November 6, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Targeting working professionals in the field of engineering and science, University of Houston-Clear Lake Pearland Campus is offering a master of science in engineering management beginning spring 2019. The engineering management degree, says Ki-Young Jeong, program chair and associate professor of engineering management, has one of the highest domestic student enrollments in UH-Clear Lake’s College of Science and Engineering.
The degree program will continue to be available at UHCL, but will be offered at UHCL Pearland Campus as well because of its high demand, both by prospective employers and working professional engineers.
“This degree plan is for working professionals who want to advance their careers in their current technical fields,” Jeong said. “There is a wide spectrum of jobs awaiting graduates who possess these skills.”
Jobs include project management, systems engineering, product engineering, operations management, or business/data analysis. “Anyone in a science or engineering field can benefit from this degree,” he said.
The coursework focuses on the management and communication skills that employers require managers to demonstrate as they move up the ladder. “These professionals are already accustomed to interfacing with customers on a technical level, so this degree combines the additional skills that managers are required to have,” Jeong said. “The courses are 8-week courses, with two 8-week sessions offered each semester. There are 12 courses to complete, with face-to-face and online options to make it easier for working professionals who need to keep a work-life balance.”
He added that there would be no overlap between courses. Students could take just one or two 8-week courses at a time depending on their workload.
“Another advantage for working professionals is the option to do a joint certificate on Project Management and Six Sigma,” Jeong said. “Other universities make students pursue these certificates separately, which costs significantly more money. We offer them both combined, and all students have to do is choose the electives pertinent to the certificate as they complete their coursework, and when they finish, they will get their master’s degree and the joint certificate as well.”
Certificate on either Project Management or Six Sigma, continued Jeong, is essential in industry. “Obtaining these certificates will increase job opportunities,” he said. “Employers are looking for these because the certificates teach quality-oriented business process improvement methodologies and how to complete your project successfully. This is very attractive to employers.”
For more information about the master of science in engineering management program, visit www.uhcl.edu/science-engineering/departments/engineering/engineering-management.
