U of M Launches Online Master of Engineering in Project
Management
Clark School Program Designed by Engineers for Engineers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 23, 2005

CONTACT: Paul Easterling

(301) 405-3017

peaster@umd.edu

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—It's no longer enough for engineers to be smart or gifted, or to be committed to the success of their employer. Today, engineers around the globe must push beyond their core areas of expertise and take on a variety of roles and challenges for which they were not academically trained, almost all of which demand keen project management skills.

Building and maintaining career momentum is increasingly tied to an engineer's ability in this area of project management—despite the fact that very few have received formal education in it, and even fewer know where to get such education.

The University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering aims to correct that with the launch of its online Professional Master of Engineering program in Project Management. A new evolution of the school’s renowned engineering project management graduate and undergraduate courses, the online Master's offers the same high level of education and training experienced by full-time, on-campus students. Supported by the school’s internationally acknowledged expertise in engineering, this Master's degree is aimed squarely at the top echelon of engineers.

Designed by engineers for engineers, the new program provides an immersive and collaborative learning experience that enables ambitious candidates from around the world to share experiences and know-how, while staying in constant touch with the school’s expert faculty. Delivering a truly interactive, virtual-classroom experience that allows for communication with faculty and other students and facilitates the formation of project groups, the online Master's program is structured so that what students learn can be immediately beneficial in the workplace.

"Our school's great reputation is built on engineering, and we put all our experience and knowledge to work aligning this course with the career goals engineers have," notes John Cable, R.A., PMP, director of the Clark School's project management program. "This course is better than an MBA as far as most engineers are concerned."

Project management forces engineers to engage in levels of planning, scheduling, budgeting, control, communication and delegation that can be orders of magnitude beyond anything they expected. All of a sudden, people who are good at being engineers can find their careers stalled, or even jeopardized, because they do not have the wherewithal to drive projects forward successfully.

"Project management can no longer be viewed as an elective skill," adds Paul Easterling, associate director in the Office of Advanced Engineering Education at the Clark School. "Employers need to know their engineers can consistently bring complex projects to fruition. Now, in the same way that employers trust the engineering skills of our graduates, they can put equal faith in their project management abilities."

For this reason the program is neither easy to get into, nor easy to do well in. Mixing the most advanced content delivery systems available to colleges, with courses that provide real-world skills for practicing engineers, the new online Master’s maintains the same rigorous academic approach and demanding structure that are a hallmark of the courses delivered at the College Park campus in Maryland.

For more information about the curriculum, the program, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering contact Paul Easterling at 301-405-3017 or peaster@umd.edu, or go online to www.pm.umd.edu.

About the A. James Clark School of Engineering

The Clark School of Engineering, situated on the rolling, 1,500-acre University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md., is one of the premier engineering schools in the U.S.

Academically, the School offers 13 graduate programs and 11 undergraduate programs, including two degree programs tailored for working professionals and one certification program. The Clark School's graduate programs are collectively the fastest rising in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's annual rating of graduate programs.

The Clark School is home to one of the most vibrant compilations of research activities in the country. With major emphasis in key areas such as communications and networking, systems engineering, rotorcraft technology, optoelectronics, transportation systems and space engineering, as well as electronic packaging and smart small systems and materials, the Clark School is leading the way toward the next generations of engineering technology.

Visit the Clark School homepage here: https://eng.umd.edu/