Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (M.S.) Degree Requirements
General Requirements
The Master of Science (M.S.) degree in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial Engineering requires a minimum of 30 credit hours in total, with at least 24 credit hours of coursework and at least 3 credit hours for the thesis research (IE 695). More than these minimum hours for coursework and for thesis may be taken and included in the Plan of Graduate Work (POGW). Members of the student’s M.S. advisory committee may require the student to meet more than these minimum standards. These minimum credit-hour requirements do not include undergraduate prerequisites or one-credit hour seminars. The Plan of Graduate Work must include at least one 700- or 800-level IE course, exclusive of thesis credit.
Breadth Requirement (12 hours)
This requirement is met by selecting:
- one course from three of the following groups in the Breadth Requirement Course Listing (9 credit hours):
- Economic Analysis and Decision Making
- Human Factors and Ergonomics
- Manufacturing Systems
- Production Systems
- Systems Analysis and Optimization
- one course from group F (Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics) in the Breadth Requirement Course Listing.
For students with an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering, these breadth requirements should be discussed with the Director of Graduate Programs.
Minor Requirements (9 hours)
The minor requires three courses outside the department. Coursework in the minor may include the course taken from core-subject Group F to satisfy the breadth requirement as described above. Coursework in the minor may also include courses that are cross-listed with Industrial Engineering— for example, PSY/IE 740, OR/IE 505, or CSC/OR/IE 762. The minor should either be constituted from a single area of concentration or carry a coherent, interdisciplinary theme. The minor must be supportive of the major area of specialization. For examples, see the List of Hypothetical Minors.
Statistics
There is no statistics requirement per se for the MS degree, but most faculty will require their M.S. students to have some advanced coursework in statistics. Entry-level competence in statistics (that is, at the level of ST 507, ST 511, ST 513, ST 515) is required for many graduate courses in Industrial Engineering. Many students include statistics courses in their minor. Those courses that are commonly taken include 516, 708, 711, 730, and 731. See the Guidelines for Minors in Statistics for additional information.
The Thesis
- For general requirements, see the university's Thesis and Dissertation Guide.
- There is no good reason for the student to wait until completing all coursework before beginning thesis research. Students who make timely progress on their thesis research during each fall and spring semester that they are in residence as well as during their first summer in residence have a reasonable expectation of completing the thesis work in less than two years. Planning the thesis research should begin with the first semester in residence. Actually performing the research may begin early in the student’s program, and “directed study” courses (IE 637, 639) are legitimate alternatives to formal coursework by means of which the student can begin to do preliminary (pilot) research under faculty supervision.
- A written proposal approved by the advisory committee is recommended before definitive thesis research is begun.
- There will be an oral examination on the thesis. The student who fails the oral examination shall be granted one opportunity to pass a second oral examination.
Scheduling the Final Oral Examination and Thesis Review
When the student has finished all coursework or is in the final semester of completing all the coursework, the Graduate Secretary will request approval to schedule the Master’s Oral Examination from the Graduate School. The student must be registered in the semester that the oral exam is held. The form entitled Request for Approval to Schedule Master’s Oral Examination should be completed and given to the Graduate Secretary at least two weeks in advance of the date of the oral exam. At the time of scheduling the final oral examination, the candidate must provide a half-page abstract of the research, in the approved format, to the Graduate Secretary; and at the same time, the candidate should schedule an appointment with the Graduate School’s thesis editor for formal thesis review.
The Final Oral Examination and Thesis Review
The final oral examination is open to all interested students and faculty. Usually the candidate presents a 30- to 45-minute presentation on the thesis research; and this presentation may be followed by a session in which members of the advisory committee ask questions about the work. Some revisions of the thesis may be required as a result of issues that are raised in the final oral examination by the advisory committee. After the student has received an unconditional pass of the final oral examination, the Graduate School’s thesis editor will review the thesis for conformity to the requirements of the Thesis and Dissertation Guide.
Notice that (a) thesis review by the Graduate School’s thesis editor is by appointment only; (b) appointments with the thesis editor must be made at least one week in advance; and (c) at the time of thesis review, the student must also submit a title page bearing the original signatures of all members of the student’s advisory committee. This means that the appointment with the thesis editor cannot occur before the student has received an unconditional pass of the final oral examination as evidenced by the signatures of all committee members on the title page of the thesis.
Since final non-electronic submission of the approved thesis to the Graduate School will require at least three unbound copies of the thesis each with title pages bearing original signatures and since those final copies must be printed on 25% or 100% cotton-bond paper, it is a good idea to have all members of the advisory committee sign at least four copies of the title page printed on high-quality cotton-bond paper as soon as after the oral exam as they are willing to do so. (As described below, the students may elect to submit their theses electronically, in which case the Graduate School only requires one title page bearing original signatures; nevertheless, it is still a good idea to have at least four copies of the thesis title page with original signatures.) Ideally the required signatures can be obtained at the end of the oral examination; thus the student should have an appropriate number of copies of the title page ready for signature at the time of the oral exam.
Submitting the Thesis to the Graduate School
The traditional non-electronic procedure for submitting the final approved thesis to the Graduate School is detailed in the Thesis and Dissertation Guide. The procedure for electronic thesis submission is detailed in ETD – Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
Contact Information: For more information please contact Ms. Cecilia Chen, Student Services Assistant.