Master of Engineering Management

Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) or Master of Engineering Management (MEM) is a professional master's degree that bridges the gap between the field of engineering or technology and the field of business management. Engineering Management is a multidisciplinary field that seeks to address problems associated with complex engineering operations or systems along with the business. MSEM or MEM graduate programs are grounded in principles such as Data Analytics and Machine Learning, Product Management, Technology Development and Commercialization, Customer Experience and Product Design, Operations and Supply Chain Management, and Entrepreneurship.[1] The underlying difference between an MBA and a MEM is that the latter aims to cultivate a new breed of leaders that have a structured methodology for solving problems, evaluating risks, understanding technology at depth and to manage an organization. The November-December 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review found that for the second consecutive year more of the top-performing 100 global CEOs have engineering degrees than have MBAs. To be precise, 34 of the top 100 CEOs on this year’s list have engineering degrees, while 32 have MBAs; more impressive, 10 of the top 20 are engineers.[2]

"MEM" redirects here. For other uses, see Mem (disambiguation).

Differences between Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Engineering Management (MEM)

Core courses that make up a MEM program can be found in an MBA program as well; courses such as Marketing, Intellectual Property, Business Law, Finance, Accounting and Management are examples of courses that are utilized within both an MBA program and a MEM program.[3] The focus of students engaged in a Master of Business Administration graduate program is business-centric: teaching students how to make informed decisions that would impact business (large and small), but with little or no emphasis on the technological aspects of the business. [4] The primary objective of the Master of Engineering Management is to interweave the business and technology curriculum together so that students of this program can learn to leverage both domains when making data-driven decisions that would impact the business comprehensively. While MBA and MEM programs share some similarities in shaping capable leaders through a core curriculum in economics, marketing, and operations, students with MEM degrees are a better fit for today’s technology companies simply because an undergraduate degree in a STEM field is a prerequisite for admission.[5] Since it’s not a prerequisite for an MBA, a majority of candidates graduate with a non-technical education. In a world where technology touches almost all aspects of life and business, students with a MEM degree fit seamlessly into today’s high-tech companies that need tech-savvy leaders for data-driven decision making and innovation-driven global strategy and growth.

Example of the difference between a MBA and a MEM degree:[6]

Time to completion 2 years 12-21 months, depending on degree options
Average years of work experience 2-5 8-10
Undergraduate degrees Any field – engineering, economics, humanities, business – Engineering

– Science – Other technical field

Cohort size Ranges, but typically around 400 students 55-60 master’s students
Core class Varies by school Two semesters and a January term
Focus of coursework Management, finance, leadership – Intersection of business and engineering: systems architecture, systems engineering, and project management with depth and elective courses in engineering subjects of interest

– Foundation and elective courses in management, finance, and leadership

Thesis None Required
Range of base salary after graduation Varies by school Median $127,000 (2018 data)
Typical fields post-graduation Marketing

Banking Economics Finance Consulting

 Technology

Agriculture Aerospace Automotive Health care Heavy industry Energy Sustainability Consulting Finance Military and government …and many more

Requirements

Depending on the university's admission requirements, the following items are usually required for the application process :

  • Online application
  • Statement of objectives
  • Three letters of academic recommendation
  • University transcripts (a STEM degree and a min. GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0)
  • English proficiency exam scores
  • GRE scores or GMAT scores
  • CV or Resume

Accreditation

Until recently, there has not been an extensive amount of collaboration among different colleges and universities. However, that has begun to change with two major accreditation bodies that have sought to bring rigor and structure to the Engineering Management graduate degree programs: American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM), and Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium (MEMPC).

American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM)

ASEM states that "program is designed to provide recognition to those programs that excel in offering education at the Master’s level that meet the rigorous standards of ASEM. It also provides an excellent mechanism to assess the state of an existing Master’s program relative to ASEM standards and is especially useful for new Master’s programs just getting started." [7]

Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium (MEMPC)

The Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium (MEMPC) is a dedicated group of forward-thinking universities working together to promote engineering management programs to students and organizations. This consortium includes highly reputable universities such as Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Tufts University and the University of Southern California.[8]

Based on Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2021, the national rankings for these universities in the consortium are as follows:[9]

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 2nd
  2. Duke University - 5th
  3. Cornell University - 9th
  4. Northwestern University - 10th
  5. Johns Hopkins University - 11th
  6. Dartmouth College - 12th
  7. University of Southern California - 19th
  8. Tufts University - 31th
  9. Purdue University - 47th

Employment

A number of MEM graduates have been employed by Fortune's top 500 companies belonging to the technology, finance and consulting sectors. Some of the biggest tech giants who have hired MEM graduates includes Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft. In other sectors such as finance and consulting, major firms such as McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group and Goldman Sachs have also recruited MEM graduates.[10]

References
  1. "Elective Tracks". Duke Engineering Management. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  2. "The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019". Harvard Business Review. 2019-11-01. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  3. "Core Engineering Management Courses". Duke Engineering Management. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  4. "MBA vs MS in Engineering Management: What's the Difference?". Online Master's Programs in Engineering at George Washington University. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  5. "Engineering Management Programs". MEMPC. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  6. "SDM vs MBA". MIT SDM - System Design and Management. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  7. "ASEM - Graduate Program Certification". Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  8. "Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium (MEMPC)". MEMPC. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  9. "Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2021". Times Higher Education (THE). 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  10. "MEM Engineering Manager". MEMPC. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
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