Master’s Across Boundaries
Reimagining graduate engineering education
By Alexis Schlindwein, Comm ’13
As the Opus College completed year one of its five-year Master’s Across Boundaries program to reimagine graduate engineering education including certificate, master’s and doctoral studies, it launched its first new graduate certificate this fall.
The 12-credit environmental engineering certificate is in response to the evolving needs of working engineers and offers a combination of face-to-face and online courses in a variety of topics, including air and water pollution, stormwater treatment technologies, and industrial water management.
Dr. Jeffrey Starke, hired as executive director of Master’s Across Boundaries in 2018, has taken a holistic approach to understanding the needs of graduate education from the perspective of those in industry.
He welcomed more than 30 industry partners to campus this spring to discuss how to shape new graduate program offerings tailored to practicing engineers. Part of the discussion included consideration of online and hybrid course offerings, certificate options and skill-set needs beyond the traditional notions of an engineering curriculum.
“We want to meet our students where they are at and equip them with the tools and experiences they need to move up in their careers and address global challenges.”
— Dr. Jeffrey Starke
“Feedback from industry has been invaluable as we develop new graduate offerings that will be flexible and individualized for the practicing engineer’s career goals,” says Starke. “We want to know what skills they most value in their engineering workforce, and where we can partner to meet those needs.”
Starke notes that while the desire to continue education is there, the time commitment and constraints of traditional graduate engineering programs can be limiting. He also learned that while managers find value in further technical education, they have an increasing need for essentials skills — such as leadership and communication — as they move their high-performers into management positions.
“We want to meet our students where they are at and equip them with the tools and experiences they need to move up in their careers and address global challenges,” says Starke.
Supported by a $5 million GHR Foundation grant, the Master’s Across Boundaries program also focuses on developing the graduate student’s Ignatian mindset by integrating ethical studies to convey how the engineering profession can effectively serve others and work toward the greater good.
The college plans to launch additional certificate programs, including ones in machine learning and energy, for fall 2020. Noelle Brigham, PE, Eng ’97, Grad ’99, and Dana Cook, Eng ’06, professors of practice, have joined the college’s faculty to teach certificate courses.
