Master of Engineering Administration (MEA) (2024)

Program Overview

The Masters of Engineering Administration at Virginia Tech is designed for engineering professionals seeking to advance to leadership positions within an engineering enterprise. Graduates learn how to apply engineering expertise in a business context to manage and lead an engineering enterprise toward innovative opportunities. Courses are offered in the late afternoon or evening to accommodate those working full-time. This program is a non-thesis, coursework-only degree, focused on applying management and executive expertise within an engineering enterprise.

Our program is designed for highly motivated individuals seeking a competitive edge. Taught by renowned College of Engineering faculty members who provide students with individualized attention, our program benefits from its unparalleled access to top industry and business leaders in both private and public sectors. We take pride in our innovativecurriculum, the strength of our alumni network and ourexcellent careerplacement.

This degree program is designed for individuals who are interested in leadership positions or career opportunities in the management of research, engineering, or technology development enterprises.

Admissions and Policies

Each applicant for the MS program should meet the following entrance requirements

Have a B.S. or B.A. degree from an accredited institution.
Provide evidence of satisfactory educational achievement in at least one of the following forms:

A GPA of at least 3.00 as an undergraduate or an acceptable GPA in graduate courses.

International students must complete a test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) with an Internet-based test (iBT) score of 90 (with a score of 20 or greater in the Listening, Writing, Speaking, and Reading subsections) or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.5. (https://www.ets.org/toefl/score-users/ibt/interpret-scores.html)
Have two letters of recommendation submitted by former professors or supervisors

Visit the bursar's website for more information on cost per credit hour.

Degree Requirements

Core Required Courses (16 Credit Hours)

All of the following course are required. These are all offered in the late afternoon or evening using the distance learning infrastructure for synchronous online course delivery.

ENGE 5304 (1) Graduate Student Success in Multicultural Environments
ISE 5104 (3) Operations Research
ISE 5124 (3) Quality Management
ISE 5164 (3) Transfer and Application of Emerging Technology
ISE 5174 (3) Engineering Program and Project Management
ISE 5434 (3) Economic Project Evaluation

Electives (15 Credit Hours)

Any ISE graduate courses can be chosen to meet the 15-credit hour elective requirement. Not all current ISE courses may be feasible for students who are not located in Blacksburg, Virginia. The courses listed below are offered once per week in the late afternoon or evening, using the distance learning infrastructure for synchronous online course delivery.

ISE 5114 (3) Case Studies in Industrial Engineering
ISE 5015 (3) Management of Change, Innovation & Performance in Organizational Systems I
ISE 5016 (3) Management of Change, Innovation & Performance in Organizational Systems II
ISE 5134 (3) Enterprise Information Systems
ISE 5144 (3) Management and Measurement of Efficiency & Productivity
ISE 5154 (3) Applied Human Factors Engineering
ISE 5204 (3) Manufacturing Systems Engineering
ISE 5804 (3) Fundamentals of Systems Engineering
ISE 5814 (3) System Dynamics Modeling of Socio-Technical Systems
ISE 5834 (3) Decision Analysis for Engineers
ISE 5844 (3) Health Systems Engineering & Modeling
ISE 5874 (3) Digital Engineering
ISE 5884 (3) System Architecture

In addition, the following courses may be taken to satisfy the elective requirement and are offered once per week in the late afternoon or evening, taught through the Pamplin College of Business (MGT) or the School of Public and International Affairs (PAPA) using the distance learning infrastructure for synchronous online course delivery.

MGT 5314 (3) Dynamics of Organization Behavior
MGT 5804 (3) Strategic Leadership in Technology-based Organizations
PAPA 5315 (3) Government Administration
PAPA 5614 (STS 5614) (3) Introduction to Science and Technology Policy

Accelerated Master's Program

For well qualified students in a College of Engineering bachelor’s degree program at Virginia Tech, the ISE department offers the opportunity to begin the MEA coursework in the final year of their bachelor’s studies.

Admissions Requirements for the Accelerated UG/G program in SYSE:

Minimum 3.4 GPA in last 60 hours of bachelor’s coursework completed
Statement of purpose, including career objectives
CV/Resume
3 letters of reference
Transcripts, including official transcripts of all non-VT coursework

Applicants must be in the last 12 months of their undergraduate degree and must be accepted into the program prior to the beginning of the semester in which they would enroll in courses to be used in the UG/G program.

Additional Program Requirements:

A maximum of 9 hours may be double‐counted, none of which can include required undergraduate classes.
No more than six credits double counted may be at the 4XXX level.
Conjoint classes, to double count, must be taken at the 5XXX level.
A grade of “B” or better must be earned in each course to be double counted.
Courses must not be taken pass‐fail if a graded option is available.