University of Colorado Boulder
Certificate

Engineering Management Graduate Certificate

In this three-specialization program, which integrates contemporary concepts of leadership, project management, and finance for technical managers, you will gain specific tools and knowledge to lead technical teams.

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Enroll by April 19, 2024

Classes start March 11, 2024

6-9 months

The certificate is 9 credits and can be completed in approximately 6-9 months

$667 per credit

$6,003 total cost

100% online

No application required

Engineering Management Graduate Certificate

Master essential management principles and prepare for leadership roles within technology-driven industries.

Learn new skills, earn an industry-recognized credential, and prepare to advance your career.

Gain the specific tools and knowledge to lead technical teams: leadership, project management, and finance for technical managers.

Boulder Engineering Management Graduate Certificate

Program description

As a student in the Engineering Management Graduate Certificate program, you’ll master essential management principles and prepare for leadership roles within technology-driven industries.

Overview

Advancing your career as a successful manager of technical and engineering teams means demonstrating effective leadership and possessing a range of real-world competencies. In this online graduate certificate program, you’ll master the key elements of engineering management and business-related functions, including finance, project management, and authentic leadership. Through this comprehensive approach to management, you’ll prepare to make an immediate impact at your organization.

The Engineering Management Graduate Certificate, consisting of 9 credit hours, is an affordable way for you to gain new skills, earn an industry-recognized credential, and prepare to advance your career. If you are interested in continuing your education, the certificate consists of the first three specializations in the full ME-EM on Coursera master’s degree and can be stacked toward the full degree.

Required background

There are no formal prerequisites for enrolling in the Engineering Management Graduate Certificate, but any STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) degree or relevant work experience will be very useful.


Skills you will gain

  • Project management with a systems approach
  • Financial implications of engineering and technical decisions
  • Financial forecasting and reporting
  • Agile project management
  • Personal leadership awareness
  • Project planning and execution

9 required courses

Course 1 of 9

Finance for Technical Managers - Product Cost & Investment Cash Flow Analysis

Overview

This first course in the finance sequence discusses costs and business practices to establish the cost of a product. The concept of the time value of money (TVM) is developed to determine the present and future values of a series of cash flows. TVM principles are then applied to personal finances and retirement planning. This is a practical, hands-on course that uses spreadsheets extensively.

Course 2 of 9

Finance for Technical Managers - Project Valuation and the Capital Budgeting Process

Overview

This second course in the finance sequence describes the economic viability of an engineering project through application of net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period analysis. The impacts of depreciation, taxes, inflation and foreign exchange are then addressed. The capital budgeting process is discussed, showing how companies make decisions to optimize their investment portfolio. Risk is mitigated through application of quantitative techniques such as scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis and real options analysis.

Course 3 of 9

Finance for Technical Managers - Financial Forecasting and Reporting

Overview

This third and final course in the finance sequence discusses how public projects are evaluated using cost-benefit analysis. You then learn how interest rates and prices for stocks and bonds are determined. Techniques are presented on how to create departmental budgets for engineering cost centers and pro forma statements for profit centers. You’ll then work with corporate financial statements to assess a company’s financial health, including recent measures of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

Course 4 of 9

Project Management - Foundations and Initiation

Overview

The goal of this introductory course in a series of three is to provide you with the foundational knowledge of how engineering projects are managed and initiated. Engineering project managers are responsible for project scope, stakeholder management, effective communication, and team leadership. In this course, you will develop introductory skills needed to manage traditional engineering projects, along with tools needed to engage stakeholders and build diverse teams.

Course 5 of 9

Project Management - Project Planning and Execution

Overview

The goal of this second course in a series of three is to provide you with skills necessary to plan and execute conventional engineering projects. Project managers must plan and manage complex projects constrained by time and budget. As part of this course, you will determine project schedules, budgets, and risk assessments. At the end of this course, you will be able to identify and explain various quality tools and methods used in project management.

Course 6 of 9

Project Management - Agile Project Management

Overview

The goal of this third course in a series of three examines the philosophy and process of managing projects using Agile project management. You will learn the Agile philosophy and process, including the Scrum framework, sprints, and user stories. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to distinguish between traditional and Agile project management methodologies, and understand the benefits of delivering value early in an engineering project.

Course 7 of 9

Leading Oneself - Leading Oneself with Self-Knowledge

Overview

Before we can lead others well, we must first learn to lead ourselves well. Knowing thyself is the starting point on this journey. In this course, you will come to understand the importance of three forms of awareness, craft a personal identity, gain understanding of how you work best, learn to be strategic with your time and energy, and manage cognitive biases and understand your worldview.

Course 8 of 9

Leading Oneself - Leading Oneself with Purpose and Meaning

Overview

In this course, you will identify your core purpose and recognize meaning in your life, explore the power of spirituality and embracing our mortality, consider how to create a lasting impact by serving a greater good, describe your character, and learn how to practice personal excellence.

Course 9 of 9

Leading Oneself - Leading Oneself with Personal Excellence

Overview

In this course, you will describe how and why to set goals and create action plans, increase your focus and reduce distraction, harness motivation and flow state for performance, build self-efficacy and agency, and redefine your relationship with stress, anxiety, fear, and adversity.

The certificate stacks directly into the full Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree from the University of Colorado Boulder on Coursera.

Take the next step in your education to boost your career. This Graduate Certificate is a building block that offers you a pathway to the Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree on Coursera while also providing job-relevant skills today.

The ME-EM degree builds on the foundations you learn in the Engineering Management Graduate Certificate program, covering topics like communication, strategic planning, marketing, innovation management, entrepreneurship, and engineering ethics.

To pursue admission to the ME-EM degree program, you’ll need to do the following:

  1. Complete one of the following two Pathway Specializations for credit and earn a GPA of 3.0 or higher: Finance for Technical Managers - Pathway Specialization (3 credits) or Project Management - Pathway Specialization (3 credits)
  2. Achieve a computed pathway specialization grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0.
  3. Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all for-credit courses taken to date.
  4. Declare your intent to seek the degree via the enrollment form, which you can do before, during, or after any work in a pathway specialization.
  • To remain in good standing in the program, you must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (no more than three credits of C+ can be applied toward degree program requirements).
  • Once you’re accepted into the degree, your coursework from the Graduate Certificate program will apply toward your degree credits.
University of Colorado Boulder

Certificate

Engineering Management Graduate Certificate

Engineering Management Graduate Certificate Certificate earn credit directly towards the :

Instructors

Frequently asked questions

Coursera does not grant academic credit; the decision to grant, accept, or recognize academic credit, and the process for awarding such credit, is at the sole discretion of the academic institutions offering the Graduate Certificate program and/or other institutions that have determined that completion of the program may be worthy of academic credit. Completion of a Graduate Certificate program does not guarantee admission into the full Master’s program referenced herein, or any other degree program.