Engineering creates professional masters program

A new World Wide Web-based master’s degree created by College of Engineering is designed to help professionals advance their careers without interrupting them.

The Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP), slated to begin in summer 1999, represents what many see as the next wave in graduate education: Capstone-style degree programs that take instruction to the professional. Laptop computers will replace lecture halls, allowing students to complete assignments in the office, at home or on the road.

“We recognize that we may not be the center of (students’) universe. That’s very different from a traditional masters program,” said Karen Al-Ashkar, an adviser in Engineering Professional Development. “These students will have a lot of different priorities, all of which are important.”

While traditional graduate education stresses research, MEPP students will take a different track. The curriculum, likened to an engineer’s version of an MBA, focuses on technical and organizational skills critical to modern engineers. These include computer applications, project planning and communication skills.

Thomas Smith, director of engineering telecommunications programming, said the advances in web technology will give the course a real-time, interactive quality. Courses will include computer-aided problem-solving, technical project management, communicating technical information and quality management. The second year will include a collaborative project with teams of students.

The web is redefining distance education by helping educators shift from traditional videotaped lectures to something much more adaptable for off-campus students. In this course, Smith said students will make use of threaded discussions, networked email and teleconferencing to stay connected to professors and fellow students.

Michael Corradini, associate dean for academic affairs in the college, said MEPP is part of a larger trend in engineering to meet the increasing demand for distance learning. The college has two other graduate programs approved this year — technical Japanese, and polymer science and engineering — that also cater to the professional in the field.

The engineering programs are following a successful UW–Madison model in administrative medicine, which has offered a web-based advanced degree for years, he said. Like medicine, engineering is a field with near-constant change, and continued education is essential, he said.

“We think there is going to be growing demand among engineers who want a master’s degree, but don’t want to do research,” Corradini said.

For more information about the program, contact Wayne Pferdehirt, who was recently named director of the MEPP program, (608) 265-2361.

The deadline for applications for the first class is Jan. 15, 1999.