Power Systems Management Online (MS)

WPI’s Online MS in Power Systems Management combines essential topics in power systems engineering with technology-focused business courses, preparing graduates for careers in engineering management within the power industry.

As a student in our part-time online program, you will learn to:

Analyze power flows in delivery networks – both for steady state and transients
Understand electro-mechanical energy conversion and power system operations and planning
Design power delivery networks – both transmission and distribution
Analyze dynamic system response to disturbances
Design protection and control systems
Evaluate design alternatives, including both technical and economic analysis
Lead projects using a full suite of management tools
Understand group and individual dynamics leading to more effective interactions
Identify and mitigate operational risks

Other online graduate programs in Power Systems:

Whitepaper: Securing the Grid - Today and Tomorrow

Learn from Industry Experts

WPI students work closely with WPI’s renowned Power Systems faculty: real-world, industry experts who enrich the curriculum with decades of experience.

Read the faculty biographies

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Courses

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

10 courses, 30 credit hours. You will work with a faculty advisor to develop a customized and relevant plan of study selected from the courses below.

REQUIRED COURSES

ECE 5500. Power System Analysis
And at least 9 credits but no more than 12 credits in other ECE Power Systems Engineering courses.*
- *Credit cannot be awarded for ECE 5521 & 5522 if credit for ECE 5520 has been earned.
12 credit hours of management classes.
Remaining credit hours may be taken in:
- Any graduate level course work in engineering, science, or system dynamics**
- No more than 15 of the total degree credit hours may be in ECE.

**Note that not all courses shown in the graduate catalog are available online. Please check the current course schedule listing.

COURSE SCHEDULE

FALL TERM

ECE 5500. Power System Analysis
ECE 5511. Transients in Power Systems
ECE 5523. Power System Dynamics
ECE 5521. Protective Relaying (not be taken with ECE 5520)
OIE 542. Risk Management and Decision Making
Technical Elective and/or Business Elective

EARLY SPRING TERM

(January Start)

ECE 5500. Power System Analysis
ECE 5511. Transients in Power Systems
ECE 5520. Protection and Controls (not to be taken with ECE 5521)
ECE 5522. Advanced Applications in Protective Relaying
ECE 5531. Operations and Planning
OIE 542. Risk Management and Decision Making or
MIS 576. Project Management

LATE SPRING TERM

(April Start)

ECE 5500. Power System Analysis
ECE 5511. Transients in Power Systems
ECE 5532. Distributed and Renewable Power Generation
ECE 5521. Protective Relaying (not to be taken with ECE 5520)
OIE 542. Risk Management and Decision Making or
MIS 576. Project Management
Technical Elective and/or Business Elective

SUMMER TERM

OIE 542. Risk Management and Decision Making or
MIS 576. Project Management
ECE 5522. Advanced Applications in Protective Relaying (as needed)
Business Elective (as needed)

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES

ECE 523. Power Electronics
ECE 5512. Electromechanical Energy Conversion
ECE 5530. Power Distribution
ECE 5540. Power Transmission
CS 525S. Special Topics- Computer Network and Security (with the NERC CIP standards included)
SD 550. System Dynamics Foundation: Managing Complexity

BUSINESS ELECTIVES

OIE 598. Engineering Economics
OBC 505. Teaming and Organizing for Innovation
BUS 598. IS Energy Management

The program gave me more technical background in both power and business... It's all in one package.

Bobby Sandler

Power Systems Engineer

Unitil Corporation

Prerequisites

Students must have an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from an ABET accredited university with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Some graduate engineers from other disciplines may be successful in Power Systems; however they may need an additional foundation in mathematics.

Have additional questions about admissions or program requirements? Please contact our WPI Online team to review individual situations.

How Online Learning Works

Admissions for Online Programs

Student Support

Tuition & Financial Aid

Meet the Team

Graduate Course Catalog 2016-2017

Corporate Programs Available

Could your company benefit from a customized power systems engineering program? Learn more about our corporate programs.

Explore average starting salaries and companies that have hired WPI Power Systems Management graduates.

Career Outlook

View our on-demand webinar to be introduced to our Power Systems online graduate program. Get an overview of logistics, what online learning looks like, the application process, and more!

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WPI and the Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE) are partners in providing quality online education to the energy industry. If you work for an organization that is a member of EPCE, you receive a 10% discount on your online WPI tuition. Contact EPCE to determine if you qualify.