Industrial Engineering Graduate Programs
General Degree Guidelines

• Matriculation and Progress
• Student Responsibility
• Initial Advising
• The M.I.E. Student's Advisor and Plan
• M.S. and Ph.D. Committee Formation
• Plan of Graduate Work

Matriculation and Progress

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the milestones on the various paths leading to the three degrees awarded by the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial Engineering. Normally the M.S. degree is considered to be a prerequisite for the Ph.D. However, the department will accept applications from students with truly superior credentials who desire a “direct-track” to the Ph.D., by-passing the M.S., as indicated in Figure 1. Insofar as students at the master’s level are admitted for a particular degree, transfer of enrollment between the M.I.E. and M.S. degrees is discouraged. Requests for transfers between the three graduate degree programs in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial Engineering require written recommendation and endorsement by the student’s advisor/chair, approval of the Director of Graduate Programs, and approval by the Dean of the Graduate School. In certain cases, requests will be subject to review by the Admissions Committee.

Student Responsibility

All Students are responsible for:

• choosing a regular advisor (who also serves as the committee chair for the M.S. or Ph.D. student);
• constituting a graduate advisory committee in concert with the chair (for M.S. and Ph.D. only);
• developing an approved Plan of Graduate Work (POGW); AND
• completing the proper paperwork and application forms according to the Graduate Handbook.

International students with teaching assistantships are also required to take the Test of Spoken English (SPEAK Test) to determine the extent of need, if any, for remedial study of conversational English. International teaching assistants who are required to register for FLE 401 and who fail to do so will have their registration canceled.

Initial Advising

The Director of Graduate Programs (DGP) often is the first point of contact for entering students. Apart from initial counsel, the DGP will endeavor to arrange for the student to meet with an interim advisor in the student’s area of stated interest. By the middle of their first semester in an IE graduate program, students should have requested a faculty member to serve as their regular advisor for preregistration purposes. In making such a choice, M.S. and Ph.D. students should take into account the likelihood that this professor would chair their graduate committee.

The M.I.E. Student's Advisor and Plan

Since the M.I.E. degree does not require a committee, only an advisor must be chosen. The student should work closely with this person to develop the POGW. These tasks should be completed no later than the semester in which the student will have completed 9 to 12 hours of graduate coursework.

M.S. and Ph.D. Committee Formation

The Formation Process

1. have expertise that will be of value in the conduct of the student’s research;
2. represent the student’s principal areas of subject concentration; and
3. can validly assess the performance of the student.

Graduate School policy, as adopted in 1992, states that the request for appointment of the advisory committee is required before completion of one semester of course work. We interpret the phrase “one semester of course work” to mean 9 to 12 hours. Accordingly, full-time students should take action during the first semester on campus. For part-time students, action should be taken during the second year in residence, i.e. third or fourth semester. Commonly the process of committee formation concurrently involves development and approval of the POGW, which all committee members must sign. The student should develop a draft POGW for discussion with each of his/her committee members; and having obtained their consensus (by signature), the student should then submit this document to the Director of Graduate Programs for review. With the latter’s approval, the POGW can be typed by the Graduate Secretary, signed by committee members, and filed with the Graduate School electronically. The advisability of early formation of the committee and of submission of the POGW cannot be overemphasized. Students who procrastinate may encounter unanticipated obstacles in terms of faculty or departmental requirements which could delay completion of the degree. The student is reminded that changes in coursework and in committee composition as listed on the POGW are commonplace; this document should not be perceived as being unmodifiable over time. A form for updating the POGW, changing committee structure, etc., can be obtained from the Graduate Secretary. An up-to-date POGW must be in place for the student to be eligible to graduate.

Committee Composition

For the M.S. student, the committee must be comprised of at least three members of the NCSU graduate faculty, one of whom represents the minor and is from “outside” the department. For the doctoral student, the committee must be comprised of at least four members of the NCSU graduate faculty. There is no policy which precludes adding additional members to graduate committees beyond the minimum—including external members who are not regular faculty members at NCSU. Moreover, members of the graduate faculties at UNC-Chapel Hill or Duke may serve as regular members of M.S. and Ph.D. committees just as if they were members of the NCSU graduate faculty. Policy does not make it mandatory that the committee chair be from the major department, nor that a majority of faculty on the committee be from the major department. With an interdisciplinary minor for the Ph.D. there may be two faculty from different departments chosen for the committee, e.g. Operations Research, Computer Science.

Plan of Graduate Work

Specific degree requirements are described in the three sections which follow pertaining to the M.I.E., M.S., and Ph.D. respectively. Note that 500- and 700-level courses on a student’s Plan of Graduate Work must be taken for a letter grade (NOT “Credit Only”). Plans of Graduate Work may include 600- and 800-level courses, which are S/U-graded (“Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory”).

For the M.I.E. degree, no minor as such is required; however, some “concentration” of coursework outside the department may be elected and is encouraged. For the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, the major and minor coursework, as listed on the POGW, normally should constitute about two-thirds and one-third, respectively, of the total coursework hours for the degree. The minor for the M.S. typically includes 9 hours (three courses), that for the Ph.D. 15–18 hours (five to six courses). In some cases, minor coursework (and examination) requirements have been established by other departments. Thesis and project work (e.g. IE 677, 695) and other courses taken to meet department requirements (unless part of the minor) should be listed as part of the major. The listing of IE courses in the minor should be avoided; some exceptions may be permitted as in the case of cross-listed courses (e.g. IE/OR 505, IE/PSY 745, IE/CSC 556). The important thing is that the minor should constitute a logical, coherent “theme” of study outside of, but complementary to, the major area of study.

At the doctoral level, dual minors are acceptable (i.e. 6 to 9 hours of coursework in each) and should be identified accordingly as to their theme (e.g., Economics or Operations Research). Courses taken at the 400 level can only be included as part of the minor on the POGW for the M.S. degree; no 400-level courses may be included on the POGW for the Ph.D. degree. Note: For a student who is continuing for the Ph.D. degree, the Graduate School advises that courses which have been taken at the M.S. level (i.e. those which are listed on the M.S. POGW) should not be listed again on the Ph.D. POGW. Listing of M.S. courses on the Ph.D. POGW leads to two problems:

1. It obscures what is really being taken and/or being required for the Ph.D.; and
2. The Graduate School, seeing that listed courses have been taken two or three years earlier, may question why the POGW was not submitted earlier in accordance with their policy. For the Ph.D. POGW, a copy of the master’s plan or transcript must be attached for review by the Graduate School.

For additional information on the Plan of Graduate Work see the Graduate School Handbook and review the Plan of Graduate Work Forms.

Contact Information: For more information please contact Ms. Cecilia Chen, Student Services Assistant.