By Jorge Mercado Friday, May 22nd, 2026

In an effort to expand its engineering programs, the Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara will launch the university’s first fully online master’s degree program in the fall of 2027.

Announced May 14, the new Master of Engineering and Technology Leadership is a huge milestone for UCSB, as it will extend the college’s research capabilities into a “digitally native professional degree built for the modern engineering workforce around the globe,” it said in a press release.

The program received approval from the University of California and President James B. Milliken in April, with its final approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission expected later this month.

Once fully approved, the class will start in the fall of 2027, with the application for admission opening this September.

“UC Santa Barbara is excited to offer the Master of Engineering and Technology Leadership, which builds on the interdisciplinary strengths of our campus and our Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering to provide a truly innovative professional degree program bridging technology, business, and management,” said UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis.

“I congratulate our campus colleagues who have worked tremendously hard to create this distinctive new online program as part of our unwavering commitment to advance the frontiers of research education and prepare our students for success.”

The program is designed for early- to mid-career technology professionals and aims to combine advanced technical training with leadership, business and technology management education. 

The fully online format is structured so that students can continue to work while earning a UCSB engineering degree, regardless of geographic location or time zone, according to the press release.

“This program represents a major milestone for UC Santa Barbara,” saidUmesh Mishra,dean of The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering. “METL allows us to extend UCSB’s engineering excellence beyond campus in a way that meets the realities of today’s workforce — providing flexibility, relevance, and rigor for professionals who are ready to step into leadership roles.”

The program was developed in response to growing industry demand for professionals who possess both deep technical expertise and the ability to lead teams, manage complex systems, and translate innovation into impact, according to the press release. 

The program will offer  four specialization tracks that align with areas where UCSB is internationally recognized for research excellence and industry engagement: semiconductor technology, quantum information, AI and machine learning for science and technology and technology management, according to the press release.

“These fields are central to today’s most pressing technological challenges, and they are disciplines in which our faculty have shaped industries, advanced fundamental science, and trained generations of innovators,” said Mishra. “METL builds directly on that legacy, translating UCSB’s research excellence into a flexible, professionally focused program designed to meet the needs of the modern engineering workforce.”

The program can be completed in as little as 10 months with full-time participation, or part-time students can take up to four years, according to the press release. Courses and materials are being developed by more than 20 faculty members and members of industry. 

Because METL is delivered fully online, it allows UCSB to expand graduate enrollment without increasing on-campus headcount, thus addressing long-standing physical and housing constraints while creating a scalable model for future growth in professional education. 

Ilan Ben-Yaacov, the College of Engineering’s associate dean for online education and lead designer of the program, said that the program was “intentionally designed from the ground up as an online program—not as a retrofit of an on-campus degree.”

“That allowed us to rethink how advanced engineering education can be delivered to working professionals — combining faculty-led coursework with modular, high-quality digital content and meaningful interaction with industry leaders. The result is a program that preserves the depth and excellence of a UCSB engineering degree while making it accessible to learners wherever they are in the world,” he said.

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“This program represents a major milestone for UC Santa Barbara.” 

Umesh Mishra, Dean of The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering.