Chapter 13: Department of Engineering Management and Leadership

Dean’s Executive Professor: Paul Semenza (Department Chair)
Adjunct Faculty: Michele Ellie Ahi, Octave Baker, Marlene Cole, Theresa Conefrey, Don Danielson, John Giddings, Pravin Jain, Ronald Lesniak, Eric Monsef, Mohammad Musa, Usha Parimi, Kern Peng, Bruce Pittman, Dennis Segers, Nataliya Starostina, Dave Trindade

Overview

The Engineering Management and Leadership (EMGT) program is designed for both engineering students and professionals who wish to develop management and leadership skills while furthering their engineering education at the graduate level. EMGT students take core courses in organizational behavior, project management, systems engineering, finance, and marketing, augmented by additional courses in management and leadership. In parallel, students design a Technical Stem program to advance their knowledge in an advanced engineering discipline and round out their education with an Enrichment Experience. The combination of business and graduate-level engineering coursework prepares students for leadership roles in technologically sophisticated companies.

Master Of Science Program Requirements

Admission to the Engineering Management and Leadership Program is open to those students who hold an undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering, mathematics, computer science, or engineering physics. The undergraduate degree must be from a four-year engineering program substantially equivalent to Santa Clara University’s. Students holding undergraduate degrees other than bioengineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering must be prepared to select technical stem courses from these disciplines as listed in the Graduate Engineering Bulletin. In addition, the GRE is required for all students who do not have at least two years of working experience in the United States.

Requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum of 46 quarter units to complete the master’s degree, following these guidelines:

• Engineering Management Core (20 units)
  • Required Courses (10 units): EMGT 255, 322, 330, 352, and 380
  • Leadership (2 units): select from EMGT 269, 285, 324, 349, 373, or 395
  • Project, Program, and Product Management (2 units): select from EMGT 296, 307, 308, 333, 335, 338, 339, 345, 358, or 378
  • Operations/Innovation Management (2 units): select from EMGT 253, 289, 292, 323, or 357
  • Electives (4 units): choose any 2 EMGT courses
• Technical Stem (18 units)
  • A focused set of courses from Graduate Engineering departments; see guidelines and restrictions below

• Enrichment Experience (minimum 8 units)

  • Graduate Core: A minimum of 4 units. One from each topic
    • Emerging Topics in Engineering
    • Engineering and Society

  • The additional 4 units can be satisfied by any combination of

    • a) one or more technical electives
    • b) additional classes from Graduate Core List
    • c) Cooperative Education courses (ENGR 288/289)
    • d) combination of a, b and c

    Please see Chapter 6 for additional information regarding the Enrichment Experience.

Technical Stem Courses

Engineering Management and Leadership students are required to create a focused, coherent program of studies within a field of engineering. The following list areas of focus by department, which can be used as guidelines for developing the Technical Stem program.

• Bioengineering: Biomolecular Engineering/Biotechnology; Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering; Microfluidics/Biosensors and Imaging; Computational or Translational Bioengineering
• Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering: Structural Engineering; General Civil Engineering; Construction Engineering and Management
• Computer Science and Engineering: Data Science; Internet of Things; Software Engineering; Information Assurance; Multimedia Processing; Computer Networks; Computer Architecture and Systems
• Electrical and Computer Engineering: Power Systems and Control; RF and Applied Electromagnetics; Signal Processing; Digital Systems; Communications
• Mechanical Engineering: Aerospace Engineering; Dynamics and Controls; Materials Engineering; Mechanical Design; Robotics and Mechatronic Systems; Thermofluids
• Power Systems and Sustainable Energy Interdisciplinary Technical Stem programs can be created to pursue areas of interest within engineering management. For example, the following program would be applicable to Industrial Engineering and/or Operations Research.
• Probabilistic Modeling/Optimization: AMTH 210, 211, 245, 246, 362, 364, 370, 371 (optional: ELEN 235)
  • Mathematical Finance option: substitute AMTH 367 for 2 of the above
  • Network option: substitute ELEN 211 and/or 330 for 1 or 2 of the above
  • Machine Learning option: substitute COEN 240 or 281 for 1 or 2 of the above; or ELEN 520, 521

Courses for the Technical Stem of Engineering Management and Leadership are selected from the graduate course listings in the Graduate Bulletin. However, not all graduate classes listed in the bulletin are considered technical in terms of fulfilling the technical stem requirements. This is especially the case of ENGR courses. In addition, there are other limitations, some of which are listed below. Therefore, it is important that students complete a program of studies in their first term, to make sure all of the courses they select will fulfill the degree requirements.

• All courses applied to the Engineering Management and Leadership degree must be graded courses—no P/NP courses are allowed.
• Undergraduate courses cross-listed with graduate course numbers do not apply unless the student registers with the graduate course number.
• Graduate seminars in other departments such as ELEN 200, COEN 400, MECH 261, MECH 297 are not applicable.
• COEN 485 Software Engineering Capstone is not applicable to the technical stem unless students complete three one-quarter consecutive sessions beginning in the fall quarter.
• The following courses do not count toward the technical stem: BIOE 210; CENG 208 and 292; COEN 287 and 288; ELEN 217; ENGR 245, 261, 271, 272, 273, 288, 289, 293, 302, 303, 304, 306, 330, 332, 334, 336, 338, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 349, 350, and 351.
• Engineering Management and Leadership students are allowed to enroll in one unit of Independent Study or Directed Research under the direction of a full-time faculty member in the respective engineering department. Any additional units will not be counted toward graduation.
• New courses are often developed and offered during the academic year that are not listed in this bulletin. It is important that students check with their advisor prior to enrolling in those courses to make sure they will count toward their degree.

All of the requirements for the engineering management and leadership degree must be completed within a six-year timeframe. In addition to the overall 3.0 GPA graduation requirement, engineering management and leadership degree candidates must earn a 3.0 GPA in those courses applied to their technical stem and a 3.0 GPA in their engineering management course stem. All courses in which a student is enrolled at Santa Clara are included in these calculations.

A completed program of studies for Engineering Management and Leadership degree candidates must be submitted to the chair of the Department of Engineering Management and Leadership during the first term of enrollment to ensure that all courses undertaken are applicable to the degree. Students who take courses that have not been approved for their program of studies by both the department chair and the Graduate Programs Office do so at their own risk, as they may not be counted toward completion of the degree.

A maximum of nine quarter units (six semester units) of graduate-level coursework may be transferred from other accredited institutions at the discretion of the student’s advisor provided they have not been applied to a previous degree. However, in no case will the minimum units taken in the Department of Engineering Management and Leadership be fewer than 16. Extension classes, continuing education classes, professional development courses, or classes from international universities are not accepted for transfer credits.

Note: International students or students not fluent in the English language should enroll in one or more of the following courses prior to enrolling in advanced courses in engineering management:

• EMGT 270 Effective Oral Technical Presentations
• EMGT 272 Effective Written Technical Communications II
• EMGT 318 Strategies for Career and Academic Success (for foreign-born technical professionals)

Engineering Management and Leadership Five-Year Program

The School of Engineering offers qualified Santa Clara University undergraduates the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Science degree in their technical discipline and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management and Leadership in five years. This is an excellent path to continue technical education while learning the essential skills required to manage technical projects and people. The degree program is open to students in engineering and engineering physics.

The application fee and GRE General Test requirement are waived for students completing their undergraduate B.S. degree in the technical disciplines listed above who have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their technical major. Students are required to apply no later than the end of their junior year. Upon notification of acceptance into the Engineering Management and Leadership Five-Year Program, students may begin taking graduate-level courses in the fall quarter of their senior year. The maximum number of graduate units allowed to transfer as an undergraduate in this program is 20.

Students in this program will receive a B.S. degree after satisfying the standard undergraduate degree requirements. Students will then be matriculated to the Engineering Management and Leadership M.S. program and must then fulfill all requirements for the M.S. degree.

Notes

1. B.S. degrees (for those who are graduating seniors) must be posted by September 1 to allow the student progression in their graduate career.
2. Undergraduate students must submit “Permission to Take Graduate Course” form to be correctly registered for graduate courses.
3. All coursework applied to the M.S. degree must be at the 200 level or above and not applied to any other degree.
4. Course numbers below 200 indicate undergraduate courses, numbers of 200 and above indicate graduate courses. Students may take courses assigned both undergraduate and graduate numbers (same title used for both numbers) only once as an undergraduate or graduate student.
5. Students must register with the graduate course number in cross-listed courses to apply the course to an M.S. degree.
6. Students who are entering this program should meet with their Engineering Management and Leadership advisor at the end of their junior year to develop a program of studies to ensure that all graduate courses they plan to take are applicable to the Engineering Management and Leadership M.S. degree.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

EMGT 253. Operations and Production Systems

Provides the knowledge and techniques required to properly manage operations and production systems. Topics include operations strategies, process management, forecasting, location and layout decisions, capacity and resource planning, technology management, computer-integrated manufacturing. TQM, statistical process control, Lean, Just-in-Time, simulation, and supply-chain and inventory management. (2 units)

EMGT 255. Managerial Accounting for Operating Managers

This course provides an introductory survey to the underlying principles and applications of managerial accounting and financial analysis. Taken from the perspective of the recipient of accounting data, rather than the generator of reports, this course will equip operating managers with the skills to interpret the story behind the numbers to gain a more accurate understanding of the status of their business and to make more informed decisions. (2 units)

EMGT 269. Human Resource Development and the Engineering Manager

Provides concepts of human resource management in tech companies, including staffing, performance management, people development, compensation and benefit strategies. Also explores the meaning of work, the individual and organization behaviors, growth and learning, the manager’s role in career/life management, corporate cultures, as well as the development of major management theories. (2 units)

EMGT 270. Effective Oral Technical Presentations

Role of communications in the workplace, persuasive communications, organizing and leading meetings, interviewing skills, delivering effective technical presentations to large and small groups. (2 units)

EMGT 271. Effective Written Technical Communication I

Cluster writing; pyramid technique; audience analysis; opening, body, and end of text; technical correspondence; abstracts and summaries; presentation patterns for reports and proposals; proposal presentation. (2 units)

EMGT 272. Effective Written Technical Communication II

Intensive writing practicum, overview of writing, mechanics of style, editing techniques, digital communications. (2 units)

EMGT 285. Managing Business Relationships

Leadership skills taught to develop and leverage key relationships in one’s own organization, including person-to-person (manager), group-to-group (director), and company-wide (executive) relationship management strategies. Learn to develop and manage interaction models, dependency analyses, and team structures. Develop people skills and techniques to manage outsourcing, partnerships, joint development strategies, and change management. Calibration and driving key metrics as part of ability to influence across one's network. High class participation using group exercise, combined with practical training methods. (2 units)

EMGT 289. Managing, Controlling, and Improving Quality

Management structure and statistical and analytical tools for quality success: total quality management, six-sigma and beyond, statistical inference (made simple), control charts (SPC), sampling procedures, designed experiments (DOE), and reliability. (2 units)

EMGT 292. Managing Capital Assets in the Smart Machine Era

Provides effective tactics in managing capital assets in technical firms. With Industry 4.0 and the development of a new generation of smart machines, the complexity and cost of capital equipment are increasing substantially. Prepares students to manage the new generation of machines with the applications of robotics, IoT, AI and ML. Covers approaches and practices in managing the lifespan of capital assets: development, introduction, sustaining, decommission. (2 units)

EMGT 295. Project Planning Under Conditions of Uncertainty

Managerial decision making in project management under conditions of varying knowledge about the future. Decisions relying on certainty and decisions based on probabilities and made under risk. Situations in which there is no basis for probabilities; decisions made under conditions of uncertainty. Use of applications of decision theory to help develop strategies for project selection and evaluation. (2 units)

EMGT 296. Project Risk Management

There are three fundamental steps: risk analysis, risk evaluation, and risk migration and management. The acceptable risk threshold is defined by the customer and management, and identifies the level above which risk reduction strategies will be implemented. (2 units)

EMGT 299. Directed Research

By arrangement. Limited to a single enrollment. (1 unit)

EMGT 307. Medical Device Product Development

The purpose of the course is to provide skills, knowledge, and confidence, to start or enhance a career in medical device product development. The course includes medical device examples, market data, product development processes, regulation, industry information, and intellectual property. Also listed as BIOE 107 and BIOE 307. (2 units)

EMGT 308. Solutions Architecture and the Cloud

System design foundation blocks, design considerations and best practices for cloud services; micro services to build sample systems. Hands-on labs to deploy applications on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure and GCP. Review of cloud certification paths relevant to solutions architect roles at cloud infrastructure and platform companies. (2 units)

EMGT 318. Strategies for Career and Academic Success (for Foreign-born Technical Professionals)

Designed to help foreign-born engineers and technical professionals develop the knowledge and skills needed to be more effective in the American academic and corporate environments and to achieve career success. Focuses on key skills in career development, effective communication, interpersonal effectiveness, and building relationships with co-workers. Uses participatory, experiential training methods including role plays, simulations, and small group exercises. (2 units)

EMGT 319. Human Interaction I

Individuals interacting in groups to solve problems. Discusses a mix of electronic and personal elements to achieve goals. (2 units)

EMGT 320. Human Interaction II

A close look at communications. Personal limits. Electronic interfacing. The role of communication skills, attitudes, knowledge level, and culture in the communication process. (2 units)

EMGT 322. Organizational Behavior

This course will cover the skills required in transitioning from a technical contributor to a technical manager or team leader. This transition requires a new set of skills and knowledge in which engineers and scientists are typically not trained. These new skills will include “soft skills” from the areas of psychology, ethics, and interpersonal relationships, as well as the management processes essential to becoming an effective manager. This class blends the technical dialog with a more personal and social dialogue. Students will think introspectively about managerial roles and responsibilities through lectures and discussions. (2 units)

EMGT 323. Management of Technological Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges

Understanding innovation as the process of commercializing new technologies or applying them in new ways, at the levels of industries, markets, and the firm, including startups and incumbents. Sources, types and models of innovation, s-curves and disruptive innovation, dominant designs and standards, first-mover and other timing issues, network effects and platforms, intellectual property and markets for technology, and tools for selecting innovation projects. Focus will be on strategies and processes for capitalizing on innovations. (2 units)

EMGT 324. Engineering Leadership

This course is designed to facilitate successful transitions by individuals with technical backgrounds from team management to corporate leadership positions. Students will learn the attitudes and social approaches necessary for serving as an effective corporate leader. This will be accomplished through lectures and discussions with classroom participation exercises and topical essay homework. Prerequisite: EMGT 322. (2 units)

EMGT 329. Parallel Thinking

This workshop-style program will provide the tools and coaching engineering leaders need to be effective in harnessing the brainpower of groups. Draws heavily on the application of the research done at Stanford University on precision questioning, the work of Edward DeBono, and group processing work on high-performance systems. (2 units)

EMGT 330. Project Management Basics

Designed to provide the basic knowledge and techniques required to properly manage projects. Covers the fundamental concepts and approaches in project management, such as the triple constraints, project life cycle and processes, project organizations, project scheduling, budgeting, resource loading, project monitoring and controls, and project information systems. (2 units)

EMGT 331. Strategic Technology Management

Translating strategic plans into action plans and ensuring their implementation. Integration of a process that crosses all organizational boundaries. Performance objectives and priorities, change and discontinuities, managed growth, accelerated technology transfer. Analyzing competitive technical positions, collecting and utilizing user/customer information, and changing leadership. (2 units)

EMGT 333. Computer-Aided Project Management Scheduling and Control

This course is designed to teach students real world project management using modern project management software. We consider customers, competition, technology, and financial realities in order to develop project requirements. We then go on to project planning, resource allocation, and strategies for dealing with multiple projects. Finally, we focus on project tracking, including earned value analysis and taking corrective action. (2 units)

EMGT 335. Advanced Project Management and Leadership

A strategic view of project classification and project portfolio management. Covers the approaches and practices in creating the right environment and culture for overall project success. Highly interactive advanced course with in-class practice and situational analysis. While providing knowledge of project planning and managing techniques, it focuses on the development of project leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Prerequisite: EMGT 330. (2 units)

EMGT 336. Global Software Management (Introduction)

Discuss and understand the software development techniques and issues in view of offshore outsourcing. Discuss best practices, dos and don’ts in project management, and other techniques due to off-shoring and outsourcing. Case studies. (2 units)

EMGT 338. Software Product Management I

Introduction to product management, agile engineering planning and execution, customer analysis and value propositions, product vision, user testing, and product requirements mapping to a business model. A project based course. (2 units)

EMGT 339. Software Product Management II: From Product to Company

Building on EMGT 338, this course covers product market fit, building a minimum viable product, early business model validation, hiring core team members, and fundraising strategies. Focus is on the transition from an idea to a fundable pre-seed or seed stage startup. Prerequisite: EMGT 380. (4 units)

EMGT 345. Program Management

Fundamentals of program and portfolio management and how they are applied to improve business results on programs of varying size, within all types of businesses, from small companies to large enterprises. Prerequisite: EMGT 330 (Project Management Basics) or equivalent experience. (2 units)

EMGT 346. Engineering Economics

Valuating and selecting engineering projects based on their characteristics of risk, available information, time horizon, and goals. Utilization of classical capital budgeting techniques, qualitative criteria, and financial option theory. Exploration of the value of individual projects on the company’s total portfolio of projects. Introduction to decision theory as it applies to project evaluation. Prerequisite: Finance or familiarity with time value of money concepts such as net present value. (2 units)

EMGT 349. Ethical Decision Making for Technology Leaders

Designed to create a holistic understanding of leadership. Through readings, discussions, and case studies, students will learn to integrate key leadership concepts from psychology, ethics, political science, philosophy, and sociology. Students will be able to characterize their individual approaches to leadership and learn to adapt it to changes resulting from globalization and advancing technology. (2 units)

EMGT 352. Marketing of High-Tech Products and Innovations

This course is designed to give engineers and managers a working understanding of the strategic role marketing plays in the development and promotion of high-technology products and systems. This course provides insights into the particular challenges of marketing high-tech products. Students will learn marketing frameworks and apply them to case studies as well as by creating a marketing plan for an emerging technology or business. (2 units)

EMGT 353. Introduction to Total Quality Management

The basic tenets of TQM: customer focus, continuous improvement, and total participation. Particular emphasis on using TQM to enhance new product development. (2 units)

EMGT 354. Innovation, Creativity, and Engineering Design

Research, development, the process of discovery, recognizing a need, encouraging change, assuming risks, technological feasibility, marketability, and the environment for innovation. (2 units)

EMGT 357. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Effective Problem Solving

Root cause analysis of problems is one of the main functions of engineering and is a critical component of organizational governance for engineering managers. This course will help problem solvers differentiate among the generic steps involved in (1) identifying a problem, (2) performing a diagnosis, (3) selecting and implementing solutions, and (4) leveraging and sustaining results. The major emphasis is placed on diagnosis, which at its core is logical, deductive analysis carried out using critical thinking. Cross-listed with Bioe 357 (2 units)

EMGT 358. Global Technology Development

Global markets present growth opportunities for both business and professionals. Approaches the development of global technology from the perspective of the engineering manager engaged as either part of a large corporate team or as an entrepreneur in a small business. Skills for characterizing, developing, and leveraging trending technology and risk management tools, as well as diversified cultures and global resources. Approaches include formal methodologies and practical lessons learned from industry. (2 units)

EMGT 360. Current Papers in Engineering Management and Leadership

Individual topics to be selected in concurrence with the instructor. (2 units)

EMGT 362. Topics in Engineering Management

Topics of current interest in engineering management and leadership. May be taken more than once as the topics change. (2 units)

EMGT 370. International (Global) Technology Operations

Examines methods and important issues in managing operations when customers, facilities, and suppliers are located across the globe. Topics include the global technology environment, international operations strategy and process formulation, and issues on the location and coordination of overseas facilities. These and other course topics are examined through a combination of lectures, text material, and integrated case studies. (2 units)

EMGT 373. Technology Entrepreneurship

Designed for students who are interested in starting their own venture as well as those working for a start-up company. Students will discover the process of moving from an idea to making a profit. Topics will include idea development, intellectual property, forming a team, obtaining funding, start-up logistics, executing your plan, and finding customers. Understanding the steps, risks, and pitfalls to avoid in starting a high-tech business can help in being better prepared for launching a successful technology venture. (2 units)

EMGT 378. New Product Planning and Development

This course blends the perspectives of marketing, engineering, and manufacturing into a single approach to new product development - and consequentially product management - at various stages of the product life cycle. Students gain an appreciation for the realities of industrial practice, and the complex and essential roles played by team members led by product managers. For industrial practitioners in particular, the product planning and implementation methods can be put into immediate practice on development projects. (2 units)

EMGT 380. Introduction to Systems Engineering Management

Introduces the fundamental principles and methods of systems engineering and their application to complex systems. For the engineer, and project manager, it provides a basic framework for planning and assessing system development. For the non-engineer, it provides an overview of how a system is developed. (2 units)

EMGT 381. Managing System Conceptual Design

A continuation of EMGT 380 addressing in detail the system engineer’s responsibilities and activities in the concept development stage of the system life cycle. Topics include needs and requirements analysis, system concept exploration and definition, and risk assessment. It concludes with a discussion of advanced development and the system engineer’s role in planning and preparing for full-scale engineering development. Prerequisite: EMGT 380. (2 units)

EMGT 382. Managing System Design, Integration, Test and Evaluation

A continuation of EMGT 381 with a focus on the system engineer’s responsibilities and activities in the engineering development and post-development stages of the system life cycle. Topics include engineering design, system integration and evaluation, and the systems engineer‘s role in preparing for full-scale manufacturing and subsequent deployment and support. Prerequisite: EMGT 380. (2 units)

EMGT 388. System Supportability and Logistics

The supportability of a system can be defined as the ability of a system to be supported in a cost-effective and timely manner, with a minimum of logistics support resources. The required resources might include test and support equipment, trained maintenance personnel, spare and repair parts, technical documentation, and special facilities. For large complex systems, supportability considerations may be significant and often have a major impact upon life cycle cost. It is therefore particularly important that these considerations be included early during the system design trade studies and design decision-making. (2 units)

EMGT 389. Design for Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability

Provides the tools and techniques that can be used early in the design phase to effectively influence the design from the perspective of system reliability, maintainability, and supportability. Students will be introduced to various requirements, definition and analysis tools and techniques to include Quality Function Deployment, Input-Output Matrices, and Parameter Taxonomy. (2 units)

EMGT 390. System Architecture and Design

Fundamentals of system architecting and the architecting process, along with practical heuristics. The course has a strong “how-to” orientation, and numerous case studies are used to convey and discuss good architectural concepts as well as lessons learned. Adaptation of the architectural process to ensure the effective application of COTS will be addressed. (2 units)

EMGT 395. Intrapreneurship – Innovation from Within

Intrapreneurship is about creating an innovative business opportunity within the existing structure of an organization. Innovation and creativity, mixed with limited marketing and financial views that will create profitable new products, are critical components of intrapreneurship. Using small independent development teams, the concept incorporates product launch with an overview of marketing and customer views. The methods from this class are widely used by the most successful innovators in start-ups as well as established companies. (2 units)