The department administers a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree program.
Management engineering
Management engineers design, optimize and manage processes and products in modern, data-driven organizations. The program uniquely integrates knowledge and skills from advanced analytics and operations research, software and information systems, and social sciences and economics. Students gain the experience and confidence to implement solutions to complex socio-technical and operational problems. This distinctive skillset is broadly applicable in a variety of industries, including software, finance, supply chain and logistics, manufacturing, and health care.
Management engineering compared to other programs
Comparing Management Engineering to Software Engineering
What is the difference between Management Engineering and Software Engineering?
Software Engineering applies computer science and engineering to the design of software systems. Software Engineering students take a large number of computer science and computer engineering courses at the interface of digital hardware and software, as well as core software engineering courses on software development.
In contrast, Management Engineers design, implement, and manage complex management systems. Increasingly, those management systems are implemented as software and information systems. Therefore, information/software systems design comprises a major theme area in Management Engineering, with a number of courses falling in the areas of computer science, software engineering, and information systems. In this regard, of the 13 other engineering programs offered at the University of Waterloo, only the Software Engineering and Computer Engineering programs have more such courses in their core curriculum.
While Management Engineering students learn how to design and build basic information systems, they do not get training in low-level systems programming. For example, a software engineering student will learn about real time systems, concurrent programming, and operating systems while Management Engineering students will not have any exposure to these topics. Likewise, Software Engineering students do not learn about important application areas of Management Engineering such as supply chain management, operations planning, and inventory control nor do Software Engineering students learn fundamental methods such as stochastics, simulation, and optimization as part of their core curriculum.
Simply put, Management Engineering students learn to solve large real-world problems of businesses and organizations that are implemented in software, while Software Engineering students learn to solve a wide range of software problems including low-level systems programming.
Do Management Engineers work on software on co-op or in their full-time jobs after graduation?
Software and information systems comprise one of the three theme areas of Management Engineering, together with Operations Research and Analytics and People and Organizations. Students that – through courses and co-op – choose to specialize in the software and information systems area, may build careers as software developers/engineers.
Many students find their passions lie at the intersection of information systems and the other two areas. At the intersection with Operations Research & Analytics, management engineers work in the growing field of data science and machine learning. At the intersection with People & Organizations, management engineers work as managers of software teams or as project/product managers.
Management Engineering's 3 theme areas (in purple) and typical careers in which Management Engineering graduates develop software skills (in blue).
Comparing Management Engineering to business programs
What is the difference between Management Engineering and business programs?
An undergraduate business program focuses on these disciplines: accounting, finance, sales, human resources, and marketing. A typical business degree program is structured to ensure that students concentrate more on business functions and earn credits to qualify for professional designations such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).
Management engineering is an accredited engineering program within the Faculty of Engineering. Management Engineers design, implement, and manage complex management systems upon which organizations depend. Management engineering provides more focus and greater depth in science, mathematics, and engineering design and deals with identifying and solving the problems that managers and others face when making decisions - decisions about how to make better end products and how to run the business more efficiently and effectively. Management engineering graduates are eligible to apply for a professional engineering (PEng.) designation.
People and organizations comprises one of the three theme areas in Management Engineering. Therefore, Management Engineering students take a number of courses – core and electives - that may traditionally be found in business programs, covering topics of economics, finance, organizational behaviour and design, management of technology, and entrepreneurship. In this regard, of the 14 engineering programs offered at the University of Waterloo, Management Engineering has the most such courses in its core and elective curriculum.
Do Management Engineers develop business and management skills on co-op or in their full-time jobs after graduation?
People and organizations comprises one of the three theme areas of Management Engineering, together with Operations Research & Analytics and Software & Information Systems. Students that – through courses and co-op – choose to specialize in the people and organizations area, may build careers as business strategy consultants. Many more students find their passions lie at the intersection of people and organizations and the other two areas. At the intersection with Operations Research & Analytics, management engineers may work in as business/process improvement leads. At the intersection with Software & Information Systems, management engineers work as managers of software teams or as project/product managers. And, at the intersection of all three areas, we find many graduates working as business technology consultants.
Management Engineering's 3 theme areas (in purple) and typical careers in which Management Engineering graduates develop business and management skills (in blue).