Recently, The International Council of System Engineering (INCOSE) approved UMBC’s updated SYST 660 Systems Engineering Principles course for Academic Equivalency. This will allow any student who receives a final score of 80% or better to waive the Knowledge Exam for INCOSE’s SE Professional certification program, both at the Associate (ASEP) and Certified (CSEP) levels.
The INCOSE Academic Equivalency Program benefits students in several ways. One, students will gain a thorough understanding of, not only the INCOSE handbook, but the context of system engineering. Two, students will no longer need to take the INCOSE exam to be certified if they pass SYST 660 course with an 80% or better. And three, students will become linked into the INCOSE Association. This offers the advantage of rich networking opportunities.
CSEP and ASEP certifications
“In order to get Certified System Engineering Professional (CSEP) certified by INCOSE, a person needs to have accomplished three things: Complete the application, pass the UMBC course, and provide references who can verify your application details are correct. To get Associate System Engineering Professional (ASEP) certified you only need to complete the application and pass the UMBC course,” explains Paul Martin, ESEP, CTT+, graduate instructor, Systems Engineering Principles course.
Creating a Triple Threat Graduate
Triple Threat graduate in terms of the way UMBC has defined it is a person that’s coming out of a graduate program not only with a graduate degree, but with work experience and an industry recognized credential.
“UMBC can accomplish this now with this relationship with INCOSE, along with the underlying programmatic infrastructure that is already in place,” states Woodrow Winchester III, Ph.D., graduate program director of UMBC’s Professional Engineering programs. He further explains, “UMBC’s Professional Engineering Suite of programs provides graduate degrees in MS or MPS, depending on the program. For systems engineering, it’s the MS. All of our engineering programs, including engineering management and systems engineering, have a capstone experience. Through this students get to apply industry-oriented, or, in some cases, industry-sponsored project work, which gives them experience in terms of applying what they have learned in the real world.”
With UMBC’s relationship with INCOSE, students are able to come out with an industry recognized credential by passing the SYST 660, Systems Engineering Principles course. This is a true advantage for UMBC students because INCOSE is globally recognized as the disciplinary and practice leader when it comes to systems engineering. This new relationship with INCOSE puts a stamp of approval on a student’s systems engineering background.
UMBC is one of twelve programs that have an academic equivalency relationship with INCOSE. And at this time, UMBC’s System Engineering program is the only program in the state of Maryland with academic equivalency.
“This is important to UMBC students because it provides an employer indication of the depth of the student’s systems engineering knowledge. At this time, employers are asking for this credential for systems engineers. This INCOSE certification is listed in job postings oftentimes, especially if it’s in the government, government contract work, or defense aerospace. It provides a value add to UMBC graduates along with a differentiator from their peer,” states Woodrow Winchester III, Ph.D.
Claim Your Future at UMBC
Learn more about UMBC’s graduate program in Systems Engineering and take your future to a new level.
About the International Council on Systems Engineering
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization that promotes international collaboration in systems engineering practice, education and research. INCOSE’s mission is to “address complex societal and technical challenges by enabling, promoting and advancing systems engineering and systems approaches.” Founded in 1990, INCOSE has more than 70 chapters and over 17,000 members worldwide. For additional information about INCOSE visit www.incose.org. Become a member today.
Join INCOSE for a Special Event
Join Dr. Woodrow Winchester on July 28, 2021 online as he presents a brief talk on Beyond Aerospace and Defense: Defining New Regional Frontiers for Systems Engineering Growth and Impact.