Course Information Suite

Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering

Head of Department: Jong-Shi Pang
Associate Head for Graduate Studies: Carolyn L. Beck
117 Transportation Building
104 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 244-5703
E-mail: ge-grad@illinois.edu

Major: General Engineering
Degrees Offered: M.S.

Major: Industrial Engineering
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.

Major: Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.

Joint Degree Program: Master of Science in General Engineering and Master of Business Administration
Degrees Offered: M.S. and M.B.A.

Joint Degree Program: Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Master of Business Administration
Degrees Offered: M.S. and M.B.A.

Medical Scholars Program: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Industrial Engineering or Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) through the Medical Scholars Program


Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (IESE) offers graduate study leading to master's and doctoral degrees in Industrial Engineering (IE) and Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering (SEE). The program offers an approach to industrial engineering and systems engineering, engineering design, and entrepreneurial engineering that crosses disciplinary lines. The IE program is based in advanced studies that focus on operations research, optimization, supply chain management, financial engineering, quality and reliability engineering and production management, with the aim to advance modeling, simulation, analysis and decision making for complex engineering systems. The SEE program is founded on the premise of dual competency in both traditional engineering and in the business side of engineering. The SEE program offers flexibility by permitting the student to select from a menu of advanced courses and take a wide range of electives to meet individual career goals. Graduates of these programs are prepared to enter professional engineering positions in industry, government, and private practice. Opportunity also exists for specializing in computational science and engineering within the department's graduate program via the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Option. The Medical Scholars Program permits highly qualified students to integrate the study of medicine with study for a graduate degree in a second discipline, including Industrial Engineering or Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering.

Admission

The department is not admitting to the General Engineering program at this time.
Applicants who have completed degree requirements in an accredited engineering program or its equivalent are eligible to apply for admission. A minimum grade point average of 3.25 (A = 4.00) for the last two years of undergraduate study is required.

Scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test are required of all applicants. Based upon the previous preparation of the student for either program, prerequisite courses may be specified by the advisor, but the credit may not be applied toward a degree.

All applicants whose native language is not English must submit a minimum TOEFL score of 103 (iBT), 257 (CBT), or 613 (PBT); or minimum International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic exam scores of 7.0 overall and 6.0 in all subsections. Applicants may be exempt from the TOEFL if certain criteria are met. Full admission status is granted for those meeting the minimum requirements and having taken the TOEFL or IELTS since the scores required for admission to IESE are above the minimum scores demonstrating an acceptable level of English language proficiency.

Applicants to the joint M.B.A. degree program must meet the admissions standards for both programs and be accepted by both programs.

Students may apply to the Medical Scholars Program prior to beginning graduate school or while in the graduate program. Applicants to the Medical Scholars Program must meet the admissions standards for and be accepted into both Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and the College of Medicine. The application to the Medical Scholars Program will also serve as the application to the Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering graduate program. Further information on this program is available by contacting the Medical Scholars Program (125 Medical Sciences Building, 217-333-8146, mspo@illinois.edu).

Degree Requirements

*For additional details and requirements refer to the department's Graduate Programs Web site and the Graduate College Handbook.

Master of Science, Industrial Engineering

Required Courses: Thesis Option– Required Hours Non-thesis Option– Required Hours
Continuous registration is required in IE 590 throughout the Master's program. 0 0
Research, project, independent study hours (min–max  applied toward degree): 4 max 4 max
Formal graded course work, with 8 hours at the 500 level (including 4 hours in IE) 24 32
Thesis Hours Required (min-max applied toward degree): 8 n/a
Total Hours 32 36
Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit:
8 at the 500 level 8 at the 500 level
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall:
12 (max of 4 can be 597) 12 (max of 4 can be 597)
Other Requirements:*   Only by departmental petition
Minimum GPA: 3.0 3.0

For those students terminating their studies with the M.S. degree, a non-thesis option is also available upon consent of the advisor and approval by departmental petition. 4 hours of IE 597 (4 hours maximum allowed towards the M.S. degree) is required, because each student is required to show evidence of the ability to do independent research.

Master of Science, Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering

Required Courses: Thesis Option– Required Hours Non-thesis Option– Required Hours
Continuous registration is required in GE 590 throughout the Master's program 0 0
12 hours of 500-level GE courses with 8 of these on the technical side and 4 on the business side of engineering (max 4 hrs of GE 597) 12 12
16 additional hours of course work with at least 4 hours in an engineering department 16 16
Research, project, independent study hours (min-max applied toward degree): 4 max (GE 597) 8 (GE 594)
Thesis Hours Required (min–max applied toward degree): 4 n/a
Total Hours 32 36
Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit:
12 (in GE) 12 (in GE)
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall:
12 12
Other Requirements:*    
Max of 4 hours of CR/NC in non GE hours can count toward the degree    
Minimum GPA: 3.25 3.25

Doctor of Philosophy, Industrial Engineering

Required Courses: Required Hours–Entering with approved M.S or M.A. degree Required Hours–Entering with approved B.S. or B.A. degree*
Continuous registration is required in IE 590 while on campus 0 0
Formal, graded coursework hours 32 56
Thesis Hours Required (min-max applied toward degree): 32 40
Total Hours 64 96
Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit:
   
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall:
16 (max of 4 of 597) 24
Other Requirements:*    
Minimum GPA: 3.0 3.0
Masters Degree Required for Admission to PhD? Yes Yes
Qualifying Exam Required Yes Yes
Preliminary Exam Required Yes Yes
Final Exam or Dissertation Defense Required Yes Yes
Dissertation Deposit Required Yes Yes

Qualifying examinations should be taken as early as possible, generally no later than the third semester of enrollment.

Doctor of Philosophy, Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering

Required Courses: Required Hours–Entering with approved M.S. or M.A. degree Required Hours– Entering with approved B.S. or B.A. degree*
Master's degree equivalent   32
Hours from the list of GE/IE courses 16 16
500-level engineering courses( max of 8 hours of 597 may be used toward the degree) 16 16
Continuous registration is required in GE 590 while on campus 0 0
Thesis Hours Required (min-max applied toward degree): 32 32
Total Hours 64 96
Minimum Hours Required Within the Unit:
   
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall:
16 (in engineering) 28 (in engineering)
Other Requirements:*    
At least 64 of the hours of credit, which may include thesis credit, must be earned in residence.    
Minimum GPA: 3.25 3.25
Masters Degree Required for Admission to PhD? No No
Qualifying Exam Required Yes Yes
Preliminary Exam Required Yes Yes
Final Exam or Dissertation Defense Required Yes Yes
Dissertation Deposit Required Yes Yes

Students in the SEE masters program must take the Qualifying Examination before obtaining the M.S. degree; students entering the program with a masters degree earned elsewhere must pass the Qualifying Examination before or during their third semester in the Ph.D. program.

The 96 graduate hours of credit may be divided into three stages of 32 hours each, consisting of 32 hours generally represented by an M.S. degree or equivalent (Stage I), 32 hours of course work beyond the M.S. degree (Stage II), and 32 hours of thesis work for the doctoral thesis (Stage III). Stage I requirements are satisfied by completion of an M.S. degree in the Department or in a related engineering or technical discipline from the University of Illinois or other accredited university. A non-technical M.S. or MBA would normally not count toward the completion of Stage I. Such students would be required to enroll in one of the Master of Science Programs in the Department and satisfy the requirements therein in order to satisfy Stage I of the Ph.D. degree.

To advance to Stage II all students must pass the Qualifying Examination. To advance from Stage II to Stage III the student must pass the Preliminary Exam. Stage III is comprised of a minimum of 32 hours of GE 599 (Thesis Research) credit and a written dissertation followed by a final oral thesis defense.

For both the IE and SEE Ph.D. programs, the Preliminary Examination is taken after the Qualifying Examination. A minimum of six months should elapse between the successful completion of the doctoral Preliminary Examination and the doctoral final examination (oral dissertation defense).

Joint Degree Programs

The Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Master of Business Administration program is under revision at this time, and potential applicants should contact the department for the most up-to-date information. Current requirements are that students must complete all of the requirements for the M.S. degree with a thesis as prescribed above, plus 60 graduate hours for the M.B.A. degree, including 40 hours of M.B.A. core course work; and 20 hours of M.B.A. elective course work to fulfill the requirements of a concentration.

Medical Scholars Program

Students in the Medical Scholars program must meet the specific requirements for both the medical and graduate degrees. On average, students take eight years to complete both degrees. The first year of the combined program is typically spent meeting requirements of the Industrial or Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering graduate degree.

Faculty Research Interests

Faculty research by Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering faculty is pursued in the following fields: computer-aided design, optimization, design systems, manufacturing systems, nondestructive testing and evaluation, system dynamics and simulation, control, robotics, real-time decision making, reliability, entrepreneurial engineering, operations research/management science, and biomechanics. In Industrial Engineering, research is conducted in operations research, production engineering, quality and reliability engineering, and human factors. Study in the areas of cognitive engineering, computer-aided manufacturing, ergonomics, facilities planning, human-machine interaction, large-scale systems analysis, machine tool systems design, mathematical programming and optimization, production planning and control, and project management is aimed at improving the design and implementation of integrated systems of persons, materials, and equipment.

Facilities and Resources

Members of the IESE Department have access to a wide range of excellent research facilities. These laboratories support a wide range of activity and are described at the department's research laboratories Web site.

Financial Aid

Qualified students may compete for financial assistance in the form of teaching/graduate/research assistantships, fellowships, grants, and tuition waiver scholarships. Under certain conditions, fellowships may be augmented by part-time assistantships. All applicants, regardless of U.S. citizenship, whose native language is not English and who wish to be considered for teaching assistantships must demonstrate spoken English language proficiency by achieving a minimum score of 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE), 24 on the speaking subsection of the TOEFL iBT, or 8 on the speaking subsection of the IELTS. For students who are unable to take the TSE, iBT, or IELTS, a minimum score of 50 is required on the SPEAK test, offered on campus. All new teaching assistants are required to participate in the Graduate Academy for College Teaching conducted prior to the start of the semester.