COMBINED MS / MBA PROGRAM

Program Motivation

The Combined MS/MBA Program is a new addition to the ECE curriculum that combines the applied coursework and research training of a traditional Engineering MS Program with the comprehensive business training gained through an MBA program.

Engineers are trained to create and improve products, processes, and systems. However, the eventual relevance of their research is frequently determined by the market performance and social impact of the products on which they work. Meanwhile, business managers and marketing professionals may have the skills necessary to carry a product to market, but they lack the specific technical knowledge necessary to understand how the product works or how an invention might best be put to a practical use.

MS/MBA graduates will be, with appropriate experience, qualified to direct or manage the transition of new products, processes, and systems from the laboratory to the boardroom.

The MS/MBA program will specifically develop professionals skilled at effectively:

Identifying technology-driven solutions;

Evaluating those solutions as potentially new products or processes;

Facilitating the rapid instantiation, commercialization, and use of the new knowledge in the most appropriate manner; and

Using awareness of the market to direct new research developments and goals

Time Commitment and Payoff

Because there is intellectual benefit from studying engineering and business administration in a coordinated program, a student enrolled in the joint degree program earns both degrees in 21-24 months of full-time study. In general, students take 21 credit hours in the College of Engineering, 47 hours in the College of Business, and a 6-hour capstone project course taught across the Colleges.

Up to 9 credit hours appear on the program of study for both degrees, and reducing the overlap eliminates up to 18 credit hours required of students were they to complete the two programs separately. The net is a two-year MBA and a one-year MS combined into two years – a considerable time and cost advantage to students.

More importantly, participating in the academic and research lives of two outstanding colleges throughout their program gives MS/MBA students a significant advantage to contributing to the research, development, and commercialization process both within the University and beyond.

Mission Statement

To prepare students for leadership positions and professional practice in academia, industry and government; to improve the productivity, health, safety and enjoyment of human life through leading-edge research; and to stimulate and grow the economy by providing qualified engineering professionals and by transferring the technologies developed in College of Engineering research to the private sector.

College Rankings

The latest report by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) ranks the University of Utah’s College of Engineering 71st of 310 schools in the size of our undergraduate enrollment. ASEE also ranks Utah Engineering:

27th of 251 schools in total annual research expenditures

37th of 264 schools for the number of tenure-track faculty

40th of 215 schools in the number of doctoral degrees

Strength In Numbers

Concern over U.S. global competitiveness has become a national priority, and with it, efforts to increase the number of U.S. students seeking degrees in engineering and computer science. The need is so important that Congress passed the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science) Act, authorizing $43.3 billion in federal spending in science, engineering, mathematics and technology research and education programs. The bipartisan bill passed unanimously in the Senate, and by an overwhelming 367-57 margin in the House. Former President Bush signed the bill into law on August 9, 2007.

At the University of Utah, we have been focused on this issue for over a decade, leading a statewide effort to increase engineering and computer science degrees to support growth in the state, regional and national economies. Our efforts are paying off. In May 2018, the College awarded 1,184 degrees (716 B.S., 354 M.S., 114 Ph.D.)

Additionally, the faculty has grown engineering-related research to $97 million (with sub awards) in 2019, a 288 percent increase since 2002. This places our College in the top 50 engineering universities in the country for research productivity.