Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Senior engineering manager education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a senior engineering manager. Senior engineering managers usually study electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or business. 68% of senior engineering managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 3,864 real senior engineering manager resumes to see exactly what senior engineering manager education sections show.
The most common colleges for senior engineering managers are the San Jose State University and the San Jose State University.
There are also many online senior engineering manager courses to help get the education required to be a senior engineering manager.
There are certain senior engineering manager certifications that you should consider. These senior engineering manager certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM).
What education do you need to become a senior engineering manager?
What degree do you need to be a senior engineering manager?
- Bachelor's, 68%
- Master's, 22%
- Associate, 6%
- Doctorate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a senior engineering manager?
- Business, 11%
- Computer Science, 11%
- Other Majors, 40%
Most common colleges for senior engineering managers
| Senior engineering manager common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| San Jose State University | 7.96% |
| Purdue University | 7.96% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 7.30% |
| University of Phoenix | 7.30% |
| Northeastern University | 6.86% |
Best majors for senior engineering managers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Engineering | 22.1% |
| 2 | Mechanical Engineering | 16.4% |
| 3 | Business | 11.1% |
| 4 | Computer Science | 11.0% |
| 5 | Civil Engineering | 6.2% |
Best colleges for senior engineering managers
The best colleges for senior engineering managers are Columbia University in the City of New York, Carnegie Mellon University, and Northwestern University.
A senior engineering manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for senior engineering managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become senior engineering managers.
1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$12,424
Enrollment
15,201
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
6. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
8. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
9. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
10. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$9,816
Enrollment
21,047
20 best online courses for senior engineering managers
Advertising disclosure
1. Engineering Project Management
Master strategies and tools to more effectively and successfully manage projects.\n\nToday’s professional environment is highly competitive, continuously changing, and difficult to manage. Employees rarely reach positions of leadership without managing one or more projects or a project segment early in their career.\n\nBrought to you by the Rice Center of Engineering Leadership and team behind the engineering management master's program, the goal of this Specialization is to give you the tools...
2. Managing Major Engineering Projects
Accelerate your career by improving your project management skills. This Specialization delivers a rigorous exploration of the best practices for planning and delivering these major engineering projects. You’ll learn about the measures of success, how to resolve challenges of governance and typical financing approaches of these projects.\n\nIf you are an engineer or a project manager and you aspire to get involved with major engineering projects, or you are already working on one, then this...
3. Product Development & Systems Engineering
The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...
4. Great Product Manager: Product Management by a Big Tech's PM
Become a Great Product Manager! Land your dream job with Big Tech's Senior Product Manager...
5. Real-World Engineering Management
Learn software engineering management using the same practices as Amazon Web Services (AWS), with comparisons to the practices at Google and Microsoft! Gain insights to impress on your first (or next) engineering manager (EM or SDM) role.\n\nLead instructor Nancy Wang, Director of Engineering and Product and General Manager of Data Protection Services at Amazon Web Services, shares the key business, technical, design, and leadership skills necessary for success at engineering manager roles at...
6. Technical Product Management: learn on 4 real industry cases
Boost your technicality (as a PM) or tech product skills (as an engineer) to grow in your current role...
7. Product Design Management for Agile Practitioners
Application of product design management principles, concepts, tools and techniques in agile product management...
8. From Engineer to Technical Manager: A Survival Guide
New manager training for engineers - smooth the transition from individual contributor to manager or team lead...
9. Improving software development productivity
Improving software development productivity. Practical techniques...
10. Product Management Crash Course; IT Product Management
Product Management Essentials & Product Management Fundamentals to kick-start your career in Product Management...
11. Requirements Engineering: Software Engineering
Everything you need to know about software requirements: elicitation, analysis, documentation, validation and management...
12. Comprehensive Product management for Product managers
Become a great product manager with comprehensive product management Real world case study with JIRA & Confluence...
13. The Product Management for AI & Data Science Course
The Complete Course for Becoming a Successful Product Manager in the Field of AI & Data Science...
14. Advanced React For Enterprise: React for senior engineers
A practical deep dive into building, scaling and maintaining high-quality design systems for software engineers...
15. IT Project Budget & Cost Management
Project Management tips to manage a million dollar IT Project budget from start to finish...
16. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Cert: Associate Cloud Engineer
Develop the skills you need to pass the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Associate Engineer Certification exam!...
17. The Complete Cloud Computing Software Architecture Patterns
Architect Large Scale Systems using Cloud Computing, Software Architecture Patterns & Modern System Design Principles...
18. Product Management Fundamentals
Case-based practical course on product management to build strong foundations in product concepts, process & frameworks...
19. Project Management: Simple Software Project Management
Project Management for NEW Project Managers - knowledge, tools, techniques, skills, checklists, guidelines, pitfalls...
20. Product Management for Maximum Impact
Product Management Videos, Insights, Success Metrics...
Top 10 most affordable universities for senior engineering managers
The most affordable schools for senior engineering managers are United States Merchant Marine Academy, university of florida, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for senior engineering managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for senior engineering managers.
1. United States Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$1,080
Cost of attendance
6,646
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
4. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
5. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,140
Cost of attendance
14,430
6. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
7. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM • Private
In-state tuition
$7,770
Cost of attendance
21,244
8. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
9. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
10. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior engineering managers
The hardest universities for senior engineering managers to get into are Columbia University in the City of New York, Carnegie Mellon University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for senior engineering managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for senior engineering managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
6. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,545
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
9. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
10. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior engineering managers
The easiest schools for senior engineering managers to get into are Texas A&M; University - Kingsville, the university of texas permian basin, and the university of texas at el paso.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior engineering manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for senior engineering managers.
1. Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX • Private
Admissions rate
89%
SAT average
1,035
2. The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,046
3. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
4. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)
Lemont Furnace, PA • Private
Admissions rate
80%
SAT average
1,067
5. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
6. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois
DuBois, PA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,079
7. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
8. Capitol Technology University
Laurel, MD • Private
Admissions rate
69%
SAT average
1,070
9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
10. Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,111
Average senior engineering manager salary by education level
| Senior engineering manager education level | Senior engineering manager salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $169,843 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $158,459 |
| Doctorate Degree | $183,385 |
Senior engineering manager education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
Search for senior engineering manager jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025