Graduate IMSE Courses

The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) offers two degree options leading to a Master of Science degree: manufacturing systems and manufacturing information systems. Other specialized study concentrations are available in areas of faculty interest, including artificial intelligence, systems simulation, process planning, distribution systems, genetic algorithms, data mining, and location science.

The focus of graduate educational and research activities is on structuring the decision process, system analysis, and the design of complex systems that integrate technical, human, and economic resources within a variety of constraints and environments.

The option emphasizing manufacturing information systems educate students who intend to work as industrial and systems engineers in the areas of manufacturing systems and manufacturing management. Information being the key to successful control of these complex systems, students will learn both the fundamentals of database theory and manufacturing applications. The focus of this area is computer integrated manufacturing through information integration.

The department also participates in the integrated engineering Ph.D. program, emphasizing intelligent systems engineering. For more information, see the Graduate Program Guide, available from the department.

Descriptions outlining suggested core courses and electives for the options are available upon request. You are expected to use the core courses as a guide, with the specific program designed jointly by you and your advisor. A plan of study must be submitted to the IMSE Graduate Chair for approval before the end of the second quarter of study.

Each of these options and other concentration areas may be taken with or without a thesis. The thesis option requires a minimum of 45 quarter hours including a maximum of 6 hours of thesis (ISE 695). The nonthesis option requires a minimum of 51 credit hours including a three-credit-hour scholarly project (ISE 694), a formal written report, a nonthesis committee, and formal defense. All full-time graduate students are expected to register for three successive quarters of ISE 630 Seminar beginning with their first quarter in residence. Up to six hours of independent study may be taken for degree credit in addition to hours earned in ISE 694 and 695.

A maximum of 12 credit hours of elective graduate level courses may be taken outside the department or the University, provided they are included in an approved plan of study. You also are required to complete at least one-third of your total required hours in graduate-only courses, while the other two-thirds may be in graduate courses that are cross-listed with undergraduate electives.

The department welcomes applications from engineering students and qualified students with a bachelor's degree in physical sciences, including mathematics and computer science. Each candidate is evaluated on previous academic record, work experience, and career goals. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), except in extenuating circumstances. International students desiring a graduate associateship must pass a test clarity of speech (SPEAK test).