Establish Master of Engineering (MEng) in Product Development in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Description of and Reasons for Anticipated Action
The central objective of the Product Development program is to fulfill the unmet need at the national and international levels for graduates of chemical engineering and related disciplines who have knowledge and field experience in the complex process of transforming innovations into commercially successful products. With this goal in mind we propose to develop a new and innovative product development component of our graduate program in chemical engineering. We expect that our program could be a model that other chemical engineering departments in the U.S. may adopt in the future.
Relationship to Existing Campus Programs, Units, and Mission
The new degree program will be a part of the College of Chemistry's Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department.
Resources
In addition to the PDP Executive Director, Dr. Keith Alexander, there will be a need to add two full-time instructors (non-tenure track) and one senior administrative assistant. In addition, the entire regular tenure and non-tenure track of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department will act as advisors and occasional lecturers in the program. Faculty will also play an important guidance role in the field study projects.
Funding
Over time, it is our goal to make the program fully self-supported through new revenue sources, including student professional fees, corporate support, field project fees from industry, and revenues from potential executive education classes offered in partnership with the U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business. University funds will be needed to support the program's personnel (3 academic professionals, one senior administrative staff) and curriculum development costs for a period of three years. We envision sustaining funding will come from professional student fees, corporate fellowships and the proposed executive education initiative.
Students
At steady state, our PDP class size will likely be between 15-25 students per year.
Employment Implications
Graduates of the program will enjoy a range of new career options in product development roles that an engineering or science degree would not prepare them for.
UC Campuses and Other California Institutions with Similar Offerings
None is known at this time.
Anticipated Implementation Date
Implementation target would be Fall Semester 2012.
Status of this Proposal
(1) preliminary suggestion; a formal proposal for this new program will likely be made within the next year.
Campus Contact Person
Professor Jeff Reimer, Chairman, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
101C Gilman Hall
510-642-8011