CECS Student Experiences
Read what our current graduate students and alumni have to say about their CECS experience.
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Computer Science
Engineering Management
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Uday GhargeMS ‘18 Hometown: Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India Current Job: Chemical Engineer, SKAPS Industries MS Program: Chemical Engineering |
“Because of their advanced course structure and excellent research work, UTC helped me to gain specialized knowledge to advance in my current field. I took online courses for three semesters. The best things about online courses are there’s no need to go to school and you can easily access all the lectures, notes, assignments and exams through an online university account. Most importantly my master's courses are really helping me to understand all engineering-related skills.
As I was new in this country, many professors and seniors assisted me to explore the departmental activities, with registration for the proper subjects, and provided guidance for research work. There are many professors I reached out for guidance but Dr. Soubantika Palchoudhury, Dr, Neslihan Alp, and Dr. Prakash Dhamshala helped me a lot while pursuing a master's study.
During my master's study I got many opportunities such as working as a Research Assistant and having research work on Nanotechnology. In my last semester I got an Internship opportunity at ARCH Plastics, Chattanooga. I was also a member of the Graduate Student Association, an International Student organization, and spent a good time with many students from different countries. I really enjoyed my research work with Dr. Soubantika Palchoudhury on Nanotechnology and working as a teaching assistant to the Engineering Management department.”
“One of my best decisions of my career was to choose the graduate study program in the UTC CECS. I chose UTC because of the advanced research opportunities, good number of lab set ups, and friendly faculty members. Along with my master’s degree in civil engineering, I got a Construction Management Post-Baccalaureate Certification without any extra cost. The UTC MS program helped me to fulfill my career ambition 100%.
The quality of the online courses is good. I found UTC has made an easy access tool to get the online course materials, homework, as well as grade point tracking in a very handy way. Students don’t need to be an expert to submit, download, and communicate with the course instructors. Among all the amenities, I have found that the instructors were very active responding to email in a very short time.
The research that I did with Dr. Weidong Wu had created a door of opportunity in the Transportation Field. During the interview in TDOT, my boss selected me as a must-hire candidate out of 20 qualified candidates because of my strong academic background and research profile that I had gained from the UTC Master program.
The civil engineering department has very good and helpful faculty members I have ever seen in other universities. Moreover, the UTC international office serves as a parent in the USA. I can describe working with Dr. Wu as his teaching assistant in the area of Drone and Artificial Intelligence is the best part in my experience.
I made this drone footage while I was a student at UTC.”
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Drone Bridge Inspection Team using DJI Panthom 4 Pro Checkout the ‘Murad Al Qurishee’ YouTube channel for video he captured as a part of his drone fly practice. |
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Rua TahaMS ‘21 Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan Current Job: Research/Teaching Assistant at UTC MS Program: Electrical Power Engineering |
Why did you choose UTC CECS?
UTC’s advanced laboratories in the field of power engineering, coupled with talented professors that have years of hands on experience and close ties to the industry made it an easy choice to apply to the CECS.
What is your career ambition and how is the MS program helping you get there?
Being exposed to so many different possibilities, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where I see myself in the future. However, I’m very interested in power system protection and its application in renewable energy. I took both courses early on in the MS program, and while it was challenging at times, my instructors were always there to help me every step of the way.
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Akram SaadMS ‘18 Hometown: Omdurman, Khartoum State, Sudan Current Job: Protection and Design Consultant at Patterson Power Engineers, LLC. MS Program: Electrical Engineering |
Why did you choose UTC CECS?
When I was offered a full assistantship from the Department of Electrical engineering at UTC, I was already considering a Ph.D. offer from another University in Ohio. The deciding factor was my brother who graduated from UTC with a Master's in Electrical Engineering in 2014. He informed me how the Electrical Engineering Masters program at UTC will equip me with the skills necessary for my career as a power systems engineer.
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Matt JoplinMS ‘18 Hometown: Chattanooga, TN Current Job: Radiation Effects Electrical Engineer, BAE Systems, Inc. MS Program: Electrical Engineering |
“I chose UTC CECS because Dr. Loveless recognized my work ethic and encouraged me to pursue a graduate degree. I was going into the workforce otherwise. I had roots in Chattanooga, TN and I wanted to be at home and give back to the university by continuing to be a part of its growth in the community through the programs like the GigTank Accelerator.
I liked that the instructors were very good with feedback, engaged, and interested in my development as well as becoming better at what they were doing. They really care about the students and are able to give individual attention. In online courses, the interaction between students in the context of message boarding was an encouraging sight to see. If stuck on something, a student could go to a forum and crowdsource an explanation.
The CECS MSEE program prepared me for a high tech workforce in a specialized and competitive world and I have continued to thrive since my time there. I recommend it to anyone who wants to pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering. The experience is what you make of it, and the effort I put into my studies there have paid off in kind.”
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Saroj KhanalMS ‘19 Hometown: Hetauda, Nepal Current Job: Graduate III - Electrical Engineering, US Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory MS Program: Electrical Engineering |
“The main reason for choosing UTC CECS was its close collaboration with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and, of course, the power systems focused research, which I rarely find these days in U.S. universities. I came for my Master's from Nepal, the country of the Himalayas, where we have abundant hydropower resources. TVA's hydropower infrastructures and its footprint have always fascinated me. While browsing UTC CECS website, I saw power system labs funded by TVA, adjunct faculties from TVA, and of course, well-established professors, which attracted me to apply to UTC CECS. Last but not the least, the generous graduate assistantship I got helped me come to UTC CECS without any second thought.
I aspire to be an energy analyst. The wide array of coursework and research experiences that I had during my M.S. helped me get an internship at U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory at Golden, Colorado. My internship helped me broaden my perspectives, knowledge, and skills in the field of energy systems that are fundamentals to being an energy analyst. The rigorous courses and research experiences unlocked many avenues of my future interests.”
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Alexander SnyderMS ‘22 Hometown: Wauseon, OH Current Job: Student Research Assistant MS Program: Mechanical Engineering |
Why did you choose UTC CECS?
I had just got out of the US Navy and was ready to go back to school. I had a conversation with my wife about what should I do, and where should I go? She was the one who thought that engineering was a good idea, and I picked mechanical because I knew it most easily transferred to an aerospace type job.
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Brennan HuberMS ‘20 Hometown: Paducah, KY Current Job: Application Developer/Analyst with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee PhD Program: PhD in Computational Science: Computer Science |
Why did you choose UTC CECS?
Initially I went to TTU for athletics, but transferred to UTC as I felt it was a better fit for me in athletics. But what made me decide to stay for a Masters and a PhD was absolutely the professors. I really enjoyed how available the professors were and always willing discuss different topics of interest. Initially I took Dr. Kandah's Computer Networking course and I really enjoyed the topic so I went into office hours to discuss what careers would look like so I could look into it further. But in our discussions, he started talking about some of his research areas and I thought it was really interesting, so he had me read a few research papers and look into some of the tasks that he was working on in his research and the rest is history.
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Adam DeanMS ‘20 Hometown: Chattanooga, TN Current Job: Data Scientist with TVA MS Program: Computer Science |
Why did you choose UTC CECS?
I had recently gotten laid off from my job and moved back to Chattanooga (in parent's basement) and realized I would need more education to get my career where I wanted it to be. Computer Science or really more a technical field in general was a huge reason I chose the computer science path. In addition, relative to other options (i.e. MBA), computer required minimal prep and application process (GRE, references, etc). I do not think this is a bad thing - computer science is very niche and technical. Your ability to excel would not remotely be determined by these types of requirements. Ultimately, UTC was close to home and provided a great program. I could get started in a new field without extensive experience and not require the overwhelming stress and demands of a program like MIT or Georgia Tech. This is not said in a way to downplay UTC relative to top universities; UTC provided everything I needed at the level I needed.
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Kent DerbyshireMS ‘20 Hometown: Waterton, NY Current Job: Senior Mechanical Engineer at Eaton MS Program: Engineering Management |
Why did you choose UTC CECS? I selected UTC after extensively researching the top online Engineering Management programs in the country. UTC’s program was affordable, and the coursework was more practical than other programs and directly related to my career ambitions.
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Jon MachnackiMS ‘20 Hometown: Canton, MI Current Job: Engineering Manager, Caterpillar Inc. MS Program: Engineering Management |
“I applied a rigorous and methodical approach to my school selection process. I considered overall cost, the quality of the online classroom experience, time to completion, rankings from various publications, and whether the curriculum offerings checked all the boxes I was looking for.
Comparing the curriculum offerings was an interesting exercise. I considered whether specific topics were “new” to me and got feedback from my leadership and Human Resources department regarding how useful they would be for my career growth. UTC scored well in the areas of management science, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and product development.
When I tallied up all the metrics, UTC emerged as the clear winner. It was an easy sell to my HR department that this program was the right choice.
There are many positives aspects about the program. The diversity of courses is a big one. Managers need a wide range of skills spanning leadership, financials, strategy, development, and quality. The broad portfolio of course offerings is great.
I would also highlight the interactions with students and teachers. UTC has nailed how to make this effective in an online environment.
Most importantly, I can consistently apply the material to both my professional and personal life. I view formal education programs as a transfer of knowledge that leaves it up to the students to decide what are the “golden nuggets” of learning. UTC made it easy to apply and reinforce the knowledge, and that is what I have been seeking.
All my courses were online. The two benefits that stand out to me are flexibility and the overall organization of the courses and materials. My job coupled with my family commitments can be demanding at times; the program allowed me to balance everything.
The clear takeaway is that this program helped fast-track me on a managerial career path. It has provided me the knowledge and skills to effectively lead and develop a team, manage our deliverables, effectively communicate with stakeholders and customers, and articulate a strategy for the future. “