Overview:

Many students working in technical settings have seen the advantage of getting both an advanced technical degree and an MBA degree.  Students who enroll in the Outreach Engineering Management Program (OEM) in the University of Florida's College of Engineering are able to obtain an engineering Master's degree in 20 months while working full-time, and are then eligible to apply for a shortened MBA program. Only individuals with a strong business background are eligible to apply to a one year (16 month) MBA program option; others must choose from one of the two year (27 months) MBA program options. Because the OEM curriculum includes the MBA core curriculum, OEM students are eligible for the one year MBA option. An innovative concurrent degree program further reduces the amount of time and coursework required for OEM students to get an MBA (12 months). Through this curriculum, working professionals complete both degrees in only 32 months of study.

The OEM Program The OEM program awards a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a concentration in Engineering Management, and is a lock step program in which a cohort of about 35 technically trained students takes the same courses over a period of twenty months (five semesters).  This setting provides an excellent networking opportunity, and students get to know each other well throughout the program, completing much of the required coursework through team-based assignments. The curriculum is delivered live by University of Florida faculty from Gainesville, with two courses each term, one from the College of Engineering and one from the Warrington College of Business.  The core of the engineering portion of the curriculum is optimization and statistics.  Complex business systems can be modeled mathematically and the resulting models optimized as aids to informed decision making.  By developing probability and statistics models, managers can manage risk, and monitor and control business processes for maximum effectiveness.  By managing complex logistics functions, manufacturing and service processes can be designed and operated to gain competitive advantage.  The curriculum offers an excellent preparation for a management career in the technical realm, since it combines important technical skills with a solid preparation in business fundamentals. The outreach version of the engineering management Master's degree option began in 1996. The flexible one-weekend-per-month format allows working professionals from other geographical areas to commute to classes, which currently meet in Orlando. The program has about 250 alumni.

The MBA Program The MBA curriculum provides OEM students with advanced skills in finance, marketing, and strategy, as well as business law, international business, ecommerce, and entrepreneurship.  In the MBA program, students will team with business professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including those with experience in accounting, finance, marketing and operations.  Students will probe deeper into the core business subjects and will build on the OEM coursework to develop new business expertise.  This additional exposure and training provides an excellent foundation for those aspiring to senior management. Concurrent degree students take four semesters (16 months) of OEM classes by attending classes one weekend per month.  During the next three semesters (12 months), students take MBA courses via the Internet* and make one campus visit per semester to take exams and interact with fellow students and MBA faculty.  Concurrent degree students are exempted from attending the one-week Foundations Review course that is normally required of MBA students during Orientation.  In the final (eighth) semester (4 months), students complete the remaining MBA courses via the Internet*, and also work individually with a faculty mentor from the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department to fulfill the requirements for the OEM Master's project. Both degrees are conferred simultaneously at the end of the eighth semester. *An option may be available for concurrent degree students to instead choose an MBA program that meets in Gainesville one weekend per month. Availability of the weekend format for the MBA portion of the concurrent degree option is not guaranteed and will be partially dependent upon participant demand.

Program Structure:

4 semesters of OEM (weekend format)
3 semesters of MBA (via Internet*; requires one visit to campus per semester)
1 final semester concludes OEM & MBA (Internet format)

Both degrees are awarded at the end of eight (8) semesters.

Students with a technical background may also choose to complete the OEM program and wait for some period of time before enrolling in the MBA program.  These students are still eligible to apply for a shortened MBA option, but the duration and number of courses required in that case would be greater than what is available by participation in the concurrent degree option.

Curriculum:

Application Requirements:

Students who wish to enroll in the concurrent degree program must apply and be separately admitted to both colleges, each of which has unique admissions requirements.  The applicant must have successfully completed the first three semesters of the OEM program before applying to the MBA program. The application components are:

OEM Program: (See detailed instructions.)

OEM Application Statement of Purpose Updated Résumé $30 Application Fee Two Recommendation Forms Graduate Record Examination (GRE)* *OEM applicants who have already completed an approved advanced degree program are not required to submit GRE scores.

MBA Program:

MBA Application (the OEM file will also be sent to the MBA office) Essays and Short Answer Questions Employment History Updated Résumé $30 Application Fee Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)* *At the discretion of the MBA Admissions committee, the GMAT requirement may be waived for OEM students who have taken the GRE within the past 5 years. In these cases, the GRE score will be evaluated and compared to the mean GMAT average of the I1MBA program.

Comparison Chart for Various Degree Options