MEPP Executive Summary for Employers

The Master of Engineering in Professional Practice degree is an online graduate program designed to give experienced engineers from all disciplines the tools and capabilities to be more effective as engineering leaders. The program targets technical proficiency in project management, business operations, communications, quality management, applied statistics, computer-based problem solving, and international engineering practice. Using the Internet, engineers can complete this degree in two years while working full-time and traveling. Problem-based and application-oriented, MEPP courses are designed to enable engineers to immediately apply what they are learning, offering immediate value for employers.

Curriculum: MEPP is a graduate engineering program offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the top-ranked universities in the U.S. (link exits site to pdf file) MEPP provides an alternative to an MBA for mid-career engineers seeking to advance in project and engineering management. This cross-disciplinary degree was developed to meet the specific needs of engineers growing in responsibility in managing projects and leading advancements within their organizations.

Model: MEPP employs a cohort model in which the 30 students admitted each year progress together, as a stable group, through a curriculum of 10 courses over two years. This approach enables students to build close relationships with each other, enhancing learning and helping students to stay on track with completion of their degrees. The Web-based delivery of courses enables students to minimize interferences with work schedules and travel. All MEPP courses are taught by senior faculty members who are recognized leaders in their fields.

Fellow Students: MEPP students study with engineering colleagues employed by leading, world-class organizations. Examples include Boeing, Cap-Gemini, Caterpillar, John Deere, GE Healthcare Systems, Hamilton Sundstrand, Harley-Davidson, and Kohler. Students are able to study, dialogue and work on challenging team projects with colleagues from other leading companies, enhancing the depth and breadth of the practical knowledge they receive.

Proven Impact: MEPP is a proven program with a course completion rate of better than 98%. In program evaluations students have praised the relevance of the course content, student interaction and teamwork, flexibility of the Internet-based courses, quality of the faculty, and supportive program staff. In a survey of graduates, 95% said MEPP had a considerable or extensive positive impact on their professional development and careers.

Awards: The Sloan Foundation, the University Continuing Education Association and the US Distance Learning Association have each recently selected MEPP for their top awards for university degree programs. UCEA chose MEPP over competing campus-based and distance-delivered credit programs in all disciplines from across North America. UCEA judges said, "This Master of Engineering in Professional Practice is as good as it gets as a model of the development, implementation, and maintenance of a distance education degree program."