MEng Courses and Curriculum

Master of Engineering students in all disciplines must complete 30 credits comprised of key program elements as follows:

  • Core industry preparatory courses (2 graduate courses, 6 credits)
  • Departmental or interdisciplinary core courses (5-6 graduate courses, 15 - 18 credits, varies by department)
  • Technical electives in a concentrated area (2-3 graduate courses, 6 - 9 credits, varies by department)
  • Internship, Project, or Equivalent

Core Industry Preparatory Courses

The core industry preparatory courses provide you with the business skills you need to succeed in industry. Business savvy and technical expertise gained in the MEng program will help you understand and work effectively in a corporate climate. The core industry preparatory courses are:

  • Business Fundamentals for Engineers – essentials of intellectual property, marketing, accounting/finance, and business strategies for technology companies
  • Management of High Tech Industries – significant principles of strategic decision making in complex environments, project analysis, intricate investment analysis, and the role of the manager in expertise driven organizations
Read More: Core Industry Prep Courses

The Core Industry Preparatory Courses will demystify business leadership, management, ethics, finance, marketing and communication. The classes will explain the important qualities of successful leadership, and help you systematically build your skills. You will prepare to engage with teams of people across a broad spectrum of disciplines and jobs—exactly the type of situation you’ll find in the working world—allowing you to have an immediate and productive impact.

MENG 540: Management of High Tech Industries

This course addresses critical qualities of leadership, management skills, and decision making in complex environments. Essential topics include:

  • Leadership and communication principles
  • Strategic decision making where outcomes depend on high technology
  • Management of project-based and team-based organizational structures and the role of the manager in expertise driven organizations

MENG 570: Business Fundamentals for Engineers

This course provides an overview of the essentials of intellectual property, marketing, accounting and finance, and business strategies for technology companies. Principles covered include:

  • Marketing, methods of distributing products, analysis of marketing situations, and connections between marketing and other functions of the business
  • Accounting and Finance, including time value of money, financial statements, balance sheets, cash flow and risk, receivables, inventories, assets and liabilities, investments, and shareholders' equity
  • Intellectual Property, including the patenting process, drafting claims, legal recourses for patent infringement, the patent appeal process, patents strategies, the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the European Union Patenting System. Copyright, trademarks and trade secrets will also be covered
  • Technology based business strategy topics such as Forces of Strategic Space, Blue Ocean Strategy, and Disruptive Technologies

Departmental Courses

Each engineering discipline has defined a set of requirements for the MEng program designed to give you in-depth technical knowledge of a particular field. Our programs give you flexibility in course selection within your chosen discipline, and the departmental course requirements vary. To learn more, choose your field of interest from those listed in the Disciplines menu.

Technical Electives

Technical elective options give you more opportunity to specialize in your area of interest, and really take advantage of Duke’s leading status in several fields. Specializations like these will distinguish you with potential employers. You will work with a faculty advisor to customize a curriculum that suits you. In some cases, an independent study sponsored by a faculty member may satisfy an elective requirement.

Technical Elective options vary.  To learn more, choose your major of interest from those listed in the Disciplines menu.

Internship or Project

We require all MEng students to engage in an internship or project to complete the program. The many options available to fulfill this requirement give you a chance to practice what you’re learning, ask questions and hone your skills in a supportive environment. Internships may be paid or unpaid, corporate or governmental. Projects may take the form of applied research positions, provided the learning objectives are met.

Once your project or internship is completed, you will prepare a written and/or oral project report. Individual programs/majors may have additional requirements or exceptions to fulfill the internship component of the program.

more: MEng Internship/Project