Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science has announced a partnership with 2U Inc. to launch Engineering@Syracuse, an online graduate degree program.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science has joined the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the School of Information Studies as the fourth school to partner with 2U to create an online graduate degree program, according to an SU News release.

Engineering@Syracuse will include three online graduate degree options: a Master of Science in computer engineering, a Master of Science in computer science and a Master of Science in cybersecurity, according to the release. All the online classes in the degree programs will be offered through the College of Engineering and Computer Science and taught live and face-to-face by professors in the college.

SU first partnered with 2U last year to create its first two online graduate degree programs, MBA@Syracuse with Whitman — which was recently ranked No. 44 in the U.S. News & World Report’s top 50 “Best Online MBA Programs” — and Communications@Syracuse with Newhouse.

The iSchool’s online graduate degree program will not start until October 2016, according to the 2U website.

Andrew Hermalyn, executive vice president and regional general manager for 2U, said in an email that discussions were had with each of the four colleges to explore how an online graduate degree program might fit into each one’s structure and community.

Hermalyn said 2U provides the technology, support services, marketing and other operational functions, while SU manages all areas related to academics, teaching, admissions and degree conferrals.

Teresa Dahlberg, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, said in an email that 2U approached the college “with a unique opportunity to move existing programs and our new cybersecurity program online as a highly interdisciplinary portfolio of graduate computing programs.”

After a series of discussions with SU officials and faculty at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Dahlberg said the college agreed to the partnership with 2U. She added that research of alternative opportunities was also conducted by the college.

“2U has demonstrated a commitment to the rigor, quality, and excellence that defines Syracuse University academic programs,” Dahlberg said. “Their work and initial success with Whitman and Newhouse helped to inform our decision-making and allowed us to better understand how a partnership could be beneficial to the College and our students.”

The requirement for rigorous online graduate degree programs, she said, has grown increasingly relevant as online education “moves from the periphery to a more significant position within the University’s instructional portfolio.”

This partnership, Dahlberg said, will allow SU to move toward an organizational model for standardizing development and delivering “world-class” online graduate degree programs.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science will now be able to respond to its rising demand for more options regarding flexible graduate education through this partnership, Dahlberg said.

“We also expect the partnership to improve student retention in our online courses and programs, and to expose our residential graduate programs to a wider range of prospective students,” she said.

Engineering@Syracuse will start accepting applications in May, according to the release, with classes beginning October 2016.

Published on February 10, 2016 at 11:06 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann