UCLA Samueli to Offer One-Year Master of Engineering Degree Focused on Technical Skills and Professional Development

There is rising demand in high-tech sectors for a new breed of cross-disciplinary engineers who are well-versed in the technical, business and management aspects of technology. As a result, the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering plans to offer a one-year, full-time, on-campus Master of Engineering professional degree designed to cultivate engineering leaders of the future.

The new program, which will be available starting fall of 2021, addresses the needs of students who wish to pursue technical management positions. The curriculum includes an interdisciplinary technological concentration, an engineering professional development component and a capstone project.

UCLA MEng is best-suited for recent STEM graduates, early career professionals wanting to move up the ladder to managerial positions, international students with specialized goals and those whose professional education is supported by their employers.

“The tech industry is constantly looking for business-savvy engineers who also have the technical breadth and depth to help run startups and other tech companies,” said Jayathi Murthy, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean. “UCLA Samueli has a large pool of talented applicants every year who want to acquire this mix of technical and business skills in order to advance in their careers. This new professional degree program will help meet the needs of both students and industry.”

The Master of Engineering degree will be offered in the following interdisciplinary areas: autonomous systems, data science, digital-health technology, artificial intelligence, translational medicine and green-energy systems.

Degree requirements include 36 quarter units of graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses in, or related to, the major’s subject area. Nine courses will be offered, with five in technical-depth areas, three in engineering professional development and one capstone project with a faculty advisor. The total number of units required for degree completion is the same as that for the school’s current master’s students.

“The school will continue to offer its traditional master’s degree designed for students who are focused on research and interested in pursuing a Ph.D.,” said Jenn-Ming Yang, faculty director of the MEng program and Associate Dean, International Initiatives and Online Programs. “This new program is meant to prepare students for today’s dynamic workplace as they become tomorrow’s industry leaders.”

Applicants for the new professional graduate program must have completed a bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline, mathematics, physics or a related field with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. For 2021 applicants, it is optional to submit scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Those whose first language is not English are required to submit acceptable scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

In addition, each applicant must submit three letters of recommendation, two of which must be academic references. The program is open to all applicants and prior work experience in the area of study is not mandatory.

The school will initially enroll a cohort of 50 students the first year, with the goal of reaching a maximum of 200 students within four years.

For additional information, please visit meng.ucla.edu.