Earning an engineering management bachelor’s degree online allows you many opportunities for advancement from the day you first enroll. Most people choose an online degree program for the convenience it offers. The schedule is extremely flexible, allowing you to work at your regular job and attend the school of your choice at the same time. This ‘earn while you learn’ concept is allowing more and more individuals to advance their careers at their own pace. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.
With a degree in engineering management, you can use your skills as an engineer to bring out the true potential of any project. As an effective manager, you can guide the project from start to finish. You will be able to organize and streamline the engineering process so that it continues to move forward, while still performing as an engineer. Wearing both “hat” as both an engineer and as a manager, you can provide valuable insight into the future path of the project.
Methodology: Ranking the Best Online Engineering Management Degrees
The Great Business Schools mission is right there in the name – pointing students to great business schools to meet their educational and career goals. GBS editors feature only accredited, legitimate institutions, ranked by practical factors including salary potential, student satisfaction, and tuition costs.
1. Arizona State University
Arizona State University offers a BS in Engineering Management that is among the nation’s best online engineering management degree programs. This undergraduate engineering management degree requires the degree candidate to complete 120 semester hours, of which 43 semester hours must be from the engineering management curriculum. Classes included in this baccalaureate engineering management degree include dynamics and thinking, project management, risk management, systems engineering, engineering administration, and sigma methodology, to name a few. All students must submit a two-semester capstone project to meet program requirements.
Arizona State University is a public university that was founded in 1885. Arizona State University operates multiple campuses in the greater Phoenix area and has a faculty that exceeds 4,700.
Highlight Arizona State University serves as one of the largest institutions of higher education in the nation, based on enrollment numbers.
Degree BSE in Engineering Management
2. Oregon Institute of Technology
Oregon Institute of Technology offers a Bachelor of Applied Science degree (BAS) in Technology and Management that is available completely online or on-campus. This best online engineering management degree program has received accreditation from the IACBE. Coursework for Oregon Institute of Technology’s undergraduate degree in technology and management includes strategic management, leadership, project management, and six sigma management, to name a few. This program is designed for those who have completed an associate’s level degree from an accredited higher learning institution.
Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) was established as a polytechnic university in 1947. Oregon Institute of Technology maintains campuses in Klamath Falls, Seattle, and Salem and has a total student enrollment that nears 5,500 students.
Highlight Most students completing degrees at Oregon Tech participate in coops or externships in a related field.
Degree BAS in Technology Management
3. Kansas State University
Kansas State University offers a bachelor’s in Applied Business and Technology Management, which is considered one of the state’s best online engineering management degree programs. Students enrolled in Kansas State University online baccalaureate degree program are required to complete 212 semester hours to meet program requirements. The curriculum for the technology management degree includes statistics, foundations of business law, integrated finance, supervisory management, and management with information technology, plus a culminating capstone project, among others.
Kansas State University (K State) was established as the result of the Morrill Land Grant Act in 1863. Additionally, Kansas State University is a space-grant school with branch campuses located in Olathe and Salina. More than 21,500 students attend classes at K State.
Highlight Kansas State University was founded during the Civil War as the first higher learning institution in the state.
Degree Applied Business and Technology Management
4. Utah Valley University
Utah Valley University offers a BS in Technology Management that is considered among Utah’s best online engineering management degree programs. Students enrolled in Utah Valley University’s baccalaureate degree in technology management explore ways to keep businesses successful as they adjust to technology-heavy, forever changing environment. Up to 454 semesters credits may be eligible for transfer to UVU Online’s undergraduate degree in technology management. UVU Online programs are designed for working learners, with more than one-quarter of students aged 25 years old or older.
Utah Valley University was established as a vocational school and then a college in 1941. UVU is a member school of the state’s university system with a student enrollment that exceeds 41,500 students.
Highlight Utah Valley University operates multiple campuses in Orem, Lehi, Heber City, and Spanish Fork.
Degree BS in Technology Management
5. Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University offers one of Missouri’s best online engineering management degree programs with its Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Technology Management degree program. This undergraduate degree in technology management has received accreditation from ATMAE. Students applying to this degree program should already possess an associate’s level degree and two years of professional experience. Classes for SEMO’s technology management degree include industrial safety, engineering economic analysis, manufacturing research in a global society, and applied calculus, to name a few.
Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) was established as a normal school in 1873. Southeast Missouri State University enrolls more than 10,400 undergraduate and graduate students who are vying for the more than 200 academic degrees offered by SEMO.
Highlight Southeast Missouri State University, in partnership with the University of Missouri, provides a joint graduate degree in education.
Degree BS in Technology Management
6. Indiana State University
Indiana State University offers one of the Hoosier State’s best online engineering management degree programs with its Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Engineering Technology Management (ETM) degree program. This undergraduate degree program is designed for students who already hold an associate degree in engineering management or a related field. ABET has accredited this baccalaureate degree in engineering technology management. Students graduating from this ISU engineering management degree enter the workforce in leadership, consulting, research, production, or training, among others.
Indiana State University was founded as a teacher’s training school in 1865 by legislation passed by the general assembly. The university’s small-city campus covers more than 400 acres and serves more than 10,100 students.
Highlight Indiana State University offers more than 100 academic degree and certificate programs from its six colleges/schools.
Degree BS in Engineering Management Technology
7. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
The School of Applied Engineering & Technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) offers one of Illinois’s best online engineering management degree programs with its Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering degree program. Degree candidates enrolled in SIUC’s undergraduate degree in Industrial Management, and Applied Engineering requires the completion of 120 semester credits to meet program requirements. Classes included in the program are industrial safety, facilities planning, personnel supervision, six sigma green belt, cost estimating, lean manufacturing, and supply chain management, to name a few.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale was established in 1869 as a normal teacher’s school. The university’s college-town campus covers more than 1,000 acres and serves more than 8,100 students.
Highlight Southern Illinois University Carbondale is recognized as the second oldest teacher’s training school in Illinois.
Degree BS in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering
8. Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Manufacturing Operations that is ranked as one of the state’s best online engineering management degree programs. Kennesaw State University’s undergraduate degree in engineering management requires applicants to hold an associate degree from a two-year accredited institution of higher education. Students must complete 120 semester credits, including classes in work measurements and ergonomics, statistical quality control, ethics & safety, facilities design, engineering economy, and IET project management, to name a few.
Kennesaw State University is a multi-campus university that was established in 1963. Kennesaw State University operates several campuses and is a member school of the state’s university system. The university’s campus covers more than 500 acres and serves nearly 41,000 students.
Highlight Kennesaw State University is recognized as Georgia’s third-largest institution of higher education.
Degree BAS in Manufacturing Operations
9. Ohio University
Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering & Technology (OHIO Online) offers one of the state’s best online engineering management degree programs with its Bachelor of Science in Technical Operations Management (BSTOM), as noted by onlinecolleges.com. Degree candidates enrolled in Ohio University are required to have completed an associate degree program from an accredited institution of higher education as the coursework is designed to complete the baccalaureate degree. Classes include technical operations management, quality assurance, lean systems, leadership in a technical organization, and applied technical operations management, to name a few. Students graduate and find rewarding careers as operations managers, logistics supervisors, project managers, and production supervisors, among others.
Ohio University was established in 1804 as an act of Congress. Ohio University is a multi-campus higher learning institution that serves more than 32,900 students across all campuses.
Highlight Ohio University (OHIO) holds the honor of being the first higher learning institution established in the state of Ohio.
Degree BS in Technical Operations Management
10. University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine offers a Bachelor of Technology Management that is ranked as one of Maine’s best online engineering management degree programs. Students enrolled in the University of Southern Maine’s undergraduate engineering management degree program have the option of these academic concentrations – industrial management, precision manufacturing, information & communications technology, and electro-mechanical systems. Degree candidates must complete 121 semester credits to graduate. Core classes for this degree include cost analysis & control, workplace safety, project management, facility planning, leadership and team-building, and human resource development, to name a few.
The University of Southern Maine (USM) was established as a public higher learning institution in 1878 as a state normal school. The university’s campus in Gorham and Portland serves more than 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students.
Highlight The University of Southern Maine offers more than 100 academic and certificate programs.
Degree BS in Technology Management
11. Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University’s Ogden Science & Engineering College offers a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Technology Management that is recognized as one of Kentucky’s best online engineering management degree programs. Degree candidates must complete 120-semester credits to meet program requirements, of which 63 semester hours include classes from the technology management major’s curriculum. Classes include systems design & operation, quality assurance, industrial statistics, project management, and team building, plus a senior research project in technology management, to name a few.
Western Kentucky University (Western Kentucky) was founded by the commonwealth in 1906. Western Kentucky University maintains several campuses through the commonwealth of Kentucky in Glasgow, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, and Bowling Green. More than 20,100 students attend classes at Western Kentucky University.
Highlight Western Kentucky University’s main campus overlooks the Barren River Valley from its bluff location.
Degree BS in Engineering Technology Management
12. Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University’s Engineering & Technology College offers a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Technology Management that is considered among Michigan’s best online engineering management degree programs. This completion degree program in technology management requires degree candidates to complete 66 semester hours to graduate. Coursework for this undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University includes employment law, cyber law, management responsibility & ethics, product innovation, project management, managing process improvement, and quantitative analysis of sustainability issues, to name a few.
Eastern Michigan University is a public higher learning institution that was established in 1849 as a state-run teacher’s training school. The university’s campus serves more than 20,100 students and covers more than 800 acres.
Highlight Eastern Michigan University holds the distinction of being the first teacher’s college that was founded outside the boundaries of the original thirteen colonies.
Degree BS in Technology Management
13. University of South Carolina Upstate
The University of South Carolina Upstate’s Palmetto College (USC Upstate) offers ) offers a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Engineering Technology Management that is designed for students who have already earned their associate degree in engineering technology. This best online engineering management degree program prepares students for rewarding careers as quality engineers, process engineers, project managers, operations managers, and manufacturing engineers, to name a few. The University of South Carolina Upstate’s undergraduate degree in technology management has received accreditation from ABET.
The University of South Carolina Upstate was established as a public higher learning institution in 1967. The university’s suburban campus serves nearly 6,000 students and covers more than 275 acres.
Highlight The University of South Carolina Upstate is organized into five colleges schools conferring degrees in social science, technology, nursing business, and health/education.
Degree BS in Engineering Technology Management
14. Saint Leo University
Saint Leo University offers a Technology Management BA in Business Administration (BABA) academic specialization. Students graduating from Saint Leo University’s best online engineering management degree program enter the workforce as technical managers, project managers, business analysts, and technology and information managers, to name a few. Coursework for this degree’s major includes logistics specialization, essential business skills, human resource management, organizational development, and strategic management, to name a few.
Saint Leo University is a private higher learning institution that was first established in 1889 and reestablished seventy years later. The university is affiliated with the Order of Saint Benedict and is associated with an abbey and monastery. More than 15,500 students attend classes online and on-campus.
Highlight Saint Leo University is recognized as being one of the first higher learning institutions that offered distance learning options to military members during the Viet Nam war.
Degree BABA in Technology Management
15. Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University offers two of the state’s best online engineering management degree programs with its Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology or its Bachelor of Applied Art & Science (BAAS) degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. Each of the undergraduate technology engineering degree programs is available entirely online; however, the BAAS program has been developed for applicants who have already earned their associate-level degree in engineering technology or a related field. Eastern New Mexico University provides various scholarships and a transfer policy for non-freshman, incoming students.
Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) is a public institution of higher education that was established in 1927 as a normal school. The university’s small-town campus serves more than 6,000 students. ENMU is recognized as a federal Hispanic-serving institution of higher education.
Highlight Eastern New Mexico University operates multiple campuses in Roswell, Portales, and Ruidoso.
Degree BS or BAAS in Electronics Engineering Technology
Why Should I Get My Engineering Management Bachelor’s Online?
Choosing an online degree program is a great way for individuals to earn their degrees when sitting in a classroom is not an option. Whether they are already working a full-time job or are raising a family, being able to attend classes on campus may be an issue. This is also the case for individuals who may suffer from anxiety. Being able to learn in the comfort of their own home gives them the advantage of learning in an environment where they feel the most comfortable.
Another reason for people to choose an online Bachelor’s degree in engineering management is that they can attend the school of their choice. This is an opportunity that, before online learning was available, was not an option. Potential students can choose a degree program from a school that is across the state or across the country. This also means that the student has the option to choose from a wide number of degree programs that they can tailor to meet their own career goals.
What Can I Do With an Engineering Management Degree?
Engineering management degree jobs can be found in every industry. Being an engineer puts you on the front line of developing and creating new projects. Having the ability to manage those same projects will provide you with both job stability and the opportunity for advancement. As an engineering management graduate, you bring to the table the skills required to be effective at either career. This adds value to your resume and also to your ability to serve the company you work for.
Jobs for individuals with an engineering management degree are available for anyone who is willing to take on the responsibilities of this highly complex and exciting field. While both fields offer distinct challenges, combining the two will give you an opportunity to choose the career that meets your individual needs. The industry you choose to work in will determine what type of location you eventually work in. While there are several jobs in metropolitan areas, you may be able to find positions in rural areas as well if you are working in the right industry.
What Does an Engineering Manager Do?
An engineering manager is responsible for a wide range of duties. Not only must they be effective as an engineer, they must also be able to manage both the project and the people who are working on it. As an engineer, you must be able to solve technical problems, create viable solutions to potential issues, and develop new strategies that will keep the project moving forward. As an engineer, it will be up to you to keep the project moving forward.
When you add the role of manager into the mix, you must be able to plan the stages of the project and work with individuals from various departments and bring everything all together. As an effective manager, you must be able to communicate effectively on many different levels. You must be able to communicate with both supervisors and investors, providing both with the information they need as the project moves forward. As a manager, it is up to you to make sure that everyone involved in the project has what they need to make sure the project is able to move forward toward completion.
An effective engineering manager is someone who is able to use both their engineering and managerial skills to help define and propel a project so that it reaches its ultimate potential. Being able to bring both elements to the table means that you have the potential to see things differently than someone who is just an engineer or just a manager. This added insight makes you a valuable asset to any project you work on. Earning this type of degree will make you a powerhouse when it comes to both skills and abilities.
Carrie Morris
Author
Warren Dahl
Editor-in-Chief