Systems Engineering Certificate of Graduate Study
Learn to design, integrate, and manage complex systems across industries, from defense and energy to AI. Rowan’s Systems Engineering Certificate of Graduate Study (C.O.G.S.) focuses on core skills in four courses, and every credit counts toward the M.S. in Systems Engineering if you decide to continue.
Why choose Rowan's systems engineering program?
Systems Engineering involves the design, integration, and management of complex and large-scale systems over their life cycles.
As such, Systems Engineering bridges many of the existing engineering disciplines, as design, integration, and management of complex, large-scale systems are common to all engineering disciplines. Systems engineers are employed in a wide spectrum of industries, including defense, communications, power and energy systems, computing systems, AI systems, as well as many cyberphysical systems. While the nation’s institutions of higher education graduate a sufficient number of professionals in core traditional engineering disciplines, there is an unmet need for qualified professionals who have the necessary knowledge and skills to integrate such complex and large-scale systems across different disciplines. Furthermore, while there are master's level graduate programs in Systems Engineering, not all professionals have the time to pursue a full-length master's program, and hence, would prefer a shorter certificate program that focuses on core areas.
The Certificate of Graduate Study (C.O.G.S.) in Systems Engineering is designed to meet this growing demand by providing a strong foundation, skills, and knowledge on which the participants can build a successful career.
In response to this specific demand and request from various industrial stakeholders, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has developed both a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering, as well as this C.O.G.S. in Systems Engineering.
The C.O.G.S. in Systems Engineering consists of the four core courses of the M.S. in Systems Engineering. Therefore, students who complete this C.O.G.S. can easily complete their M.S. in Systems Engineering simply by taking the relevant electives in any of the focus areas of the M.S. in Systems Engineering.
This program will not only equip the students with fundamental knowledge, skills, and abilities specific to systems engineering but will also allow them to develop additional critical soft skills, such as communications, management, leadership, problem-solving, planning, innovation, and quality control.
Key considerations
Quick Facts
Credits
Application Deadlines
Fall Entry Term
Spring Entry Term
Summer Entry Term
Studying systems engineering at Rowan
What you'll learn
The Rowan University Certificate of Graduate Study in Systems Engineering program requires the completion of 12 semester hours. The program will help students prepare for the Systems Engineering Professional (SEP) certification offered by INCOSE and the Project Management Professionals (PMP®) exam administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI).
- 4 Courses / 12 Semester Hours
- Foundation Courses: No
- Graduation / Exit / Thesis Requirements: Yes
- Complete 12 graduate credits of graduate-approved coursework to complete the certificate program.
- Minimum grade for each course should be B-, and the overall GPA should be 3.0 or better
Required Courses: 6 S.H.
| Course Number | Title | S.H. (Credits) |
| ECE 09521 | Fundamentals of Systems Engineering | 3 |
| ECE 09527 | Advanced Model Based Systems Engineering | 3 |
Choose one of the following Reliability/Quality Control/Statistics Courses: 3 S.H.
| Course Number | Title | S.H. (Credits) |
| ECE 09528 | Reliability in Systems Engineering* | 3 |
| ECE 09568 | Discrete Event Systems | 3 |
| ME 10530 | Reliability Engineering | 3 |
| ME 10561 | Engineering Optimization | 3 |
| ChE 06587 | Process Optimization | 3 |
| ChE 06588 | Advanced Process Control Automation and Design | 3 |
| MATH 03511 | Operations Research I | 3 |
| MATH 03512 | Operations Research II | 3 |
| STAT 02510 | Introduction to Statistical Analysis | 3 |
Choose one of the following Engineering/Project Management Courses: 3 S.H.
| Course Number | Title | S.H. (Credits) |
| ECE 09529 | Project Management in Systems Engineering* | 3 |
| EM 01543 | Systems for Engineering Management | 3 |
| MGT 06677 | Management Skills for Engineers | 3 |
| MIS 02525 | Project Management** | 3 |
| MIS 02526 | Project Management for Engineers** | 3 |
| MIS 02522 | Systems Analysis and Design** | 3 |
Note: The courses listed above are not official and are subject to change. For an official list of available courses please visit the Rowan University Academic Catalog.
*Indicates preferred course
**Seats in classes are subject to availability and priority is given to College of Business majors.
Transfer Credit Evaluation Policy
No transfer credits allowed for this certificate
Admission requirements
The following is a list of items required to begin the application process for the program. There may be additional actions or materials required for admission to the program. Upon receipt of the materials below, a representative from the Rowan Global Admissions Processing Office will contact you with confirmation, or will indicate any missing items.
- Completed Application Form
- No application fee required
- Bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) in science, engineering, or a related field from an accredited institution of higher learning
- Official transcripts from all colleges attended (regardless of number of credits earned)
- Minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better (on a 4.0 scale)
- Current professional resume
- Typewritten statement of professional objectives
Tuition and aid
At Rowan University, we pride ourselves on being vigilant and frugal about tuition. We work hard to provide quality education while seeking to reduce the barrier that college costs can present students.
We know paying for tuition can be a challenge. That is why Rowan provides students with the financial resources needed to put their education first by offering grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships.
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