What is Engineering Management | NC State University

What is Engineering Management?

Last Updated: 08/31/2022 and all information on this page is accurate and up-to-date

What is Engineering Management and how will it Benefit Me?

Engineering Management is a specialized kind of management needed to successfully lead engineering and other technical employees and organizations. It brings together the problem-solving skills of engineering and the administrative and planning abilities of management. All of which will allow you to oversee the operational performance of engineering-driven companies.

To be a successful engineering manager, you must have the skills to mentor and motivate technical professionals. These skills are often quite different from those needed to effectively manage individuals in other fields.

The Master of Engineering Management (MEM) degree meets your needs, first, by deepening your science and engineering abilities. Second, by broadening your critical management skills. National employer demand for masters-level engineering managers increased by 59 percent between 2013 and 2017. North Carolina employer demand grew 64 percent during that same time frame. Engineering management degrees provide you the skills necessary to manage and succeed in today’s complex engineering environments and put you in high demand.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an engineering manager’s median salary is $137,720 per year.

A man leading an engineering team meeting after receiving his Master of Engineering Management degree from NC State University

Why is NC State the Right Place for me to get my MEM Degree?

The NC State (MEM) program responds to the demand from industry for tech-savvy leaders, focusing on flexibility for you in our program and curriculum. The program uses regularly-taught courses wherever possible, provides you a personal touch to adapt the coursework to meet your needs and allows flexibility to meet the future needs of industry.

Our program offers you seven concentrations, including a “Build Your Own” option, and a professional practice option. These concentrations benefit from our expertise in health and human systems, supply chain managementfacilities engineeringentrepreneurship and analytics. Our carefully crafted concentrations enable you to identify and plan for a future career path while providing you flexibility. This type of specialization allows you to connect to the industries that have employed MEM graduates:

  • Pharma and life sciences (17%)
  • Computer hardware and software (14%)
  • Defense and aerospace (26%)
  • Civil, environmental and energy (7%)
  • Other tech industries (26%)
  • Other (10%)

Our concentration in Facilities Engineering meets the degree requirements and certification from branches of the US military for MEM degrees.

What does the Curriculum look like?

RequirementCredit Hours
Core courses15
Concentration courses (includes practicum)15
Total30 (10 courses)

Transfer Policy. Students may transfer up to 12 credit hours as a non-degree student into the MEM program in accordance with the Graduate Student Handbook.