The goal of the Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership program is to shorten the time required for students to become engineers capable of leading multidisciplinary teams in conceiving of a novel technological application and then driving it to commercialization.

The program focuses on the following elements:
(1)Developing a deep understanding of the scientific framework of knowledge that supports engineering practice; (2)Teaching engineering practice, including product engineering, market assessment, engineering excellence, and leadership; and (3)Providing a mentored, thesis-scale experience in technology commercialization that will allow students to internalize the lessons they learn by creating a product or prototype tailored for the marketplace.

Students must complete a minimum of sixteen semester hours of graduate coursework with a minimum QPA of 3.000. Students must also complete an eight semester hour Challenge Project as part of their program. Each student must form an Advising Committee comprising the Challenge Project Adviser and a minimum of two full-time faculty members (or one full-time faculty member and one adviser from industry or a government agency) with background relevant to the Challenge Project topic. An adviser with full-time faculty rank from another university may serve as one member of the committee.