Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, has an Engineering & Management program that should appeal to students who want to pursue STEM but still maintain and build their people skills. 

The Clarkson campus is located in Upstate New York, near the Adirondack Mountains and situated along the Raquette River. Director of E&M Michelle Crimi said that even though it gets very cold, the campus is compact, so the 3,300 undergraduate students can easily move from one class to another without getting chilled. With a 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio, the 270 professors on campus are fully dedicated to teaching undergraduates. The program also has dedicated academic advisers for E&M students.

The Engineering and Management (E&M) curriculum at Clarkson introduces students to the core of engineering and the core of business, delivering “breadth and flexibility.” Students learn to integrate technical and managerial aspects of organizations. Those who like technology but still want to work with people, especially students who have strong leadership skills, will find their niche in E&M.

The program incorporates real-world problem-solving, teamwork, and communication, weaving together technology and interpersonal skills that leads to “a degree that can take you anywhere.”

E&M majors can take entrepreneurship, and Crimi said that more and more companies are seeking entrepreneurial talent. Clarkson student Allie Tessier said, “Entrepreneurial skills allow the employees to see the bigger picture and to better understand how the business works. Having the perspective of an entrepreneur gives us the ability to communicate as business leaders and to interact in a way that is more conducive to suggesting new and improved ideas.”

All Clarkson E&M majors must have a global experience and a professional experience. The global experience may be a semester of studying abroad or an overseas three-week trip led by faculty. Professional experience may be a co-op, an internship, community service, or supervised research. Students can minor in a broad range of disciplines, from project management to law. Every senior completes a capstone project.

Clarkson University has one of only two programs in the country certified by both the business AACSB and the engineering ABET. Average starting salary for graduates of E&M in 2019 was over $61,000, with 96 percent reporting that they had secured employment or graduate school placement six months after earning the degree.