of Louisville was honored recently for its outstanding Master of Engineering in Engineering Management, one of many degrees now available via online education. UofL’s program was ranked 29 out of the Top 50 engineering management degrees in the nation by Topmanagementdegrees.com.

“As our world and businesses grow increasingly bigger and more complex, it is imperative that our leaders understand systems, logistics, and management on a global scale,” notes the article, which also underscores the nation’s need for technical engineers who understand both the inner workings and the large-scale relevance of technical systems. It also notes the importance of degrees like UofL’s Master’s of Engineering in Engineering Management for key leadership positions at home and abroad.

Engineering managers possess one of the best paying jobs in the nation, with a 2014 median yearly pay of more than $130,000 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Topmanagementdegrees.com ranked their Top 50 list on several criteria, including reputation, prestige, flexibility, estimated cost and estimated career salary. Data was gathered from each of the online programs’ websites, as well as US News and World Report, The Princeton Review, PayScale and the National Center for Education Statistics.

“UofL is comprised of three campuses, twelve colleges and schools, and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs to over 21,000 students annually,” notes the article. Louisville’s online Master of Engineering in Engineering Management is offered by the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, a highly reputable school, with a long history of student success. The program requires 30-credit hours for completion and is designed for experienced engineering professionals, or those with hard-science background, who want to be trained in managing complex engineering projects, products, and services. Courses are delivered 100% online and in an accelerated format, with terms only 6-week long. Coursework in this program include: Operations Management, Engineering Statistics, Decision and Risk Analysis, Human Resource Management, Project Management, Information Technology Management, Intellectual Property Law for Engineers, and Engineering Financial Management. Admission to this graduate program requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering or hard-science (math, chemistry, physics, computer science) and a minimum GPA of 2.75. No GRE is required. Financial aid is available for all applicants who qualify, and a special discounted tuition rate is available for active duty military.

Interested in UofL’s Master’s of Engineering in Engineering Management degree? Learn more about the online experience and available online programs on the UofL Online Learning website.

University of Louisville Masters in Engineering Management: Interview with Tim Hardin

By admin | September 24, 2014

: Dr. Tim Hardin, MEEM Program Director

If you like to focus on something over a small period of time, get it done, and then move on, the new Masters of Engineering in Engineering Management (MEEM) program at the University of Louisville (UofL) is designed for you.

In the online MEEM program, you can power through a different course every 6 weeks! Dr. Tim Hardin, Program Director, said that “the students see the 6 weeks turnaround as a flexibility rather than a limitation. You can complete two courses in a term, or if your next few weeks will be busy, you can take the next rotation off. You can always enter back into your next course at one of our 5 entry points.”

If you think that the 6 week time frame is a little restrictive then perhaps this program isn’t for you. But that’s not what the school is finding.

“We have had feedback saying that with non-structured courses like say some MOOC, students fall behind. They have no skin in the game. But in our MEEM program, it’s hard to get more than a week behind without repercussions. I’ve had many students asking for next week’s material so they can work ahead. It’s a refreshing change. The quick pace collects a different crowd,” explained Hardin.

“However, we have also had students realize that they are unable to meet the required time frame. It is good for a student to come to that decision early on. The accelerated online learning is not for everyone,” cautioned Hardin.

Though the MEEM program existed on-campus since 1972, it has recently transitioned the offering online in August, 2013. “The program curriculum covers the same material; we still use the same textbooks. However, the assessment quizzes and exams are different. Those have been replaced with project papers and reports. This strategy helps alleviate some of the possible issues with identity authentication and cheating,” said Hardin.

“The move to online delivery was a little accidental and a little bit planned. I was interested in online learning and the school started to support the medium more and more. We asked our industrial advisory board about switching over and it was a unanimous ‘yes’ from the board and our students,” Hardin clarified.

You can still work on your own schedule as the courses are asynchronous. This is vital as the student body crosses about 14 time zones. The student base even has a few members of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed in the Middle East and Asia. “I think the Blackboard interface we use as a learning platform makes it easier on our students serving abroad.”

Blackboard, the popular online course platform service, allows for PowerPoint voice over videos or webcam videos, assignments, grades, and student-student/student-instructor communications. However, one-on-one phone calls can be scheduled if needed.

As for online teaching pedagogy, the University of Louisville has the full support of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. Delphi staff provide instructional design and quality assurance support for online learning programs at UofL. Professors can take training courses from Delphi which includes best practices. They also offer a voluntary review process to assess compliance to teaching and learning best practices. However, the MEEM instructors will be given a few more semesters under their belt before the reviews will be requested.

Naturally, new course platforms can be associated with a few kinks that need to be ironed out. Though no issues have been noticed as of yet, best practices and technology, such as those that exist to curb cheating and assist students with disabilities have yet to be perfected. This is however, top priority for the online program team. As the MEEM online program gains momentum, more such best practices will be implemented and tested in the current format of the program.

To learn more about enrollment and graduation requirements for the Master of Engineering in Engineering Management Online at University of Louisville, visit our program page.

Written by Shawn Wasserman of Engineering.com.

Category: Engineering Management