Industrial and Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary field which involves the disciplines of engineering and engineering management and focuses on the design and management of complex engineering systems such as robotics, spacecraft design, bridge building, software integration, etc. It deals with work-processes, optimization methods, and risk management tools in such projects. Industrial and systems engineering ensures that all the likely aspects of a project are taken care of and formed into an integrated whole.
Industrial and systems engineering has become indispensable in this era of complex engineering systems. Also, with the increase in size, the amount of data, or the number of fields involved in the design, a system becomes even more complex. An MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering helps you to deal with such complexities and builds you for a career in leadership in the field. It also helps you understand various engineering approaches naturally and in doing so, identify new methods similar to those occurring in other fields of engineering. This is a field which particularly necessitates a specialized education.
Course Structure
The MS degree is awarded upon the successful completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours of study. The curriculum varies as per different universities, however, there are certain courses which are taught commonly across all universities. Below is a breakdown of the general curriculum.
Core courses
- Inventory Systems
- Advanced Production Planning and Scheduling
- Engineering Project Management
- Enterprise Wide Information Systems
Elective courses
- Optimization Methods for Analytics
- Linear Programming and Extensions
- Design and Experiments
- Quality Management for Engineers
- Markov Models for Performance Analysis
- Performance Modelling with Simulation
If you want to do your masters with a thesis, then you are expected to write and defend a thesis which should be accepted by a dissertation supervising committee is usually made up of multiple faculties from the university.
Eligibility
Masters in Industrial and Systems Engineering is a STEM degree, and you are expected to have a STEM degree in your undergrads. Other than that, there are no restrictions based on your background. Those of you who do not meet prerequisites will be assigned courses to compensate for the deficiency.
Graduate level entry into international universities requires that you should have completed your bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. Your academic performance is measured through your Grade Point Average (GPA) by most of the international universities.
A good GRE or GMAT score is absolutely necessary when it comes to getting admitted into a top university for the Masters in Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Language courses like TOEFL and IELTS are required by most top schools. TOEFL test scores are accepted in the USA, while IELTS is recognized by schools from countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK.
You will also need to prepare a resume, an SOP, and a recommendation letter. You can use this tool of ours to review your SOP. It is automated and hassle-free. Most candidates tend to take their resume and recommendation letter lightly. It is advisable to give proper attention to your resume and recommendation letter because universities consider these too to determine your suitability for the course. You should get your recommendation letter via professional or academic contacts, preferably by someone who knows you well.
The last obstacle to tackle would be the interview. Most of the schools will require you to go through an interview round once your application gets accepted. It is suggested that you get some insight into interview questions and make a note of the answers that are expected from you beforehand.
Operations Research
Operations research is a discipline that deals with the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. It consists of a wide range of problem-solving techniques and methods to improve decision making and efficiency. Specialization in operations research will give you the ability to manage organized systems and take objective decisions. Operations research approaches a problem in phases which can be listed as follows: problem formulation, model construction, deriving solutions from models, testing the solution, and implementing solutions. Model construction is the biggest and most crucial phase, and it heavily depends on mathematics and computing.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of operations research analysts is projected to grow 27 percent from 2016 to 2026 which is much faster than the average for all occupations. As technology advances and companies seek efficiency and cost savings, the demand for operations research analysis should continue to grow.
Industrial Management
Industrial management is a sub discipline of the business administration field, which is mainly concerned with the detailed study of structures and organizations of different companies. The specialization gives the students an insight into production, financial, human resource, and marketing management along with commercial law, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. Industrial managers have to create detailed reports of recommendations and suggestions to help improve these organizations. They supervise day to day operations of industrial and manufacturing plants which involve coordination, planning, and execution of directives that are responsible for manufacturing a wide range of consumer goods. Quality control is one of the most important tasks which an industrial manager performs to make sure that a minimum quality standard is observed within the organization. Industrial managers are team leaders in their respective organizations and act as a communication channel between managers from multiple departments.
Supply Chain Engineering
Supply chain is a system that moves a product from the supplier to the consumer. Supply chain engineering is a discipline which analyzes and coordinates an organization’s supply chain. Supply chain engineers manage the entire life cycle of a product starting from its acquisition to the final delivery. They use software systems to plan and track the movement of products. The performance of supply chain process is an important factor in a company’s profitability. Supply chain systems have become increasingly complex as they continue in their efforts to gain more efficiency at minimal cost. The course will educate students about the optimization of supply chains, integration of technologies, processes, and people to fulfil supply chain objectives, outsourcing, collaboration, supply chain control, and so on.
Employment is expected to grow as companies need more supply chain engineers to move products more efficiently, solve problems, and identify areas for improvement.
Manufacturing Systems Management
Manufacturing systems management is a collection of technologies and methods used to define how products are to be manufactured. The specialization provides detailed insights into all the stages involved in the commercialization of the product – conceptualization, designing, manufacturing, development, distribution, production, and so on. Students will get to know about finance and manufacturing enterprise, innovation management, different manufacturing systems, manufacturing management, and so on. Specialization in this field prepares technical professionals for effective leadership in the manufacturing sector.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Supply Chain Management can be defined as a methodology to design, plan, execute, control, and monitor supply chain activities in order to make full use of global infrastructure and balance supply with demand. This is the methodology of maximizing resource utilization, minimizing wastage, and providing good customer service. Supply chain managers take care of external things such as planning the end product, procuring raw material, transport, and delivery of end products.
Operations management and Supply Chain management are both linked with each other. In fact, Operations management is a part of SCM. Operation managers in fact take care of internal issues such as sales forecast, increasing productivity, maintaining quality standards, and balancing supply with demand.
The demand for Industrial and Systems graduates in the SCM field is very high, and again there are many managerial roles to choose from once you enter the job market. Overall job opportunities should also be good because of the employment growth rates and the need to replace logisticians who are expected to retire or otherwise leave the occupation. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts growth rate for SCM jobs at 7 percent, which is as fast as the national average itself.
College Name | Popularity Rank | Global Rank | Total Tuition Fees | Deadline | Annual RA+TA | Unsecured Loan Offer | Secured Loan Offer |
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The University of Texas at Arlington | 1 | NA | 38072 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Wayne State University | 2 | 461-470 | 42720 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University at Buffalo, SUNY | 3 | 318 | 45300 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Purdue University | 4 | 105 | 58264 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Michigan | 5 | 21 | 99016 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Texas A&M University - Kingsville | 6 | NA | NA | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Texas A&M University | 7 | 195 | 67333 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Northeastern University | 8 | 346 | 47070 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Houston | 9 | 601-650 | 36612 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 10 | 367 | 53648 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Arizona State University | 11 | 209 | 60396 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Florida | 12 | 178 | 60260 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
The Pennsylvania State University | 13 | 93 | 76932 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
The State University of New York at Binghamton | 14 | 801-1000 | NA | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Clemson University | 15 | 701-750 | 45952 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
NYU Tandon School of Engineering | 16 | Not Available | 53850 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Illinois at Chicago | 17 | 207 | 56336 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Rochester Institute of Technology | 18 | Not Available | 91040 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Wichita State University | 19 | Not Available | 26712 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
North Carolina State University | 20 | 263 | 50810 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of California, Berkeley | 21 | 27 | 29700 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Southern California | 22 | 132 | 61805 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Wisconsin-Madison | 23 | 55 | 48108 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 24 | 69 | 68660 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
The Ohio State University | 25 | 86 | 68128 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Pittsburgh | 26 | 142 | 88948 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Engineering | 27 | 651-700 | NA | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
New Jersey Institute of Technology | 28 | 801-1000 | 59920 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Georgia Institute of Technology | 29 | 70 | 57136 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Iowa State University | 30 | 471-480 | 51428 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
University of Minnesota -Twin Cities | 31 | 163 | 42000 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Columbia University | 32 | 18 | 96864 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Northwestern University | 33 | 28 | 108240 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 34 | 364 | 105100 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 35 | 1 | 103040 | logged in | logged in | logged in | logged in |
Industrial Engineer
Industrial engineers are professionals who deal with complex systems and processes with the aim of optimizing them and minimizing wastage as far as possible. They create innovative industrial systems which combine major industrial components and human resources, in other words, manage workers, machines, information, and energy, to ensure an economically viable and cost-efficient functioning. Nowadays, industrial engineers also use the tools of data science and machine learning while developing different production models and implementing them. Industrial engineers are employed in a wide range of industries. This occupation is versatile both in the nature of the work it involves and in the industries in which its expertise can be put to use.
Quality Engineer
Quality engineer is an engineering professional who is concerned with the principles and practice of product and service quality assurance. Quality engineers create and implement strategies for quality assurance in product development and production as well as software development. If anything goes wrong, it’s the quality engineer’s job to meticulously document the problem and work with other engineers to find a solution.
Employment for industrial and quality engineers is projected to increase by 10 percent by 2026 which is faster than the average for all occupations.
Supplier Quality Engineer
Supplier quality engineers are professionals who hold speciality in the fields of manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics. Their main responsibility is to assess the quality of supplied products, and by doing so, they ensure that the products received are free from defects. Compliance with regulatory standards is ensured by regular audits performed by them. A large portion of their working hours is spent travelling to and visiting different supplier facilities in order to perform these audits and analyze their procedures which helps them identify the areas that can be improved. Supplier quality engineers carry out detailed tests of received supplies to weed out potential failures which stem from manufacturing defects common in the industry.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide specific employment outlook data for supplier quality engineers, its findings indicate that that supply chain related roles will grow by 7 percent between 2016 and 2026.
Supply Chain Manager
Supply chain managers are the professionals who make sure that the manufactured goods reach their suppliers and customers. They supervise and closely monitor the products through each and every stage of the production - right from the purchase of raw materials till the delivery of the final product. A good foresight and inventory management skills are indispensable when it comes to mobilizing manufactured goods from warehouses to customers. A supply chain manager is in direct communication with suppliers and should be able to analyze cost effectiveness of current contracts. They work across all areas in the employment sector such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and retail.
Quality Engineer (Medical devices)
Quality engineers for medical devices are responsible for all aspects of quality assurance in the design and production of medical devices. In other words, we can say that they are the quality engineers who specialize in the field of medical device manufacturing. They design and implement tests that effectively and efficiently monitor the quality of the medical devices in each stage of the production process. Due to the vital nature of the medical device field, the role of quality engineers becomes very important.
Job prospects
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of industrial engineers is projected to grow at 10 percent from 2016 to 2026 which is faster than the average for all occupations. Industrial engineers are employed in a wide range of industries such as manufacturing industries, consulting services, R&D firms, and wholesale trade. The current growth in healthcare and changes in the way healthcare is delivered is set to accelerate the demand for industrial engineers. Graduates of masters in industrial and systems engineering are sure to find better prospects for employment in this field.
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