It’s time to celebrate! Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering is thirty years old, and we could not be more proud to be one of the premier graduate engineering programs to bring continuing engineering education to working engineers and technical professionals everywhere. We offer a Master of Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Engineering in 19 different disciplines.
Step Back in MAGE History: Timeline of MAGE Milestones
1994 The Professional Master of Engineering (ENPM) Program awarding the Master of Engineering (MENG) degree was first established to serve the continuing education needs of the professional community by preparing engineers to contribute to the workforce development of industry and government in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region and across the nation. The program was founded and led by Dr. Patrick Cunniff, Associate Dean, and offered 7 academic options all in traditional areas of engineering.
1999 Dr. George Syrmos, Adjunct faculty and PhD (UMD/ECE alumnus), is appointed Director and takes over ENPM to lead it into its next phase of growth. His goals are to continue to grow the programs offered while promoting the visibility of the Clark School and the University of Maryland.
2000 The Graduate Certificate in Engineering (GCEN) Program is introduced awarding the GCEN degree to address the needs of individuals who already possess a graduate degree but want to hone their knowledge/skills in a new area and/or serve as a stepping stone to the MENG degree later on.
2003 In the continued evolution of providing students a premier graduate program nationally and internationally, the newly named Office of Advanced Engineering Education (OAEE) introduces its first online program in Fire Protection Engineering (FPE) in collaboration with the FPE Department. Utilizing emerging technologies that make distance learning feasible without sacrificing quality, this is a significant step forward into what has become the expectation for higher education.
2010
OAEE continues its growth, adding programs to meet the demand of the ever-expanding engineering field. The total academic options offered now totals 15 and includes Software Engineering, Bioengineering, Sustainable Energy Engineering/Energy Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Energetic Concepts, Transportation Systems, and Electronic Packaging.
2012
With the explosive growth of the digital world operating with cloud-based data, security for this data becomes a huge industry. OAEE launches its Cybersecurity Program in collaboration with the Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2), the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department, and the Department of Computer Science to produce the next generation of engineers for this growing field.
2014
In conjunction with the Maryland Robotics Center (MRC), an interdisciplinary research center housed in the Institute for Systems Research, OAEE creates the Robotics Program which prepares students for careers in aerial robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision and perception, space and planetary robotics, robot kinematics and dynamics, control, networked robotic systems, and medical and rehabilitation robotics.
2015
OAEE creates the Master of Engineering in Software Engineering program preparing students to help solve pressing real-world problems. OAEE students have the added advantage of taking related courses through the Department of Computer Science in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
2020
OAEE officially changes its name to Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering (MAGE). This new name not only represents an accurate description of the broad educational areas offered, but it more closely connects to the mission to offer graduate continuing engineering education to working engineers and technical professionals both on campus and online.
2023
Graduate engineering at UMD continues to grow with new and innovative programs bringing the total to 19 academic options, including Cloud Engineering, Embedded Systems, and Hypersonics.
2024
While MAGE has typically ranked well among its peers, 2024 is a standout year as US News and World Report gives MAGE its highest ranking ever at #6 in the country for Online Graduate Engineering programs. And in that same year of amazing numbers, MAGE also surpasses 5000 (M.ENG./GCEN) graduates in its 30 year history.
Leadership
Dr. Patrick Cunniff
1994 - 1998
Dr. George Syrmos
1999 - Present
"We believe it is never too late to become an engineer or a more skilled engineer. Exercising that philosophy, more than 5,000 MAGE graduates have entered the workforce, engineers like Bethel Abate M.Eng. ‘12, a Program Manager/Senior Engineer at DC Water; Arjun Srinivasan Ambalam M.Eng. ‘21, a Research Data Scientist at Fraunhofer USA Center Mid-Atlantic; and Ryan Kropff M.Eng. ‘22, an Incident Response Lead at Northrop Grumman Advanced Threat Analysis Center. Ryan also recently returned to teach for the program.
Like those engineers, MAGE has continued to grow, expanding from seven to 19 programs—including Cloud Engineering and Embedded Systems—both in person and online. In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked MAGE’s graduate online engineering programs 6th in the nation, its highest ranking ever.
Congratulations to Patrick Cunniff, MAGE’s founder; George Syrmos, Assistant Dean for Continuing Education, who has been leading MAGE since 1999; and the program’s excellent students, faculty, staff, alums, and supporters from across the world."
-- Samuel Graham, Jr. (he/him/his) Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor