Pamplin College, College of Engineering launch two-degree program
Virginia Tech students will have the opportunity to earn both the Master of Business Administration and Master of Industrial and Systems Engineering within the same two-year period in a new cooperative program established by the Pamplin College of Business and the College of Engineering.
The program, to start this coming fall, will replace the existing MBA concentration in systems engineering management. “Many applicants to our MBA program have undergraduate degrees in engineering,” says Steve Skripak, Pamplin associate dean of graduate programs. “Engineering graduates often find that a deeper understanding of business is useful, as many work for corporations and seek to advance through management ranks.”
Students would complete the core requirements for the MBA and dedicate their elective credits to completing the requirements for the Master of Science in industrial and systems engineering. The program comprises 53 credit hours, three more than is already required for an MBA.
Prospective students must meet the admissions criteria of both programs, including completion of both the Graduate Management Admissions Test and the Graduate Record Examination. Scores that are in line with those of other entering students will be required by both programs, says Pat Koelling, director of graduate programs in industrial and systems engineering. The target student would have at least two-to-three years of professional work experience. Students will be selected jointly by engineering and MBA administrators.
The double-degree format is similar in concept to two other cooperative graduate programs between the Pamplin College and Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction and the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
For more information about the double-degree programs, e-mail Steve Skripak.
