A new program features an applied, practice-oriented curriculum focused on the implementation and management of complex systems, an interdisciplinary field that has experienced tremendous growth in the last decade. In 2011 alone, the industry added more than 6,000 new jobs to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area at firms like General Dynamics and Northrup Grumman, according to jobs data experts.
"We are pleased to expand and strengthen Georgetown's presence in the critical science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) space," said Georgetown Provost Robert Groves. "Our new graduate curriculum prepares students to be leaders in industry who can effectively and ethically manage the complex systems that run our world."
Collaboration between Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies (SCS) and Stevens' School of Systems and Enterprises (SSE) over the last two years resulted in the creation of the new master's program.
The special partnership harnesses the respective strengths of each institution to answer today's need for management-ready engineers.
Stevens, a top-ranked private research university located in Hoboken, N.J., offers undergraduate and graduate programs in STEM disciplines, with an emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship.
We're honored to partner with Georgetown to offer this graduate program," said Dinesh Verma, a professor and dean of the SSE at Stevens. "Our faculty are excited to engage with the students in this innovative graduate program, underpinned by robust systems research and scholarship."
Students in the program will be taught by top faculty drawn from Stevens and Georgetown as well as practitioners from leading organizations in the D.C. area.
In keeping with SCS's practice of offering educational programs that tie to industry, the program will engage with leading industry organizations, subject matter experts and government officials.
The new master's program provides students with a complete systems management toolset, including methodological approaches and leadership skills for designing and managing complex systems.
Systems engineering management is an interdisciplinary approach that realizes the successful design, implementation and integration of systems. Its engineers consider a client's complete problem and build cross-functional teams to integrate various disciplines and specialty groups into the process.
Our new master's program in systems engineering management builds upon our strong portfolio of programs, like technology management and urban and regional planning, to educate well-rounded leaders prepared to solve the most complex issues of their respective industries," said Walter Rankin, SCS interim dean at Georgetown. "And our new downtown campus proximity to industry and government organizations gives our students the opportunity to make critical connections between the classroom and workplace through hands-on experiences."
Graduates of the program will receive a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree awarded by Georgetown.
The two institutions have been collaborators in advancing research on systems engineering since 2010.
Georgetown is a member of the Stevens-led Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), a 23-member University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. Since 2008, more than 300 researchers have worked on more than 30 research activities within the SERC, for which Verma also serves as executive director.
