To A Higher Degree
Students On The UMBC Campus Are In The Middle Of Amazing Studies
By Rachel Sokol
The next graduate school Woman Engineer magazine highlights is the
University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC). Located in Baltimore,
MD, UMBC's College of Engineering is home to approximately 2,600 graduate
students from around the world. “UMBC is located near Baltimore
and Washington, DC, so most of the students here study part time for
their master’s and PhD degrees,” says Dr. Janet Rutledge,
UMBC associate dean of the graduate school. UMBC is the only graduate
engineering school where students can earn a PhD without attending the
school as a full-time student. Because of this flexibility, states Rutledge,
many students in the undergraduate program at UMBC continue their education
and pursue a master’s degree at the school.
The school's location provides many engineering job opportunities for
UMBC students. “We have small companies and big companies nearby,
including a major firm, which is located geographically close to campus,”
notes Rutledge. This company helped UMBC create a startup engineering
program on campus, which, according to Rutledge, is guaranteed to get
off the ground.
UMBC helps students obtain engineering jobs, and most UMBC students
in the master’s degree track already work as engineers. Some local
companies near the campus have corporate visibility days. “People
talk to representatives from these companies for career information.
We also sponsor career fairs on campus that afford companies to recruit
students,” Rutledge adds.
Most students enrolled in the master’s degree programs at UMBC
already had an undergraduate degree in engineering or come from a closely
related background. Rutledge believes that over the years, women have
achieved greater opportunities in the engineering industry; a hide stride
for a field that was considered male-dominated for many generations.
“Because over the years, the number of women working in the engineering
field has been increasing, less people look at a women in the field
strangely,” declares Rutledge. “Women no longer have to
be the pioneer in the workplace. Now as a woman engineer, you can be
yourself, get in there, and just do your job."
The school offers a program known as the Center for Women and Information
Technology, which bestows various scholarships for women. The center
was recently opened at the school. The school also has a large number
of students who combine the study of arts with engineering, which allows
for more opportunities for the students.
Life-Changing Studies
Students on campus are in the middle of some amazing, life-changing
studies. Some graduate and PhD students studying chemical and biochemical
engineering develop new ways of drug delivery in the body—drugs
without a shot—and study new ways to administer medications through
the skin.
“I attended UMBC as an undergraduate in chemical engineering,
and I found out that UMBC offers an accelerated BS/MS program in chemical
engineering,” says current graduate student Jessica Drew. “It
seemed like a great opportunity to stay in college one extra year, and
earn my master's degree before searching for a job. In order to complete
this five-year program, I took three graduate-level classes during my
senior year. I feel that the opportunities this education will provide
will definitely be worth the effort.”
IBM sponsors a super-computing center on the campus where computation
occurs. “We do a lot in biochemicals with artificial joints,”
explains Rutledge. IBM and the UMBC will soon launch a supercomputing
research center on campus, designed to merge new advances in semiconductor
chip design with applications in national security, financial services,
and medical imaging. UMBC is part of an IBM higher education initiative
to boost information technology skills in the global workforce.
Another draw to the school is its National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored
integrative graduate education and research traineeship (IGERT) program,
which focuses on water quality in the urban environment, and is a solid
choice for students interested in nutrient cycling in watersheds, microbial
variables, and the management of urban stream ecosystems. With so many
schools ‘going green’ and developing new ways to study the
planet and its ever-changing climate, the school’s IGERT program
supports a multidisciplinary PhD program in “Water in the Urban
Environment.”
This new program at UMBC weaves together three environmentally conscious
themes: urban hydrology and containment transport, urban biogeochemical
cycles and human health, and urban water policy. Those enrolled in UMBC’s
program are funded for two years, while teaching and research assistantships
provide additional years of support.
Women Students
The NSF also grants scholarships to women who wish to study science
at UMBC. "After finishing my bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering at UMBC, I received a great offer working for a company
in Baltimore. At the same time, I was offered a National Science Foundation
GK-12 position with UMBC to continue in graduate school,” comments
graduate student Jamie Gurganus.
Seeking further advice, Gurganus spoke with engineers who earned their
master’s degree while working in the engineering industry. “They
informed me that if they had the choice, they would have returned to
graduate school full time instead of working and going to school. I
also felt my interests lied in different areas other than the focus
of this particular company. UMBC offers different specialty paths in
the area of mechanical engineering,” says Gurganus, about her
attraction to the school’s master's program. Currently, Gurganus
helps run a few programs in engineering education and works on a grant
with her advisor as well as researches the engineering education and
biomechanical engineering field using nanotechnology equipment.
UMBC announced the development of a new master’s degree—
the master’s of science degree in systems engineering, a vital
industry in Maryland. In an effort to provide students with a more in-depth
engineering knowledge and the technical skills necessary to meet industry
needs, UMBC’s 30-credit, non-thesis program delivered by industry
practitioners consists of a variety of curriculums and a set of comprehensive
electives.
“I feel lucky to have been encouraged to pursue math and science
since a young age. It is important to cultivate young women’s
interest in technical fields and support their aspirations of entering
those technical fields,” says Drew. “As more women become
engineers, stereotypical views will change. Overall, I do not foresee
being female hindering my ability to advance in my field.”
UMBC continues to attract employees who work for companies such as Northrop
Grumman, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, National Security Agency (NSA), and
NASA, and with this new program, aims to provide successful results
in response to a local industry need.
UMBC's new engineering program is unique for it is the only program
that combines both the technical and practical aspects of systems engineering
in this area. This master’s of science degree in systems engineering
program is industry-driven and was designed by experts from Northrop
Grumman, Lockheed Martin, NASA Goddard, and Honeywell Aerospace.
Another advantage of the graduate program at UMBC is the close relationship
that engineering students have with their professors. “The greatest
experience at UMBC has without a doubt been the amazing professors,
and the close connection that I have with the other students,”
remarks Drew. “The engineering courses require a lot of time and
in many cases a lot of teamwork—it was great to enjoy the people
with whom I was spending so much of my college career.”
To find out more about UMBC”s graduate engineering program, visit:
http://www.umbc.edu/engineering/.
