Engineering Leadership Certificate – CTELCG

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
270 Stocker Center
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701
740.593.1539
ise@ohio.edu

Delivery Mode: Online

Terms of Entry: Fall, Spring, Summer

Enrollment Eligibility: Current degree-seeking student or non-degree status

Certificate Overview

The mission of this certificate program is to prepare dedicated leaders and skilled managers who exert inspiring influence in their workplaces and across their enterprises. Depending on the starting semester chosen, a student can usually complete this certificate in two or three semesters.

This certificate centers on the Engineering Leadership course. Here students learn what it means to be a leader: to inspire others to achieve both individually and together what they would not be able to do on their own. Activities include selected readings, supplemental videos, interviews of experienced leaders, reflections, oral presentations, and discussions to explore, develop, and reinforce leadership development. Engineers’ responsibilities often exceed their direct authority, and engineers and engineering managers bridge this gap by learning the art of informal leadership.

Building on this foundation, two major tools are provided to multiply the influence of the engineering manager. The first is communication, focusing on its many written forms. The Engineering Writing course is designed to enable students to develop the ability to think critically as a professional communicator. Students are challenged to understand, develop, and produce effective communication using elements of thought including purpose, context, information sources, assumptions, inferences and conclusions, implications and consequences, points of view, and questions raised and addressed. 

The second major tool is the practice of thinking and communicating not in technical terms, but rather in terms of resources saved or gained. This is how enterprise senior leaders frame decisions and is therefore the golden key of engineering influence, especially with upper management. In the Applied Accounting and Finance for Engineering Management course, students examine and apply techniques of accounting, finance, performance measures and decision making in the engineering management context. Differential analysis techniques are used, and financial statements and cash flow statements are examined and interpreted to assess the financial health of engineering organizations.

Certificate Learning Outcomes

• Identify the fundamentals of leadership, including characteristics, roles and skills of successful leaders; examine these fundamentals using self-reflection; and apply them to case studies and to particular situations selected by the student.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate in standard written English in a variety of types of business writing by using effective organization of ideas, style of expression, understanding of the audience, techniques of persuasion, and editing for clarity and conciseness.
• Apply principles and techniques of accounting, finance, performance measures and decision making to optimize and communicate the use of resources in the engineering management context.

Opportunities upon Completion

Those who complete this certificate should see both their effectiveness and influence increase in their current organizational roles. By communicating what matters most to upper management, and by setting an encouraging example for those they work with, they will be able to exert inspiring influence in their organizations. They will learn to create a climate of trust and a culture of competence. In this way, they will significantly increase their value to their organizations.

They can expect to excel among their peers in team leadership and supervisory roles in a wide variety of settings, including industry, government and the military—wherever technology and a technical workforce must be understood, managed and brought to consistent success despite significant interpersonal, organizational and technical challenges. They will better position themselves to transition from technical work to positions where earning the trust of superiors, peers and subordinates to lead well is essential. As a result, they will better compete for hiring and promotion into high-visibility, high-impact jobs in these settings.

Certificate Relationship to Parent Degree Program

The parent program of this graduate specialized stackable certificate is the Engineering Management master’s degree  with program code ME7266.

A student who wants to enroll in this certificate does not need to enroll in or complete the MEM degree. However, completing this certificate does fulfill two required courses and one elective course in the 10-course MEM degree. Students admitted to this certificate may also seek admission to the MEM degree, and/or the MEM program’s other certificates. Two or more certificates also “stack” toward the degree. Previously submitted application materials will be reused as much as possible, as determined by the MEM Program Director.

Complementary certificates

• Certified Lean-Six Sigma Certificate - CTLSSG  
• Engineering Management Certificate - CTEMCG  
• Engineering Analytics Certificate - CTISCG  

Further Information

Link to Program: https://www.ohio.edu/engineering/ise/academics/graduate-programs/leadership-certificate

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements to this certificate are the same as those for the MEM degree program, except that the eight (8) semester credit hours in Calculus or post-Calculus math are not required. Students currently in the MEM program may enroll in this certificate with administrative approval from the MEM Program Director and the OHIO Graduate College.

For direct admission to this certificate, prospective students may be admitted under any of the following three criteria:

Criterion A:

1. Bachelor’s degree in an accredited program in engineering, mathematics, or physical sciences
2. GPA 3.0 or higher (GPA 2.75 acceptable with GRE quantitative reasoning score of 155 or higher)

Criterion B:

1. Bachelor’s degree in an accredited program in business or technology
2. GPA 3.0 or higher
3. GRE quantitative reasoning score of 155 or higher

Criterion C:

1. Bachelor of Science degree in an accredited program from a field not listed above
2. GPA 3.0 or higher
3. GRE quantitative reasoning score of 155 or higher
4. Four or more years of technical work experience

The application requires two letters of recommendation, one preferably from the applicant’s current supervisor and another from an individual who has supervised, mentored or taught the applicant, or is otherwise familiar with the applicant’s academic ability and/or work experience.

Students admitted directly to this certificate, and who have not been admitted to the MEM degree, hold a non-degree-seeking status. See Financial Aid Eligibility Information below.

International Students

This program does not permit full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 cannot be issued based on admission to this program.

Completion Requirements

Complete the three designated courses totaling 9 semester credit hours in addition to the following requirements:

• This certificate must be completed within three (3) years.
• No grade below a “C” can be used to fulfill any Ohio University graduate requirement including this certificate, and a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the graduate level is required to stay in and complete the certificate. An applicant on academic probation in any Ohio University graduate program may apply with permission from the MEM Program Director.
• Depending on the starting semester selected, the student can usually complete the certificate in two or three semesters, taking one or two courses per semester. In order to keep tuition costs low, these courses are shared with and scheduled by the MEM program.
• There is no capstone course in this certificate, but smaller projects and assignments are used to give students the opportunity to apply and integrate what they learn.