The MBA That Fits Your Life
- Under $21K total tuition
- Complete in about 15 months
- In partnership with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
- Program accredited by ACBSP
- Earn credentials along the way
- No GRE/GMAT required
Master's in Engineering Management Online MBA Program Overview
Part engineering. Part business. Earn the MBA that fits into both worlds.
Southern New Hampshire University has partnered with Worcester Polytechnic Institute – one of the nation's most prestigious private technological universities – to offer the online Master of Business Administration in Engineering Management program.
Developed by SNHU, this innovative online MBA program was revised in 2021 to meet the marketplace demand for managers who can effectively lead engineering departments, professionals and enterprises in a technical environment. And at total online tuition of $20,691, you'll meet your budget's needs, as well.
The program allows you to gain traditional and relevant business skills in pivotal areas including finance, project management, technology and quantitative analysis – as well as helps you develop your ability to collaborate and lead in a technical environment to execute complex solutions. Throughout the entire program, you'll learn more about ethics, technology innovation and leadership.
Developed and taught by WPI faculty, the online engineering management courses focus on integrating systems thinking concepts and systems engineering practices. You'll learn how to make informed and successful business decisions that foster improved efficiency, performance and effectiveness in highly technical engineering environments.
Learn how to:
- Find engineering solutions and make decisions appropriate to various engineering disciplines
- Balance engineering management strategies with project cost, resource and time constraints
- Analyze and interpret data for decision-making
- Develop and foster adaptable strategies for an organization
- Evaluate and implement various models and processes in the design and continuous improvement of organizations and their practices
- Cultivate globally aware and culturally responsive teams and organizations
- Create and implement plans around culture, ethical and legal standards, and sustainable practices
An innovative, high-quality advanced degree, the online MBA in Engineering Management program is one of the most affordable MBAs in the nation and can be completed in as few as 15 months. This MBA is perfect for professionals who want to become one of tomorrow's business leaders within engineering or technology firms and who want a better understanding of how to collaborate and communicate with engineering teams.
A professional background in engineering or undergraduate engineering degree is not required for admission.
Career Outlook
An MBA with engineering management components can be the right fit for an engineer who wants to move into leadership roles.
The demand for engineering professionals who plan, direct and coordinate projects and manage teams in engineering and technology companies is on the rise.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports 3% growth through 2029 for those who want to become engineering and architectural managers.1 While that may not sound like much, those careers are actually seeing about the same amount of growth as all careers in the workforce.
"Engineering is a constantly evolving field to keep pace with, and in fact, create, new technology. Engineers of today face problems that may never have been anticipated just a decade or two ago," said Patrick M. Guida, senior manager of research and development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the institution that has partnered with SNHU on this degree. "One constant in the field, however, is for engineers to have the ability to adapt to change and continue learning throughout their careers. With the growing use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and many newly developed tools enabled by advances in technologies in every field, change happens much more quickly."
It's important to know that management occupations as a whole expect to see growth as well. Through 2029, these positions could grow by 5% – faster than the average of all occupations and equivalent to over 500,000 new jobs.1
With engineering jobs themselves on the rise, you'll want to learn more about the areas that are growing. The BLS projects the most in-demand areas of engineering as infrastructure, oil and gas extraction, renewable energy and robotics.1
And just where can you expect to find the jobs? The BLS says most new positions could be in consulting firms or with computer systems design and related services.1
In addition, you may want to keep an eye on these engineering employers, since they had the most engineering manager jobs1 in 2019:
- Manufacturing
- Architectural, engineering and related services
- Government
- Scientific research and development services
- Management of companies and enterprises
With an MBA, you already position yourself for plenty of open doors, but your MBA in Engineering Management, in particular, qualifies you for leadership roles like:
- Chief engineer
- Cost systems analyst
- Director of engineering
- Engineering manager
- Engineering project manager
- Industrial management engineer
- Senior lead analyst
The pay for these positions isn't too bad, either. In May 2019, the median annual salary for engineering and architectural managers was $144,830 – over 3 times the median annual wages of all workers.1
To put that into context, earning your master's degree has the potential to bump in your median weekly earnings up almost 20%.1
Start Your Journey Toward an Online Engineering Management Degree Concentration
Why SNHU For Your MBA in Engineering Management
Flexible
With no set class meeting times, you can learn on your schedule and access online course materials 24/7. Our online MBA program offers more fluidity around assignment due dates than before and course resources better suited for the on-the-go learner.
Affordable
Take advantage of some of the lowest online tuition rates in the nation – with total tuition at $20,691 – plus financial aid for those who qualify. We also make it easy to transfer to SNHU by accepting up to 6 credits toward your online MBA from your previous institution.
Respected
Founded in 1932, Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution with over 100,000 graduates across the country. SNHU is regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), which advocates for institutional improvement and public assurance of quality.
In addition, SNHU's suite of online business programs, including the MBA, are also programmatically accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
Recently, SNHU has been nationally recognized for leading the way toward more innovative, affordable and achievable education:
- “Most Innovative” regional university honors from U.S. News & World Report each year since 2015
- A $1 million grant from Google.org to explore soft skills assessments for high-need youth
- Recognition as a 2017 Digital Learning Innovator by the Online Learning Consortium
Network
At Southern New Hampshire University, you'll have access to a powerful network of more than 200,000 students, alumni and staff that can help support you long after graduation. Our instructors offer relevant, real-world expertise to help you understand and navigate the field. Plus, with our growing, nationwide alumni network, you'll have the potential to tap into a number of internship and career opportunities.
Extensive Business Alumni Network
Since our first MBA graduate class in 1974, we’ve welcomed over 20,000 MBA graduates to our alumni network. For current students, that means an extensive business networking group, an opportunity to seek out college mentorship opportunities and learn from students who have already walked the path.
96.5% of students would recommend SNHU.2 Discover why SNHU may be right for you.
Admission Requirements
Part of our mission to expand access to quality, higher education means removing the barriers that may stand between you and your degree. That’s why you can apply at any time and get a decision within days of submitting all required materials — with no GRE or GMAT required.
Acceptance decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year for our 5 graduate terms.
How to Apply
Simply contact an admission counselor, who can help you explore financial options, answer all your questions and walk you through the application process, which includes:
- No application fee
- Completing a graduate application
- Providing undergraduate transcripts
Courses & Curriculum
After the online MBA curriculum was revised in 2021, the MBA in Engineering Management is now only 10 courses in total.
Seven of these are the business core. No matter which online MBA concentration you choose at SNHU, all students take these same classes.
The core courses better reflect what the workforce is and will be seeking. Featuring topics like leading people and organizations, measuring success and strategic opportunity management, you'll gain job-ready skills that you can use immediately within your organization. These courses were designed – and are also taught – by instructors who currently work in the business world and can help you become a better leader.
"The updated MBA program places a renewed emphasis on innovation, operational agility," said Dave Numme, SNHU interim senior associate dean for STEM programs and a 2016 MBA graduate. "These skills are key for the next generation of engineering leaders to be successful in their careers."
Your business courses also give you the additional benefit of earning recognized credentials along the way – allowing you to add more skills to your resume even before you graduate.
In addition to your business courses, you'll take 3 engineering management classes to round out your concentration. Developed and taught by Worcester Polytechnic Institute instructors, these courses can develop your ability to guide engineers and scientists to work collaboratively in a technical environment toward innovative, cost-sensitive project solutions.
"The partnership has been very collaborative in nature from the start," said Patrick M. Guida, senior manager of research and development at WPI. "Students interested in engineering management benefit by having this newly established SNHU online program, and the partnership is consistent with WPI’s mission to help educate technical leaders."
Your concentration studies will cover new product development, experience design, technology strategy, lean improvement and systems lifecycles.
"Students can expect to gain detailed insight into managing real-world engineering problems," Guida said. "Case studies are an effective way to study cause and effect of various situational scenarios while managing technical projects and the problems and issues that often accompany them."
Engineering management courses include:
- Introduction to Engineering for Engineering Managers: Explore engineering disciplines through case studies that illustrate how an engineer's creativity, analytical nature and curiosity are applied to develop, produce and support products.
- Systems Thinking for Engineering Managers: Examine the importance systems thinking plays in enabling program managers and engineers to identify, understand and control systems.
- Systems Engineering and Business Practices: Explore key components of systems engineering, and gain the knowledge to make informed business decisions.
If you're not familiar with WPI, know that you're in good hands. Founded in 1865, it has a long history of graduating top engineering and science professionals through its project-based curriculum.
"Our students have the opportunity to gain from the expertise from one of the nation's leading engineering schools," Numme said.
Don't have a business background? No problem. Our MBA is accessible to everyone. Interested students must have a conferred undergraduate degree for acceptance, but it can be in any field. Those without an undergraduate degree in business or a related field may be asked to complete up to 2 foundation courses to get started. These foundations cover essential business skill sets and can be used to satisfy elective requirements for the general-track MBA. With foundations, the maximum length of your online MBA would be 36 credits.
Attend full time or part time. Students in the MBA have the option to enroll full time (at 2 classes per term) or part time (with 1 class per term). Full-time students should be able to complete the program in about 1 year, while part-time students could finish in about 2 years. Our students are busy, often juggling jobs, family and other obligations, so you may want to work with your academic advisor to identify the course plan that works for you. The good news is, you can switch from full time to part time and back again as often as you want.
| View Full Curriculum in the Catalog |
|---|
| MBA - Engineering Management |
| Courses May Include | ||
|---|---|---|
| Engineering Management | ||
| EMA 600 | Introduction to Engineering for Engineering Managers | Explore the various engineering disciplines through a series of case studies that illustrate how an engineer's creativity, analytical nature, and curiosity are applied to develop, produce, and support products. Review key examples of engineered systems, new trends in the field, and concerns such as safety, security, and dependability of systems. |
| EMA 610 | Systems Thinking for Engineering Managers | Examine the importance systems thinking plays in enabling program managers and engineers to identify, understand, and control systems, and to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. Explore examples of significant system failures, how they might have been avoided, and how organizations can learn from them in developing and participating in current systems. |
| EMA 620 | Systems Engineering and Business Practices | Explore key components of systems engineering such as system lifecycles, system architecture, model-based engineering, and complex systems. Gain the knowledge and develop the skills required to make informed and successful business decisions in highly technical engineering environments. |
| MBA 540 | Organizational Strategy in a Global Environment | Impactful leaders leverage business intelligence to make ethical decisions, solve complex problems, and craft strategic direction to improve organizational performance and agility in a dynamic global business environment. Students develop context and understanding of how organizations formulate a strategic direction and organize all business functions to complement each other to achieve organizational objectives. Students develop the strategy know-how to assess, inform, and form interconnected functional and organizational strategic direction. |
| Total Credits: 30 | ||
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Technical Requirements
Video Communication Platform:
- Mac or PC desktop or laptop (not a mobile device or tablet)
- Webcam
- Microphone
- Required: At least 1 Mbps upload/download speed
- Learn more about our detailed technical requirements
Internet Connectivity for Virtual Labs:
- Recommended: 5Mbps upload/download speed with less than 40ms latency
Tuition & Fees
Tuition rates for SNHU's online degree programs are among the lowest in the nation. We offer a 25% tuition discount for U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty.
| Online Graduate Programs | Per Course | Per Credit Hour | Annual Cost for 15 credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree/Certificates | $1,881 | $627 | $9,405 |
|
Degree/Certificates (U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty) |
$1,410 | $470 | $7,050 |
Tuition rates are subject to change and are reviewed annually.
Additional Costs:
$150 Graduation Fee, Course Materials ($ varies by course)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an MBA good for engineering?
An MBA would be an excellent fit for a person who is ready to move up in an organization.
And an MBA in Engineering Management could take you even further. Especially if it was built in conjunction with a nationally recognized leader in engineering, technical and applied sciences: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).
At Southern New Hampshire University, you'll take 10 courses to earn your engineering management degree. Seven of them are part of the business core – meaning anyone earning any type of MBA at SNHU takes these classes. And that's because these are courses that managers can use, no matter what industry they are in.
These courses could be particularly useful for engineers, since management and organizational strategy is typically not part of their training. It's the ideal program for engineers to lead other engineers.
According to Dave Numme, SNHU interim senior associate dean for STEM programs and a 2016 MBA graduate, this program is useful for developing skills like systems thinking, communication and project leadership.
The other 3 courses are part of your chosen concentration: engineering management. They continue you on the management path, but these courses are specifically designed for engineering jobs. A bonus of the partnership with WPI is that these concentration courses are taught by WPI instructors – true experts in their field.
So while an MBA has its place within the engineering realm, it's up to you as to whether it's good for your own path.
Why do engineers go for an MBA?
Engineers might go for their MBA to take on a leadership role and manage other engineers. An MBA would also be useful for engineers who want involvement in strategic planning, systems thinking and engineering, and project leadership.
"Not only does this program allow engineers to lead a team of their peers, but it equips them to lead an engineering firm," said Dave Numme, SNHU interim senior associate dean for STEM programs and a 2016 MBA graduate.
That's why Southern New Hampshire University developed an MBA in Engineering Management. And it's also why we partnered with Worcester Polytechnic Institute – a leading technological university – to lead the 4 engineering courses within the program's concentration.
Plus, an MBA has the potential for quite the salary hike. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who earn master's degrees earn about 20% more than those with only a bachelor's.1
Merging engineering experience with a business education can make you an attractive candidate in the job market.
What can you do with an engineering management degree?
By earning an engineering management degree, you better position yourself for leadership positions in nearly any area of engineering.
At Southern New Hampshire University, you can earn an MBA in Engineering Management – an opportunity to gain the business skills you need to move up in your organization. What's more, the engineering management courses are taught by faculty from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
"Engineers seeking to advance their careers into management and business development type roles may benefit from an MBA by mastering skills that they do not generally learn in dedicated engineering curriculums," said Patrick M. Guida, senior manager of research and development at WPI. "This SNHU program also provides a basic understanding of engineering in general, and how an engineering team functions, for those students who do not have an engineering background."
With this degree, a few jobs you may be eligible for include:
- Chief engineer
- Cost systems analyst
- Director of engineering
- Engineering manager
- Engineering project manager
- Industrial management engineer
- Senior lead analyst
By earning your master's in engineering management, you develop the know-how to manage both people and projects and lead them to successful outcomes.
Is a master's in engineering management a STEM degree?
It can be. It may depend on more of the focus of the degree, whether it leans more toward engineering or management education.
Southern New Hampshire University offers an MBA in Engineering Management. Because the core of the program is rooted in business – 7 of the 10 classes – it is considered a business program.
However, the 3 engineering management courses at SNHU are taught by instructors from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a prestigious STEM university.
Earning this part-business/part-STEM MBA is a great opportunity for those in engineering, since you'll be learning how to manage other engineers from some of the top engineering minds in the country.
Is a master's in engineering management worth it?
A master's in engineering management is worth it if it aligns with your goals.
Whether you have personal or professional goals you want to reach, a master's degree has the ability to teach you things you haven't learned yet. And that's useful at both work and in life.
A master's in engineering management, however, does have the potential to boost your salary and set you on a new career track.
By enrolling in an engineering management degree program – like Southern New Hampshire University's MBA in Engineering Management – you'll develop business skills you may not have picked up in the workforce yet.
"This program enables engineers to learn more about the business aspects of leading an engineering organization," said Dave Numme, SNHU interim senior associate dean for STEM programs and a 2016 MBA graduate. "The business knowledge acquired will allow students to both apply their engineering skills and business skills to effectively lead an engineering firm."
If that is a direction in which you want to take your career, then a master's in engineering management is definitely worth it.
University Accreditation
Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) as well as several other accrediting bodies.
References
Sources & Citations (1, 2)
1Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, on the internet, at:
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/architectural-and-engineering-managers.htm (viewed Oct. 29, 2020)
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/home.htm (viewed Oct. 31, 2020)
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm (viewed Oct. 31, 2020)
- https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm (viewed Oct. 29, 2020)
Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.
2According to survey responses from over 9,200 SNHU online students conducted in the fall of 2019.