To respond to the need to educate highly trained leaders for Charlotte's growing power industry, UNC Charlotte has added an energy concentration to its nationally ranked part-time Master of Business Administration program; it will start in fall 2013.
A cooperative effort among UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business, William States Lee College of Engineering and the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), the program focuses MBA studies on the electrical power and energy industry.
“The concentration will focus on the electrical energy business, which is unique. This emphasis was developed after inputs from our advisory board and other area energy leaders, who expressed a need for business savvy energy leaders,” said EPIC Director Johan Enslin.
The MBA concentration joins other energy-related concentrations offered in the Lee College of Engineering. At the undergraduate level, the college offers five energy concentrations, as well as energy research and thesis options at the master’s and Ph.D. levels.
The Lee College of Engineering’s Systems Engineering and Engineering Management Department will deliver or co-deliver some of the main energy-related MBA courses. Specialized courses on topics such as introduction to energy systems, energy markets, energy and environmental economics, energy system planning and case studies in the energy industry will be offered.
“Building and managing a sound energy infrastructure requires fundamental knowledge of engineering and business,” said Ertunga Ozelkan, department chairman of systems engineering and engineering management. “We are very excited to collaborate with the Belk College of Business to launch an energy systems concentration that will be beneficial to systems engineering, engineering management and business students.”
The energy concentration is open to both business and engineering students.
Christie Amato, associate dean for graduate programs in the Belk College, stated, “The UNC Charlotte MBA has a long tradition of being responsive to the region’s evolving business needs. The energy MBA capitalizes on UNC Charlotte's faculty expertise in both business and engineering and will provide a dynamic management talent pool for energy companies."
According to U.S. News and World Report, UNC Charlotte's MBA program ranks among the top 50 part-time programs in the nation. It enrolls 300 students, most of whom are working professionals.