Engineering is a very important field that has pioneered the course of technology. Without engineers, we won’t have cars, aeroplanes, jets, plastics, and a lot of other products we need for daily living.
According to Wikipedia, Stevens Institute of Technology is believed to have the oldest engineering management department, established as the School of Business Engineering in 1908. This was later called the Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Management (BEEM) program and moved into the School of Systems and Enterprises.
Since then, a lot of engineering management schools have sprung up, and this expansion has drawn interested students into the course. So while this article will show the pathway to getting an engineering management degree, it will also show schools wherein you can study engineering management.
What is Engineering Management?
Engineering management is the application of the practice of management to the practice of engineering.
Engineering management is a career that combines the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, administrative, and planning abilities of management in order to supervise the operational performance of complex engineering-driven enterprises.
A Master of Engineering Management (MEM) can compare to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) for professionals looking for a graduate degree as a qualifying document for a career in engineering management.
What Can You Do With an Engineering Management Degree?
Engineering managers supervise the design, development, and manufacturing of products like cars and technological devices. These professionals constantly work with finance, marketing, and production managers. Additionally, they collaborate with contractors and suppliers, and help direct each step of the engineering process.
According to Best Schools, some jobs you can get with an engineering management degree include engineering project manager, construction management engineer, cost systems analyst, industrial management engineer, and senior lead analyst.
What Does It Cost To Get An Engineering Management Degree?
When you want to get an engineering management degree, counting the cost is an important part of the journey. Without proper funding, you can start an educational program, however, you might not complete it.
So, to avoid this sort of situation, you should know the cost of studying for an engineering management degree. According to McCormick, depending on the length of stay in the program, the total cost of the MEM degree, including living expenses, will be anywhere between about $83,098 to $104,548, depending on the student’s needs.
If you cannot afford this tuition, getting a scholarship to study engineering management in a university of your choice becomes the last option.
What are the Requirements For an Engineering Management Degree?
When you research, you’ll likely discover that they offer many engineering management programs at the postgraduate level and they require a bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, mathematics, science or business.
But this isn’t general, as some institutions offer engineering management at the undergraduate level. The American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) has accredited and/or recognized 27 undergraduate engineering management programs within US institutions.
For those outside the US, vital undergraduate engineering management programs include those in countries such as Turkey (Istanbul Technical University’s Management Engineering), Canada (University of Waterloo’s co-operative Management Engineering, the first program of its kind in Canada), and Peru (the University of the Pacific offers Peru’s first Business Engineering program).
Generally, undergraduate entry requirements for engineering management degrees include expert knowledge of subjects, such as:
- Mathematics, or Further Mathematics
- Physics
- Business/Economics
- Social Sciences (such as Psychology and Sociology)
Further Reading: How To Get A PhD In Engineering Management In 2024
Best Schools to Study Engineering Management in 2024
When you want to pursue a degree in engineering management, finding the right institute that will help you get the best of your program is vital. With many universities offering an engineering management degree, a few still top the charts. They include:
5. University of Windsor
This is a course offered by the Faculty of Engineering in partnership with the Odette School of Business. The MEM program prepares engineers for management roles. Graduates of this program are ready to fit into leadership roles in multinational engineering and technical enterprises in addition to making a massive contribution to manufacturing strategies, corporate innovation and operations management.
Coursework also includes planning and executing technology commercialization and go-to-market strategies to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among MEM graduates.
MEM is is usually a two-year weekend program designed to accommodate the busy schedules of working professionals. The first 16 months include classes that take place every second weekend on Friday evenings (6-9 pm) and Saturdays (8:30 am to 5:30 pm). The last 8 months of the program include a 2-term capstone project that can be completed off-campus.
4. University of Ottawa
The Engineering Management Program offers a Master of Engineering in Engineering Management and a Graduate Diploma in Engineering Management. The objective of the Master of Engineering in Engineering Management program is to build the knowledge and skills of engineers and scientists in the management of people, projects, resources and organizations in technical environments.
The program is supervised by a committee composed of representatives from the Telfer School of Management and of the Faculty of Engineering. Students in this school learn using English as the language of instruction with the program lasting for a duration of two years.
3. Lambton College
The Quality Engineering Management Ontario Graduate Certificate program helps individuals with the knowledge and techniques to improve the delivery and quality of goods and services. The goal of the program is the achievement of performance productivity in manufacturing and business processes through the use of modern quality improvement methods.
On completion of the program, you will actively contribute to the responsibility of creating value in an organization where you can apply modern quality techniques and procedures to solve problems and enhance the quality of goods and services.
You will examine a wide range of principles in this program applied to a wide variety of industries. It includes skills training that recognizes the needs of the traditional manufacturing base and also provides the proficiencies demanded by many technology-focused industries.
2. University of Ontario Institute of Technology
The Master of Engineering Management (MEngM) program gives people an opportunity to study topics in planning, allocating resources, and directing and controlling activities that have an engineering or technological component. As a student in this program, you will learn to apply engineering principles in organizing and directing technical projects and how to manage the people within them.
The MEngM program offers courses in the areas of engineering project management, production planning, and operations management, energy systems management, mathematical modeling, and optimization (as they pertain to complex engineering systems), quality control, health and safety, and applied risk analysis.
1. McGill University
The story of McGill’s Faculty of Engineering does not just begin with its magnificent buildings. For over 30 years before the construction of Engineering’s two original edifices, McGill had been offering lectures in Applied Sciences. And they continually do this efficiently in all areas.
In 1931, when the Faculty of Engineering became intensive, it was already a national and international leader in everything from Civil to Radio Engineering. The Faculty has remained among the finest in the world, producing Nobel Prize-winning engineers and world leaders in all of its disciplines, including Architecture and Urban Planning.
Their story of Engineering does not end with its new buildings either, but the Faculty’s future growth owes as much to its modern benefactors as it does to its historic ones. In these wonderfully equipped and spacious facilities, future generations of McGill engineers will continue to write the chapters of this story.
Conclusion
Engineering management is typically communicated through a combination of lectures, case studies, hands-on workshops, laboratory-based practical classes, engineering design activities, tutorials, group, and individual project work, and consultation sessions.
Generally, a combination of continuous assessment through small practical exercises for each module is used along with individual and group project work, essay writing, presentations, coursework and examinations, with an individual project or dissertation taking up most of your last year.
I’m sure you understand the pathway and necessities you need when you want to get an engineering management degree. The choice of following through is yours.