Online Master of Science in Engineering Management (MS)
Engineering Management
Program Overview
Technical expertise gets you in the room. Engineering management skills help you lead what happens there. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, designed the online MS in Engineering Management for working engineers and technical professionals who want to move into leadership — without stepping away from their careers.
Complete 30 credit hours fully online in an estimated 24 months, with both synchronous and asynchronous options to fit your schedule. No comprehensive exam required. Just a structured, practical curriculum built on 30+ years of experience preparing engineers to lead projects, teams, and organizations.
Program Requirements
The curriculum consists of nine 3-credit-hour required courses plus three 1-credit-hour graduate seminars, for a total of 30 credit hours. All students complete the same required curriculum — no elective tracks or concentrations to navigate. All MS-EM students complete the following curriculum:
- IE 516 — Statistical Methods in Industrial Engineering
- IE 518 — Advanced Engineering Economic Analysis
- IE 533 — Theory and Practice of Engineering Management
- IE 534 — Financial Management for Engineering Manager
- IE 536 — Project Management
- IE 537 — Analytical Methods for Engineering Managers
- IE 539 — Strategic Management in Technical Organizations
- IE 542 — Design of Experiments for Engineering Managers
- IE 544 — Manufacturing Systems Modeling and Analysis
- IE 550 — Graduate Seminar
Career Paths for Engineering Management Professionals
An MS in Engineering Management builds leadership and operational skills that translate across a variety of environments. Graduates pursue opportunities in industries such as:
- Manufacturing: production, operations, quality, and supply chain
- Technology: product development, technical program management
- Construction: project management, operations leadership
- Energy: project and operations management across traditional and emerging energy sectors
- Aerospace: systems, project, and technical program leadership
- Consulting: engineering strategy, process improvement, technical advisory roles
Career Outcomes
The MS-EM is designed to help working engineers move into management and leadership roles, or advance within the ones they already hold. Graduates apply their degree across a wide range of positions, including:
- Engineering Project Manager or Team Lead
- Engineering Operations or Program Manager
- Technical Director or Administrative Leader in an engineering firm or manufacturer
- Supply Chain Manager
- Data Analyst in technical or manufacturing settings
- Technical Sales Manager
- Entrepreneurial and independent consulting roles
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- Minimum 2.7 cumulative GPA
- Three rating forms or letters of reference
- Applicants must submit an online graduate application to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
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Featured Courses
Students in the MS in Engineering Management program have the opportunity to take a wide range of courses, including the following:
The principles of engineering management include business and organization design, culture, leadership, marketing and competition in the global economy, motivation and performance management, empowerment, and organizational behavior. They also include systems thinking, learning organizations, and systems dynamics modeling. These principles are applied to work settings and case studies.
Development and management of engineering and technology projects. Project proposal preparation, resource and cost estimating, and project planning, organizing, and controlling: network diagrams and other techniques. The role of the project manager: team building, conflict resolution, and contract negotiations. Discussion of typical problems and alternative solutions. Case studies and student projects.
Survey of management analysis and control systems through industrial engineering techniques. Qualitative and quantitative systems: methods analysis, work measurement, incentive systems, wage and salary development, production and inventory control, facility layout, linear programming, and applied operations research techniques.
Strategic planning process and strategic management in practice; corporate vision and mission; product, market, organizational, and financial strategies; external factors; commercialization of new technologies; and competition and beyond.
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