Engineering & Technology Management MS, Technology Management PhD | Program Details

Master of Science Program Requirements

The Master of Science in Engineering Technology Management (MSETM) provides students with a comprehensive program to meet the needs of engineers and scientists whose objective is to advance to technical management positions in business, industry, or government.

A minimum of 45 credits in approved graduate courses is required to complete the Master of Science degree in Engineering and Technology Management. The program consists of 20 credits in the core, 20 credits of specialization options, and 5 credits of integrative experience.

Core Coursework (12 Credits)

Take these three courses (4 credits each):

ETM 520 - Management of Engineering and Technology
ETM 522 - Leveraging Human Capital
ETM 555 - Technology Marketing

Specialization Options (8 credits)

Take two of the following four courses (4 credits each):

ETM 530 - Decision Making
ETM 540 - Operations Research
ETM 545 - Project Management
ETM 558 - Engineering Financial Management

Electives (20 credits)

Take five courses (4 credits each):

ETM 526 - Strategic Management of Technology
ETM 527 - Data Mining for Business
ETM 531 - Technology Assessment & Acquisition
ETM 534 - Technology Roadmapping
ETM 538 - Data Warehousing
ETM 544 - Organizational Project Management
ETM 546 - Project Management Tools
ETM 549 - Management of Technological Innovation
ETM 556 - User-Centered Innovation
ETM 561 - Technology Entrepreneurship
ETM 562 - New Venture Management
ETM 572 - AI Fundamentals for Non-Programmers
ETM 580 - Cybersecurity Technology Management

Integrative Experience (5 credits)

ETM 590 - Engineering and Technology Management Synthesis - 4 credits
ETM 508 - Workshop: Learning Lab - 1 credit
(ETM 506 - Capstone Project may be substituted for ETM 590 with departmental approval).

Electives

Students may select any ETM course not used to fulfill core requirements as an elective. They can use up to 4 Learning Lab credits and up to 4 Internship Credits as electives. Many students choose to align their elective credits with the requirements of graduate certificate from ETM or related programs. This allows them to earn a second degree and highlight an area of expertise. Admitted MSETM students in good standing can simply add an ETM graduate certificate. To add the Business Intelligence and Analytics Certificate, please contact the School of Business.

If your career interests are best served by pursuing elective courses in other graduate programs, please contact your advisor. We often give credits for courses taught outside of ETM programs.

Planning your degree

Schedules can be individualized to align with your career goals. Part-time students usually take 1-2 courses per term. Full-time students take a minimum of 9 credits (2 courses + 1 credit learning lab). Use the ETM course planner to see what courses are offered in the current academic year. Internships can be fit into the schedule and can earn up to 4 credits towards graduation. One credit requires 40 hours of work. To earn 4 credits, students must complete approximately 160 hours of work (16 hours per week over a 10 week term). Most students do internships in the summer quarter, but other quarters are possible as well.

What you will learn

Making informed, data-driven decisions is central to successful management. Courses in this area provide foundational knowledge on how to analyze data and structure decision problems, using state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence tools and applying knowledge through hands-on exercises and projects. These courses are the fundamental “toolbox” for any engineering manager. Many courses map to ETM's Graduate Certificate in AI Transformation Management and the Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Analytics (offered by the School of Business).

Many engineers enter management roles as project or program managers. Courses in this cluster prepare students for this responsibility and hone the skills of those already active in the field. The content aligns with but goes beyond the curriculum of Project Management Institute, which certifies project management skills. ETM does not offer PMI certification. This curriculum closely aligns with the Graduate Certificate in Project Management.

Engineers with product responsibility are tasked with turning ideas into successful products and business value. Courses in this area cover a range of skills, such as user-centered innovation, determining requirements, managing product development, planning the product life cycle, and developing new business opportunities. This curriculum closely aligns with the Graduate Certificate for New Product Management.

In high-tech, products are the result of integrating existing, newly developed, and externally sourced technologies. Companies need to keep track of hundreds of constantly evolving technologies and invest wisely in the ones that will be critical to their future business. Courses in this cluster are unique to technology management programs - they provide the strategic knowledge and tools to make these decisions.

Technology Management Doctorate Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in Technology Management is a research-focused, part or full-time doctoral degree program, housed in the Department of Engineering and Technology Management. Students conduct research to solve industry problems in technology management, with a focus on fundamental insights and generalizable knowledge. They use a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods and industry data. Emphasis on research occurs early in the program, giving students an opportunity to develop research projects that align with their experience and professional interests. About 2/3 of the graduates pursue careers in industry about 1/3 become faculty. Most students are part-time and work in industry.

A PhD is multi-year project and has many steps that follow the general degree requirements by PSU's Graduate School . Coursework is the beginning and ensures that students have the necessary qualifications to do independent research. Most students enter the PhD program with a Master’s in Business or Engineering Management. Because they typically receive credit for this prior work, they take only few courses, all fully aligned with their chosen research topic. The Ph.D. in Technology Management requires the successful completion of the equivalent of at least 60 credits of coursework beyond the bachelor's degree. These credits fall into three categories:

Core
(at least 20 credits)

Select five courses from the list below and a minimum of one per group.

Group 1

ETM 520: Management of Engineering
ETM 549: Management of Technological Innovation

Group 2

ETM 545: Project Management
ETM 555: Technology Marketing

Group 3

ETM 526: Strategic Management of Technology
ETM 527: Competitive Strategies in Technology Management

Group 4

ETM 531: Technology Assessment and Acquisition
ETM 533: Technology Transfer

Specialization (at least 20 credits)

Specialization courses cover theory and practices of the proposed research area. They are focused on specific managerial problems, industries, application domain, organization types, or other aspects of technology management.

Methodology (at least 20 credits)

Methodology courses cover with fundamentals and practice of the research process and give students the ability to select and apply the research methods that are appropriate for their research areas.

Course work done in other programs and degrees can be approved to fulfill credit requirements.

Steps to Completion of the PhD

Coursework;
Earn 12 Project credits. Projects are supervised by the ETM faculty and must be deemed at the level of acceptable papers for a national or international conference on Engineering and Technology Management;
Successful completion of a comprehensive examination to demonstrate mastery of the Engineering and Technology Management field, including the defense of the research paper described above;
Selection of the dissertation advisor from the ETM faculty and formation of the Ph.D. committee including one member appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies;
Development of the dissertation proposal and its approval by the Ph.D. committee resulting in the advancement to Ph.D. candidacy
Preparation of at least one publishable paper for a research journal or recognized refereed technical conference proceedings based upon the dissertation research;
Defense of the dissertation;
Publication of the accepted thesis.

Multiple Degrees & Applying Credits

Our programs leave a lot of flexibility, allowing students to apply credits from other programs and earning multiple degrees in parallel. But rules are complex and every case is different. Talk to our advisors about:

using the same courses to earn an M.S. and a graduate certificate
dual-degree options with other graduate programs
starting your first course as a non-degree student and transferring it after program admission
applying credits earned in your MBA or similar program towards the Ph.D. degree.