BS in Entrepreneurial Studies: Engineering Management Emphasis

Engineering management is at the intersection of business, technology and leadership. This interdisciplinary field brings together professionals from various engineering disciplines and leaders in business and management — all working together for greater innovation and technological breakthroughs. Management professionals in this area are charged with leading teams and supervising engineering projects with the goal of working toward business objectives.

Engineering is a broad field that involves the design and development of new technologies and processes. An engineer must be skilled in designing and developing these technologies or products in a way that solves problems or improves something that already exists.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

While engineers create new technologies, not all engineers necessarily know how to package and market them for sale. Instead, entrepreneurs may create or grow companies, or act as intrapreneurs within their employers’ companies for the purpose of turning engineering innovation into profit. An entrepreneur identifies a market gap and works to fill it.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

This emphasis program teaches you how to find solutions to problems and how to create or develop methods or products as solutions to these problems. This degree shows entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in larger companies how to think analytically within their own business.

In this degree program, you will be taught about project management and its related competencies, such as collaboration, management best practices and effective communication. You will be encouraged to work closely with others to recognize new opportunities and bring projects to fruition. Some engineering students may choose to focus their studies on project management to develop and refine these skills.

Engineers are essentially inventors of the future. However, a purely technical education may not be sufficient to serve a graduate’s ambitions. For example, some engineers decide to launch their own companies in order to market and sell the technologies, products or services they design and develop. Others may decide to join an existing company, and to adopt an intrapreneurial mindset toward the development of products that are associated with consumer demand. Entrepreneurship can further serve to drive innovation.^{(See disclaimer 3)} At GCU, this undergraduate degree gives you the opportunity to work collaboratively with engineering professionals, effectively pairing engineering skills with business acumen.

Engineering professionals work on the frontier of technological advancement, looking for ways of improving processes and making new breakthroughs. While mechanical, biomedical and other engineers focus on technological processes and designs, entrepreneurial engineering professionals are responsible for managing projects, directing teams and paying attention to the financial side of the business.^{(See disclaimer 4)}

Professionals who already have a technical engineering degree may need a substantial amount of work experience before transitioning into management. They may also benefit from earning a master’s degree in management in technical fields.^{(See disclaimer 5)} However, instead of earning a technical engineering degree, another path is to earn a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship with a specialization in engineering. At GCU, this degree can prepare graduates to work closely with engineers as they seek to bring new technologies to the marketplace.