1. In what specific way would I as an engineer benefit from pursing a “Master of Engineering” degree centered on production management?

The Master of Engineering degree program at the IE department is narrowly focused on making engineers more valuable to their employers. It addresses the basic engineering management functions, points out the weaknesses of engineers to be managers/leaders, lays the foundation of accounting, finance and marketing, introduces the web-based engineer/management tools, presents the opportunities and threats of globalization, outlines the new challenges for engineers in the new Millennium, and readies engineers to lead in production management, supply chain management and other technological management fields. By having significantly broadened the perspectives of the engineer, this degree program is aimed at helping the engineer to advance rapidly through the managerial ranks.

2. How different is a Master of Engineering degree in Production Management from a MBA degree?

The Master of Engineering degree in Production Management focuses on preparing engineers to become effective managers/leaders in technology intensive settings (e.g., production, supply chain, engineering, design, development, R&D, quality control, project management, operations, and others). The goal is to broaden their business perspectives of technically well trained engineers and thus enable them to rapidly assume greater leadership roles and responsibilities in industry. Building on their current strengths in engineering and technology, the degree program emphasizes what engineers ought to learn and practice in order to further add value.

The traditional MBA degree program is aimed at preparing students of diversified background (e.g., accounting, finance, economics, law, business, information technology, psychology, literature, engineering, mathematics, physics, biology, and others) for a general business career. Graduates with MBA degrees may work in banks, securities firms, government, industrial companies, retails, medical institutions, and others). Because of the divergent “customers” the MBA degree program serves, its courses are designed to first bring all students to a common background, then to offer business courses in generic nature and finally, to train them to become general managers. Students with specific background, such as engineering, will need to recast the learning into their own frames of references in order to derive practical value from the program.

3. What is the difference between the “Master of Science” degree and the “Master of Engineering” degree offered at UB Industrial Engineering Department?

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree may be pursued with a concentration in production systems, operations research, or human factors. Students may pursue this degree by taking the C-Exam (all courses option) or by completing a M.S. thesis, which is research driven and knowledge creation focused. There is a newly established M.S. degree program in Industrial Engineering, which is also based on ten courses only.

The Master of Engineering degree program focuses on production management. It requires eight (8) courses and a 6-credit Master of Engineering project. The project is applications driven and value creation focused. The Master of Engineering degree is suitable for students who, upon completion, wish to practice engineering in industry and aspire to become managers/leaders in production, supply chains and other engineering fields.

4. How different is Engineering Management from General Management?

Engineering management refers to activities related to the planning, organizing, leading and controlling of teams, projects, programs and resources (e.g., technologies, know-how, facilities and business relationships), in a technology-intensive organization, which produces, distributes and markets product/serviced of high technology contents. These activities are typically pursued by engineers who have broadened perspectives in directing the company/department/unit to satisfied the needs of its stakeholders (e.g., customers, investors, vendors, employees, and communities in which the company operates).

In contrast, general management refers to managerial activities of any organization (e.g., government, hospitals, public institution, church, industrial organization, universities, retails stores, department stores, and others) to achieve its organizational objectives. Resources must be applied efficiently and effectively.

Thus, engineering management is a subset of general management.

5. What are the prerequisites for taking the EAS 521/EAS 522 courses?

These courses are open to any graduate engineering students in UB School of Engineering and Applied Science. There are no prerequisites.

Undergraduate senior students need to secure approval from their academic advisors, before they are allowed to register for these courses.

Graduate students of other schools who are interested in taking these courses need to contact the instructor for special permission.

6. The graduate courses EAS 521 and EAS 522 are in sequence. Do I have to take them in a specific order?

No. These two courses form a series, but one is not a prerequisite of the other. They can be taken in any order in sequence.

7. How do I register for the course?

Engineering students with graduate standing may register for EAS 521 in the fall semester and EAS 522 in the spring semester, until the class enrollment reached its ceiling of 20 students. Thereafter, students should forward their requests for force-registration by sending emails to the instructor (carlmchang@aol.com) stating names, student numbers, degree program completed, degree program enrolled in, and reasons for wanting to take these courses. If it is agreeable to the instructor, he will forward the request for force-registration to the departmental secretary for processing.

During the regular academic semesters, both EAS 521 and EAS 522 are offered concurrently as distance-learning courses via the EngiNet office (phone: 716-645-2768 ext. 1106). Both off-campus and on-campus engineering students with graduate standing are encouraged to sign up for the distance-learning sessions of these courses. These distance-learning sessions are also available during the June-August summer period every year.

If you have specific questions, please contact the instructor.