Is a master’s in engineering, law and policy right for you?

Designed to meet students’ needs, the MELP program offers enrolment flexibility—the degree may be completed in either nine months of intensive study, one year of full-time study, or two years of part-time study.  

Students can also customise the programme to meet their own interests, needs, and technical background through nine different technical focus areas: 

• Environmental  

• Nuclear energy policy and nuclear security  

• Computer and network security 

• Autonomous vehicles 

• Energy  

• Telecommunications 

• Biological and agricultural 

• Nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing 

• Biomedicine and health care technologies 

Through the MELP degree, students will acquire strong technical and analytical skills and an understanding of the convergence between engineering, law, and policy for the successful development and implementation of technology-based strategies and solutions for business growth and public interest technology. 

MELP will prepare students for the competitive, interdisciplinary, global workplaces of the future. 

Technology will inevitably play a large role in the future workplace, in a variety of ways—from artificial intelligence to data storage to manufacturing and material tracking systems. A MELP degree provides graduates with the skills and mindset to efficiently find solutions to the political, ethical, economic, legal, and social challenges that are sure to arise from these technological changes.  

At Penn State University, students will develop an understanding of the societal and ethical impacts of emerging technologies, and obtain the technical, policy, and regulatory skills needed to become innovative leaders of change to shape technology for the public good and in service of public needs. 

The degree will also equip students to work in a variety of work environments and pursue various employment opportunities, including industry, government, non-profits, international organisations, think tanks, national labs and start-ups. It will provide students with a solid grounding in the skills and knowledge needed to become a socially conscious engineer, technologist, or scientist, and an effective policy change maker.  

Ideal for students with STEM degrees, MELP provides the opportunity to obtain a graduate degree from a top R1 land-grant university in the state of Pennsylvania in State College, also known as happy valley. At Penn State you will learn from expert faculty who are successful scientists and researchers in their field, and practitioners that provide practical industry and governmental professional experience and skills.  

As a graduate from Penn State University, you will become part of the largest Alumni Association in the United States, with more than 740,000 Penn State graduates. An important network available to you as you seek job opportunities.