Taught by faculty with professional engineering management experience, the Engineering Management program offers engineers and other technical professionals the opportunity to develop technical management and entrepreneurial skills pertinent to the management of existing and emerging technologies. The program stresses the development of technological decision-making as well as entrepreneurial abilities, while also enabling continued intellectual growth in an area that meets professional needs. Engineering Management program graduates have been assuming leadership roles in industry since the early 1970s.

A. Requirements for Admission to the Program

1. Satisfaction of all requirements for Graduate Admission to the University.
2. Approval by the department graduate coordinator/program academic lead.
3. Students need to have a 3.0 grade point average or above in their undergraduate degree to be admitted to the program.

B. Requirements for Advancement to Classified Status

1. Satisfaction of University requirements for classified status.
2. Approval of a program of study plan by an assigned faculty advisor.
3. Approval by the department graduate coordinator/program academic lead.

C. Special Requirements

1. This program is intended primarily for students holding a B.S. in Engineering or other technical field. Prospective students who work in or have experience in technical environments and hold degrees in nontechnical fields should contact the department to discuss additional prerequisite courses with a faculty advisor.
2. No more than 6 units of advisor-approved 400-level courses may be included in the graduate program of study.

D. Required Courses

1. Required Core Courses (15 units)

MSE 600 Decision Tools for Engineering Managers (3)
MSE 602 Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Engineering Professionals (3)
MSE 604 Engineering Economy and Financial Analysis (3)
MSE 606 Production and Operations Management for Engineers (3)
MSE 617 Seminar in Quality Management (3)

The above-listed core courses make up 15 credit units. In addition to this, the student is required to take 15 credit units of electives, plus a culminating experience course of 3 credit units. However, if a student opts to do a thesis for 6 credit units, then the student will take 12 credit units of electives. Thus, for both options, the total number of credit units required for the M.S. in Engineering Management program is 33.

2. Culminating Experience (3 units)

In addition to coursework, all students must successfully complete a culminating experience course from the following list of alternatives:

MSE 697MGT Engineering Management Directed Comprehensive Studies (3)
or MSE 698C Thesis or Graduate Project in Engineering Management (3-6)

Note: Only selected students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the program and with special approval of an Engineering Management supervising faculty will be allowed to enroll in MSE 698C. MSE 698C requires a supervisory faculty member. Each student must form a committee of three professors. The supervisory faculty member will be working on a one-on-one basis with the student, guide the student work, and be the chair of the committee. The resulting final approved work must be submitted in digital format to Graduate Studies.

The MSE 698C course can be taken in one of the following two modes:

a. Graduate Project in Engineering Management (3 units)

This is a one-semester (3-unit) course resulting in a special project report in which the student will apply the knowledge learned in the Engineering Management program. To enroll in this course, the student must:

• Have the prerequisites specified for MSE 698C.
• Find a supervisory faculty member to work on a special program.
• Form a committee of three professors.
• Be in the last semester of the program.

To graduate, the student must have passed the 30 units of the Engineering Management program and the MSE 698C course, for a total of 33 units.

b. Master’s Thesis in Engineering Management (6 units)

This is a two-semester course (3 units in each semester, for a total of 6 units), resulting in a master’s thesis report. To enroll in this course, the student must:

• Have classified graduate status.
• Find a supervisory faculty member to guide him or her for the thesis.
• Obtain the consent of the supervising faculty member.
• Be in the third semester or later into the program.
• Have passed satisfactorily all required core courses of the program.
• Have a minimum GPA of 3.5.
• Form a committee of three professors.

Three units of MSE 698C may count toward the units for electives, such that 33 is the total number of units to graduate. The student must deliver a final thesis and defend the thesis in an oral examination before the thesis committee.

3. Electives (12-15 units)

Elective courses are selected in consultation with a faculty advisor. At least 6 of the total elective units must be selected from approved courses in the department. No more than 6 of the total elective units may be at the 400-level. All Engineering Management 400-, 500- and 600-level courses offered by the Manufacturing Systems and Engineering Management department in addition to the core courses are approved electives. The approved electives include MSE 402, MSE 407, MSE 504, MSE 505, MSE 507, MSE 540, MSE 601B, MSE 602, MSE 606B, MSE 608B, MSE 610, MSE 618 and MSE 692. Discipline electives in Automation and CAD/CAM, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Systems, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Structural Engineering are also appropriate, but must be preapproved by the graduate coordinator of the department.

Total Units Required for the M.S. Degree: 33