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The Engineering Management Curriculum at the University of Arizona: A Template for Undergraduate Engineering Education

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The role of the engineering graduate in society has been studied and it is clear that many holder’s of a Bachelor’s degree in engineering are not doing engineering, but instead are in the ranks of management, from shift supervisor, early in their career, to senior management at later career stages. For instance, in 1985 a major study was undertaken by the National Research Council (1) which found that 44.6% of those surveyed, who described themselves as engineers, said that their primary activities were management (28%) or production (16.6%). In 1995, a similar survey by NSF(2) found that only 38% of those in the U.S. workforce with a B.S. in engineering actually work as engineers. An additional 48% say that their work is related to engineering, but that they are managers, patent attorneys, CEO’s, financial analysts, and entrepreneurs. In 1998, NSF published the results of its Engineering Workforce Project,(3) an ongoing effort. It showed that in 1993 32% of respondents said their primary work activity was management or production, but 49% mentioned management as a work activity, 42% mentioned accounting, 33% mentioned quality or productivity, 23% mentioned employee relations and 14% production. A study of MIT graduates in 1992 (4) showed that 40% of the graduates in the Class of 1985 (seven years after graduation) had middle manager responsibility and 7% were senior managers or owners of companies. Those numbers increased to 49% and 13%, respectively, for the Class of 1980, and 37% and 40% for the Class of 1970. A 1998 study of University of Illinois College of Engineering graduates(5) showed that 45% of the Class of 1973 was in some management or supervisory capacity, and for all Classes, 70% were managers, officers or owners of businesses. A 1995 study for NSF by R. Weatherall,(6) Table 1, showed again the rapid rate at which engineers go from their first degree into supervision or management. These data are shown in Figure 1. and Table 1.

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Geiger, G. (2006, June), A New Model For Undergraduate Engineering Education? The Engineering Management Curriculum At The University Of Arizona: A Template For Undergraduate Engineering Education Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--393