How to Get a DBA or PhD in Engineering Management

Engineering is a team sport, and engineering teams need captains. By pursuing a PhD or DBA in Engineering Management, you are declaring your intention to be a team leader or teacher thereof.

Engineering Management: Pulling it All Together

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Standard Occupational Classifications System, there are 17 distinct kinds of engineers. Electrical engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and aerospace engineering are just a few of the more well-known categories.

In order to decide upon a PhD in Engineering Management program that suits your needs, it is essential to conduct proper research. Online PhD programs in engineering management may prove especially appealing to engineers who want to study while staying employed. On-campus PhD programs are not to be dismissed, however.

Alternatives: PhD or DBA?

A doctoral degree in engineering management is a business doctorate degree that does not focus exclusively on one kind of engineering. Certainly engineering topics are covered in both PhD and DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) programs in engineering management, but the focus is on management rather than technical expertise.

The DBA and PhD are academically equivalent. Both involve tough courses of study and heavily emphasize research. Students must write and defend a doctoral dissertation and also pass a rigorous exam. The DBA and PhD are generally designed to prepare students for academic or management careers. If you are certain that you want an academic or research career, the PhD carries more weight with potential employers. If you are interested in applied management, however, either degree will suffice. Every school's program is its own--research each program and its coursework to see if it jibes with your career goals.

Herding Cats: Why Engineering Management Is a Whole Different Animal

From Thomas Edison to Steve Wozniak, the image of the solitary inventor, tinkering in his basement on a device that will change the world, is what many people think of when they envision an engineer.

Whether or not this image was ever valid is immaterial to the fact that it is now hopelessly outdated, and contrary to how today's engineering world really works. An examination of the major engineering achievements of the 20th Century highlights the teamwork aspect of the engineering industry. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the space shuttle projects at NASA, the Internet itself--all these things were built by teams of engineers.

Despite this evidence that engineers work well in teams, engineers do commonly possess pronounced independent streaks, as any engineer knows. The arrival of the 21st Century has only increased the need for effective teamwork among engineers, while presenting unique challenges to managers tasked with leading teams of engineers. New challenges faced by engineering managers may include:

  • Collaboration between engineers from different countries
  • Maintaining productivity and team unity when team members work remotely
  • Planning for rapid obsolescence

The unparalleled complexity of today's engineering career, especially with respect to the myriad of management challenges, has spawned one of the newer and more exciting degree programs now available: the PhD in Engineering Management.

In past years, engineers who sought this brand of instruction may have applied for an MBA program. Some still do so. However, as engineering has become more specialized, business education that caters specifically to the engineer has become an appealing option.

Clearly, engineering management in an era of giant, multi-country, multi-language projects is not for the faint of heart, nor the skimpy of education. The below steps are outlined for PhD programs but can easily be applied to DBA degrees as well.

How to Apply for PhD Programs in Engineering Management

In order to excel in the field of engineering management, you must possess three attributes, each one of which is absolutely vital to your success as a manager of engineers:

  1. Technical skills
  2. Business acumen
  3. Management ability

All doctorate degree programs in engineering management seek to cultivate that three-part mix, but different doctorate programs weigh the equation differently.

Online PhD Programs in Engineering Management

Online PhD programs in engineering management, in particular, assume your knowledge of the technical side of engineering is already comprehensive. Online DBA in Engineering Management programs make a similar assumption.

Do not count on an online PhD or DBA program in engineering management to grant you the domain mastery necessary to work as a specific kind of engineer. If you are seeking to manage chemical engineers, for instance, you should already possess extensive chemical engineering expertise before applying for a PhD or DBA degree in engineering management. Online PhD programs in engineering management are not the place to learn engineering; rather, the management of engineers will be your topic of study.

Other online degrees in engineering management are more appropriate for engineers who are not ready for online PhD degrees in engineering management. Distance learning has been proven to work, but only if you choose the correct level of education for your situation.

Types of PhD Degrees in Engineering Management

A selection of two doctoral degrees in engineering management may illustrate how engineering and management are taught at the doctorate degree level. Note, for instance, that online PhD programs in engineering management frequently include in-person elements.

PhD in Technology Management

The PhD in Technology Management is one example of how a doctorate-level education in engineering management may weigh the business or "human" side of engineering management more heavily than the technical details of technology itself.

Typical coursework for a PhD in technology management may include:

  • Communication and team-building
  • Strategic planning
  • Technology forecasting
  • Human resources
  • Business process management

Doctoral degrees in engineering management teach those general, distinctly MBA-like topics within the specific framework of managing engineers and engineering projects. You will not find yourself sitting next to someone dreaming up a new way to market toilet paper.

PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, Engineering Management

A PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, Engineering Management is another PhD degree in engineering management that focuses on building business skills while not ignoring the uniquely technical work of high-level engineering.

The PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, Engineering Management is a research-oriented course of study, but research is done always with an eye towards the professional work of an engineer. Abstruse theories are not a main concern.

The social side of managing engineers is a main concern. Students learn:

  • Organizational theory
  • Management principles
  • Strategic planning

A PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, Engineering Management can be earned through an online PhD program. Online PhD programs in engineering management are sometimes supplemented with residency or internship programs that call students to put their management abilities to the test face-to-face.

Online PhD programs in engineering management that do not challenge students to practice in the real world of managing people are not doing their job.

How to Choose a PhD Degree in Engineering Management

Choosing a PhD degree program in engineering management requires the careful evaluation of various factors--location, entry requirements, graduation rate, and employability of graduates are just a few. Luckily, engineers possess the requisite brainpower to make complex calculations.

Still, focusing on must-haves can give you a clear and concise way of measuring your options when it comes to choosing a PhD degree program in engineering management.

PhD Degree in Engineering Management Must-haves

Your must-have list depends, obviously, on who you are. But here are five of the chief concerns that you should consider as you put your must-have list together:

1. Career Coincidence

The primary goal for most people who are considering a PhD in Engineering Management is career advancement. Usually, an applicant for a PhD in Engineering Management program is an engineer looking to become a manager, researcher, or academic. That is one reason why online PhD programs in engineering management are becoming popular: you can keep your day job.

The first must-have, then, in any PhD degree program in engineering management you evaluate, is that it coincides with your career goals. Ask school representatives to find out if and how they make your professional advancement as their goal as well as yours.

If, for example, you are a working engineer with very specific plans about your next job, you may need a different PhD or DBA program than an engineer who wants to be a college professor who publishes articles in trade journals about burgeoning technology management techniques.

Through WorldWideLearn.com, you can fill out one simple form stating your desires and receive responses from multiple online doctorate degree schools.

2. Online PhD in Engineering Management?

Flexibility is not a must-have for everyone, but for engineers, it tends to be. Engineers are not over-burdened with free time. Many engineers work full-time or more, and do not have time to attend traditional on-campus doctorate degree programs. If that's your story, an online PhD in Engineering Management may fit well into your schedule.

Online PhD degree programs in engineering management cater to the technical acuity and self-directed nature of engineers. If anyone can use an online doctorate degree to its fullest extent, it's an engineer.

3. Accreditation

Engineers are accustomed to taking continuing education and are rightly perceived as a community that is constantly learning and using various sources of learning. Long story short, distance education is accepted in the engineering world. Because PhD degree programs in engineering management are typically career-focused, you'll want to make sure that if your specific employer or industry demands a certain accreditation in order to recognize your degree, you have that accreditation.

Consult with your employer and your peers about what accreditation your industry wants to see. The engineering and construction industry, for instance, boasts two accrediting bodies, the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) and the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC). If you are a construction engineer, it would behoove you to look for those stamps of approval before choosing a school for your PhD in Engineering Construction.

More generally, guarantee the quality of your on campus or online PhD in Engineering Management by looking for accreditation from a quality-assurance organization like the North Central Association.

4. Prerequisites

Another must-have that should be on any short list consists of what you must have to be accepted into a PhD program in engineering management.

The starting point for any doctoral degree program in construction and engineering is a bachelor's degree. Some doctoral degrees in engineering management require a master's degree. High standardized test scores are valuable when applying to top schools. Real world experience is also highly valued in the world of advanced engineering education. Experience may even count as school credit in some cases. Be sure that you have completed the prerequisites before applying to any school's program.

5. Program Performance

Engineers, as noted, are famous for learning from all sorts of sources. However, that is no excuse for attending a subpar online PhD program in engineering management.

Ask school representatives pointed questions, such as:

  • What is the graduation rate of your students?
  • How many students are in each class?
  • What are the average test scores for incoming students?
  • What percentage of students work full-time as engineers?
  • Who is the best teacher at this school, and why is he or she so good?

Should You Pursue a PhD in Engineering Management?

Only you can decide if an on-campus or online PhD in Engineering Management is right for you. While you're making your decision, employ two techniques that work every time:

  1. Ask around
  2. Use tools

Ask Around: Professional Associations

Engineers benefit from being part of a community. Take advantage of the strength of the engineering community by using your peers as resources to help you choose.

From the American Society of Civil Engineers to the Architectural Engineering Institute to the Transportation and Development Institute, and beyond, there is a professional association for pretty much every specialization (and many sub-specializations) in the engineering profession.

Conferences and events put on by these professional associations may afford you the opportunity to receive uniquely informed opinions on your idea of pursuing a doctorate degree in engineering management. When asking around, take the advice of managers especially seriously.

Use Tools: Online Graduate Degree Program Directories

Online directories can take a lot of the legwork out of finding information about on campus and online doctorate programs. You can learn about accreditation and financial aid, without careening all over the Internet in search of disconnected pieces of data. It's all there collected and organized for your efficient perusal.

As any PhD in Engineering Management can tell you, there's scant need to reinvent the wheel.

 

Sources

  • American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Architectural Engineering Institute, Welcome to AEI
  • American Society for Engineering Management
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics, Engineers
  • Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Academy for Assessment of Student Learning
  • National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
  • National Society of Professional Engineers
  • Structural Engineering Institute
  • Transportation and Development Institute, A T & DI Year in Review