An Online Professional Engineering Doctorate Program:  Getting the Program Launched from Design to Delivery

Joanna F. DeFranco; Dena Lang; Elizabeth Marie Starkey; Robin Havens Tate; Sven G. Bilén

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Conference: ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023
Location: State College,, Pennsylvania
Publication Date: March 30, 2023
Start Date: March 30, 2023
End Date: April 12, 2023
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--45084
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/45084
Download Count: 269

Paper Authors

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Joanna F. DeFranco Penn State University

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Joanna F. DeFranco is Associate Professor of Software Engineering and the Associate Director of the Doctor of Engineering program at
The Pennsylvania State University.

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Dena Lang Pennsylvania State University

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Dr. Lang is the Associate Director of the Engineering Leadership Graduate Program at Penn State University. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD in Kinesiology with a concentration in Biomechanics.

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Elizabeth Marie Starkey Pennsylvania State University

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Elizabeth Starkey is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Penn State. Her research focuses on creativity during the design process and building tools to facilitate learning and creativity in engineering design education.

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Robin Havens Tate The Pennsylvania State University

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Dr. Tate is The Director of Professional Programs Outreach and an Assistant Teaching Professor for the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Program at Penn State University's College of Engineering. Her research interests include the

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Sven G. Bilén P.E. Pennsylvania State University orcid.org/0000-0002-5416-7039

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Sven G. Bilén, Ph.D., P.E. is Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering at Penn State. His educational research interests include include developing techniques for enhancing engineering design education, innovation in design, teaching technological entrepreneurship, global product design, and systems design.

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Abstract

Opportunities for engineering industry practitioners to obtain a terminal degree have been limited. Masters degrees are the focus, unlike other disciplines such as education (Ed.D.), pharmacy (PharmD.), physical therapy (DPT), and law (JD). Pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering meant leaving a profession to become a full-time student in order to attend classes, teach, and fulfill program residency requirements. This is not an option for many professionals. A doctorate of engineering (D.Eng.) degree, a professional doctorate for an engineer, is also not prevalent as other professions due to lack of accessibility. It is critical to the competitiveness and economic growth of US for doctoral engineering recipients to transition into the workforce (https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22327). An effective solution is for doctor recipients to stay in the work force while earning their degree. However, there are only a handful of institutions that offer part-time doctorate programs let alone professional programs that an employer would support. Even fewer institutions deliver the program online as it is a challenge to design a program to have similar rigor as a residential doctoral program. An online program is necessary and can meet life obligations, reach students from all over the world, include a diverse set of engineering disciplines, and reach underrepresented students. The DEng program we have developed allows engineers to earn a terminal degree in their field without disrupting their career. They are able to enhance their technical skills and increase their domain knowledge to become subject matter experts at their organizations. In addition, employers are more apt to support a part time program and provide a focus for the required research to solve real world problems. Creating an effective doctoral program to support a diverse set of disciplines as well as a diverse set of students can be a challenge. This challenge was met, as we have successfully built and launched an online doctorate in Engineering program. This paper will provide a description of online DEng program designed and delivered from a top engineering research university. We will include a post-mortem of the journey from conception to delivery focusing on best practices and lessons learned.

Citation
Format

DeFranco, J. F., & Lang, D., & Starkey, E. M., & Tate, R. H., & Bilén, S. G. (2023, March), An Online Professional Engineering Doctorate Program: Getting the Program Launched from Design to Delivery Paper presented at ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--45084

TY - CPAPER
AB - Opportunities for engineering industry practitioners to obtain a terminal degree have been limited. Masters degrees are the focus, unlike other disciplines such as education (Ed.D.), pharmacy (PharmD.), physical therapy (DPT), and law (JD). Pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering meant leaving a profession to become a full-time student in order to attend classes, teach, and fulfill program residency requirements. This is not an option for many professionals. A doctorate of engineering (D.Eng.) degree, a professional doctorate for an engineer, is also not prevalent as other professions due to lack of accessibility.
It is critical to the competitiveness and economic growth of US for doctoral engineering recipients to transition into the workforce (https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22327). An effective solution is for doctor recipients to stay in the work force while earning their degree. However, there are only a handful of institutions that offer part-time doctorate programs let alone professional programs that an employer would support. Even fewer institutions deliver the program online as it is a challenge to design a program to have similar rigor as a residential doctoral program. An online program is necessary and can meet life obligations, reach students from all over the world, include a diverse set of engineering disciplines, and reach underrepresented students.
The DEng program we have developed allows engineers to earn a terminal degree in their field without disrupting their career. They are able to enhance their technical skills and increase their domain knowledge to become subject matter experts at their organizations. In addition, employers are more apt to support a part time program and provide a focus for the required research to solve real world problems.
Creating an effective doctoral program to support a diverse set of disciplines as well as a diverse set of students can be a challenge. This challenge was met, as we have successfully built and launched an online doctorate in Engineering program. This paper will provide a description of online DEng program designed and delivered from a top engineering research university. We will include a post-mortem of the journey from conception to delivery focusing on best practices and lessons learned.

AU - Joanna F. DeFranco
AU - Dena Lang
AU - Elizabeth Marie Starkey
AU - Robin Havens Tate
AU - Sven G. Bilén P.E.
CY - State College,, Pennsylvania
DA - 2023/03/30
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - An Online Professional Engineering Doctorate Program: Getting the Program Launched from Design to Delivery
UR - https://peer.asee.org/45084
DO - 10.18260/1-2--45084
ER -