The higher education job market for M.S. and PH.D. engineering education program graduates

Abstract

The potential job market in colleges and universities is investigated for graduates of new certificate, M.S., and Ph.D. programs in Engineering Education. Data sources include positions posted to engineering education listservs over a recent one year period and an anonymous survey of engineering academic deans. The results suggest that engineering education program graduates will be competitive for a variety of staff and faculty positions in colleges and schools of engineering. However, availability of tenure-track positions will be limited, as a Ph.D. in the discipline is generally required and very few Engineering Education departments currently exist. (This paper also discusses an engineering education certificate for graduates in traditional engineering disciplines. These graduates remain competitive for faculty positions in the discipline of their Ph.D. degree.) Despite negative comments about how engineering education graduates will fit into the current university faculty structure, there is support for the new engineering education M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and evidence that graduates will be considered for a variety of positions at four-year institutions. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006.