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The Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Degree in Engineering Technology

Abstract

The Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Degree in Engineering Technology (ET) is a new degree option created to meet growing industry needs for technologists with broad background and experience to provide rewarding career and academic opportunities for undergraduates in science, technology, business and health majors. According to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), this program involves not only advanced disciplinary study in engineering and technology, but also an appropriate array of professional skill-development activities to produce graduates highly valued by employers and fully prepared to progress toward leadership roles. These additional interdisciplinary professional skills include legal, communication, marketing, finance, and business training which are in demand by industry to complement the students’ engineering technology expertise. The nontechnical courses are often developed in collaboration with appropriate academic departments outside engineering technologies and are often taught by qualified adjunct faculty from the appropriate areas of industry.

The main objective of this proposed program is to graduate high caliber technologists with multiple talents who can effectively participate and directly contribute to the improvement of the U.S. industrial competitiveness in the current global economy. This paper portrays an actual program model that describes the method of tailoring this new master’s degree program to respond to current industrial needs, both locally and nationally.

Introduction

As the global economy continues to develop and evolve into a competitive world with new requirements for workforce talent and knowledge has resulted in considerable challenge to the U.S. technological leadership in the current world economy and the nation needs to respond to these global changes1. Today’s national and regional high-tech based industries need post graduates who are highly trained and well educated to advance the current state-of-the-art technology, while simultaneously possessing advanced business, communication, and legal negotiation skills. Traditional post graduate education produced scientists, engineers and technologists who are only familiar with their own field of study and focused on their own discipline. Industrial competitiveness is critical to the region’s economic growth that has resulted in a crucial demand for postgraduates who have cross-disciplinary scientific expertise in advanced technology, business, communication and social skills to effectively manage high tech projects2,3.

This has kindled the need for the development of a Professional Science Master (PSM) Degree program in Advanced Engineering Technologies-Plus4. This new PSM program will represent an effective answer to the problem and provide postgraduates with a chance to work productively

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Tawfik, H., & Shahrabi, K., & Kahn, B. (2009, June), The Professional Science Master’s (Psm) Degree In Engineering Technology Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5848