Engineering Management Foundations Certificate | NC State University

A student sitting at a laptop working on his foundations certificate from NC State University

Engineering Management Foundations Certificate

Last Updated: 09/27/2024 | All information is accurate and still up-to-date

The Engineering Management Foundations Certificate is a graduate program that can help advance your career as you take on more responsibility or aim for a management role. This program equips you with the principles and foundational concepts for planning and managing industrial and technical projects. You can pursue this certificate either on-campus or online through our Engineering Online Program.

The Foundations Certificate meets the demand for key concepts and provides a graduate certificate for those unsure about committing to a full master’s degree program. Successfully completing the certificate also covers 40 percent of the MEM degree and is designed to be highly marketable with minimal prerequisites.

If you plan to transfer courses into a master’s degree program, such as MEM, consult the Director of the Graduate Certificate Program (DGCP) for specific requirements. Additionally, note that NC State requires a grade of B or higher for course transfers into a master’s degree program, as per the Graduate Student Handbook (Section 3.1.D). 

Curriculum

To earn the certificate, you need to complete 12 credit hours of engineering management graduate courses. The curriculum covers the following topic areas:

  • Student Choice (3 credits)
  • Leadership and Communication (3 credits)
  • Project Management and Coordination (3 credits)
  • Financial Competency (3 credits)
ThemeCURRICULUM: Engineering Management Graduate CertificateCredits
Take one course:3
 
EM/EGR 517 Facilities Engineering Systems
 
EM/EGR 518 Environmental Compliance for Facilities Engineers
 
EM 534 Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Managers
 
EM 589 Probability and Statistics for Engineers
 
ISE/OR 501 Intro to Operations Research
 
ISE 535 Python Programming for Industrial & Systems Engineers
Student Choice
ISE 537 Data Science for Industrial & Systems Engineers
 
MBA 545 Decision Making under Uncertainty
 
ST 513 Statistics for Management I
 
ST 517 Applied Statistical Methods I
 
TE 533 Lean Six Sigma Quality
 
Or 500-level course from MEM curriculum with approval by DGCP
Take one course:3
 
COM 527 Seminar in Organizational Conflict Management
Leadership and
Communication
COM 530 Interpersonal Communication in Science/Technology Organizations
COM 556 Seminar in Organizational Communication
 
EGR 501 Engineering Leadership and Strategic Change
Take one course:3
 
BUS 554 Project Management
Project
Management and
Coordination
CE 561 Construction Project Management
EM 530 Project Management
 
EGR 590 Engineering Project Management
Take one course:3
 
CE 567 Risk and Financial Management in Construction
Financial
Competency
EGR 505 Managerial Finance for Engineers
(includes Accounting)
 
ISE 510 Applied Engineering Economy
CERTIFICATE total12

Note: ST 516 and 518 may be substituted for ST 515 and 517, respectively, providing you meet the requirements.

The Fine Print

  • Unless the Director of the DGCP grants you an exception, you must choose courses as outlined in the table below.
  • Out of the 12 required credit hours, three may be at the 400 level with prior approval from the DGCP, according to the Graduate Student Handbook (Section 3.13). The remaining nine hours must be at the 500 level or above.
  • You need to take one course per semester to stay in good standing. Your grades must be a B- or higher for them to count toward the certificate, and you need a GPA of 3.00 to earn the certificate. For more details, refer to the Graduate Student Handbook (Section 3.13).
  • Due to the program’s specificity and high demand, premium tuition is charged for this certificate. If you are currently pursuing other degrees or certificates, you cannot be admitted to this certificate program until you complete those other programs. Once enrolled in this certificate, your credit hours will be subject to the MEM tuition premium until you receive the certificate.
  • If you are in a degree program without a tuition premium, you cannot simultaneously add a second program with a tuition premium. Similarly, if you are in a degree program with a tuition premium, you cannot add a second program with a different tuition premium (including no premium).
  • Premium tuition is based on your program of study, not the individual courses you take. This policy is outside the department’s control. For example, as a MEM student, you pay the MEM premium even if you take one, two, or three courses outside the MEM curriculum in a given semester. Similarly, once you are admitted to the Engineering Management Foundations Graduate Certificate Program and the certificate is added to your program of study, you will be charged the premium.

Admission Requirements

To apply to the program, you need to:

  • Complete an online application form
  • Submit transcripts of all academic work after high school
  • Provide a written personal statement

Admission is competitive, and the GRE is not required. Your academic success plays a significant role in the admission process. However, completing a certificate program does not guarantee entry into a graduate degree program. You should have a STEM or another relevant bachelor’s degree.

Certificate Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the graduate certificate program, you will be able to:

  • Understand critical engineering leadership and organizational communication concepts. You will also use communication techniques to work with various stakeholders.
  • Grasp and apply basic financial concepts to analyze alternatives for projects of different lengths and cash flows.
  • Use conceptual, analytical, and practical tools to plan and manage projects involving various stakeholders.
  • Identify quantitative tools and analytical methods for solving different problems.
  • Effectively communicate quantitative information to both technical and non-technical audiences.