An Integrated Master Of Science Program In Advanced Technology

A practiceoriented graduate program is needed to keep pace with the technological changes in corporate America, which prepares students for leadership positions in advanced technology in an interdisciplinary format. Such programs are very scarce in general and are virtually nonexistent in the Central New York region. The State University of New York (SUNY) Institute of Technology initiated such a program in Fall 1996, which is broad; practiceoriented and integrates diverse areas of engineering and technology. It is a thirty three-credit program and is currently in the second year of its offering. This paper discusses the development and implementation of the program. Outcomes of the implementation of the program are presented and analyzed for further development. INTRODUCTION The SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome is an upperdivision transfer college for students who have already completed their first two years of college. It also offers graduate programs in accounting, business, computer science, nursing and telecommunications. Graduate programs in engineering and technology are generally taken by engineers to update their academic credentials, help improve the productivity of the corporations they are working for, and to seek career advancement. Most existing graduate programs concentrate in one area and prepare students for a specialized field emphasizing more theory and less hands-on. In most cases engineers enroll in a graduate program related to their undergraduate majors unless they are studying for an MBA. The aim of our Master's program in advanced technology (MSAT) is to prepare students in a wide range of engineering and technology practices, in addition to the area of their undergraduate background. In the current environment, industries have become technologically more advanced and have to compete in a global market. This puts extra demands on their employees to be knowledgeable in a wide range of advanced technologies in addition to their areas of expertise. Such a trend is becoming common as the industrial practices continue to change using new technologies. Fewer employees must do more tasks in small businesses, which have emerged in record numbers due to downsizing and closures. A recent survey conducted by the SUNY Institute of Technology shows that there is a pressing need for graduate programs which combine economic and technological perspectives in an interdisciplinary format. Our survey also indicated that both recent graduates of undergraduate degree programs, and technology professionals preparing themselves for leadership positions within their respective fields, require current technological knowledge and planning perspectives in the critical area of advanced technologies in a competitive global environment [1]. The American Society for Engineering Education has endorsed the concept of a practice-oriented master's program. P ge 389.1