Industrial Engineering

DIrector: S. A. Johnson
Affiliated Faculty: A. Gerstenfeld, S. A. Johnson, A. Zeng, J. Zhu

Industrial Engineering Program Chart (PDF)

Program Description

Industrial engineers focus on process improvement. The process might be a manufacturing line, where each process step is a physical operation that creates a product, or might involve paper and information, such as the steps required to apply to a particular college for admission. Improvement can mean reducing cost, reducing the time required to complete the process, or reducing the number of errors. To be effective, industrial engineers must combine technical knowledge with concerns about how processes contribute to organizational success and how people fit into the systems they design. These are skills that organizations need a lot right now. Industrial engineers take a systems view, considering all the resources (people, technology, information) that are part of the process. Industrial engineers find jobs in manufacturing firms, hospitals, transportation firms, and government agencies. An industrial engineer might be in charge of quality on a production line, develop computer models to improve service to patients in a hospital clinic, or work to reduce inventory costs. Many industrial engineers move into supervisory or management positions as their career progresses.

At WPI, the IE program is designed to provide students with the tools to spearhead process improvement efforts and the knowledge to implement and employ new technologies. Industrial engineering majors at WPI complete courses in three major categories: (1) the basic mathematics and science courses that are the foundation for all engineering disciplines, (2) core courses that address the tools that industrial engineers use to effect process improvements, such as computer simulation and theories of human behavior, and (3) elective courses that can be tailored to a student's career objectives.

The Major Qualifying Project (MQP) is an integral part of the education of our majors. In addition to satisfying a significant graduation requirement, the MQP must be focused on industrial engineering design. It is typically performed for a business organization. These two elements of our approach to MQPs result in a very valuable learning experience for all of our students. Examples of the MQP for industrial engineering majors include:

Mission Statement

The mission of the Industrial Engineering (IE) Program at WPI is to prepare undergraduate students for professional engineering practice, providing the foundation for careers of leadership in challenging global and technological environments. We strive to accomplish this through:


Program Educational Objectives

Educational objectives describe the expected accomplishments of graduates during the first few years after graduation.

  1. Industrial Engineering Knowledge and Design Skills. Graduates should be able to support operational decision making and design solutions to address the complex and changing industrial engineering problems faced by organizations, using modern concepts and technology.
  2. Communication Skills. Graduates should be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, using electronic tools and graphical information.
  3. Teamwork and Leadership Skills. Graduates should be able to serve as change agents in the organizations that employ them, based on strong interpersonal and teamwork skills, an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility and a willingness to take the initiative.

Program Outcomes

Program outcomes describe what students are expected to know and are able to do by the time of graduation, and are linked to the educational objectives described above.

  1. Industrial Engineering Knowledge and Design Skills
    1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve industrial engineering problems.
    2. An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data.
    3. An ability to design and improve integrated systems of people, materials, information, facilities and technology.
    4. An ability to apply core industrial engineering concepts, using the updated techniques, skills and tools necessary for industrial engineering practice.
    5. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a societal context.
    6. An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, including statistics as well as integral and differential calculus.
    7. An understanding of fundamental physical laws.
  2. Communication Skills
    1. An ability to communicate effectively.
  3. Teamwork and Leadership Skills
    1. An ability to work effectively on multi-disciplinary teams.
    2. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.
    3. A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in life-long learning.
    4. A knowledge of contemporary issues.
    5. An understanding of global issues.
    6. An understanding of change management in organizational settings.


Program Distribution Requirements for Industrial Engineering Major (IE)

The normal period of residency at WPI is 16 terms. In addition to the WPI requirements applicable to all students, students wishing to receive the ABET accredited degree designated "Industrial Engineering" must complete a minimum of 10 units of study in the areas of mathematics, basic science, and engineering topics as follows:

RequirementsMinimum Units

1. Basic Mathematics and Science (Notes 1,2)

4

2. Industrial Engineering topics (including the MQP) (Notes 3,4)

6

Notes:

  1. Mathematics must include differential and integral calculus, ordinary differential equations, and 2/3 units in probability and statistics.
  2. Basic Science must include both chemistry and physics, with a minimum of two courses in either.
  3. Must include 1/3 unit of Capstone Design Experience.
  4. Industrial Engineering Topics must include courses in the following three topic areas.
    1. 3 units of industrial engineering core courses, including 1/3 unit in each of the following 9 areas: engineering basics outside industrial engineering, deterministic operations research methods, process design, production planning and control, simulation, stochastic methods in operations research, information systems design, financial modeling and organizational science.
    2. 1 unit in Industrial Engineering electives. 3000/4000 level OIE courses, MIS 3720, MIS 4720, and Operations Research courses in Mathematics qualify. Courses in financial modeling and organizational science do not qualify.
    3. 1 unit in technical electives. Industrial Engineering electives and any other Engineering Science/Design courses qualify.


Curriculum Guidelines for IE

Recommendations for complying with program distribution requirements (10 units) are described below. Students are encouraged to use a Program Tracking Sheet to plan their program and document their progress toward meeting degree requirements. Program tracking sheets are available on the IE web page or in the Management Department Office. To earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Industrial Engineering, students must complete 15 units of coursework. In addition to the requirements below, one must complete the Sufficiency requirement (2 units), the Interactive Qualifying Project (1 unit), free electives (1 unit), social sciences (2/3 unit), and physical education (1/3 unit). Students without prior programming experience are encouraged to take CS 1101 or CS 1102 in their freshman or sophomore year.

Mathematics and Basic Science (4 units)
 Mathematics requirements include differential and integral calculus, ordinary differential equations, and 2/3 units probability and statistics. Mathematics requirements can be satisfied by taking MA 1021, MA 1022, MA 1023, MA 1024, MA 2051, MA 2611, and MA 2612. Other recommended courses include: MA 2071, courses in probability and statistics, and courses in numerical analysis.

Basic science courses can be elected in chemistry, physics, biology, or geology. Students must take both chemistry and physics, with a minimum two-course sequence in one of these areas.

Industrial Engineering Topics (5 units)
 Students must choose 1 course in each of nine core areas, then choose one unit of industrial engineering and one unit of technical electives. Students who plan to take the Engineering Fundamentals examination in their senior year or to pursue a graduate degree in an engineering field should select their additional unit of work from the engineering science courses suggested under Technical Electives.

Industrial Engineering Core (3 units)
 Choose one course from each area of the following nine areas:

    • Deterministic operations research methods: OIE 2500 - Management Science I or MA 3231- Linear Programming
    • Process design: OIE 3400 - Production System Design or OIE 3405 - Work Systems and Facilities Planning
    • Production planning and control: OIE 3401 - Production Planning and Control
    • Simulation: OIE 3460 - Simulation Modeling and Analysis
    • Stochastic methods: OIE 3420 - Quality Planning, Design, and Control or OIE 3501 - Management Science II
    • Information systems design: CS 2118 Object-Oriented Design Concepts for Business Applications Application Development Tools
    • Financial modeling: OIE 2850 - Engineering Economics
    • Organizational science: OBC 2300 - Organizational Science Foundation or OBC 3351 - Organizational Science Management of Change
    • Engineering basics outside IE: the engineering basics course is designed to allow students to explore some of the fundamental engineering knowledge associated with either manufacturing or service systems. Depending on the systems that are most interesting to them, it is recommended that students select one course from the following lists:

    Manufacturing:
     ES 1310 - Engineering Design Graphics, ME1800 - Manufacturing Processes, ES 2001 - Introduction to Materials Science, and ME 2820 - Materials Processing

    Service systems:
     ECE 2011 - Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering, ECE 3601 - Principles of Electrical Engineering, CS 2011 - Introduction to Machine Organization and Assembly Language, and CS 4032/MA 3257 - Numerical Methods for Linear and Nonlinear Systems.

    Industrial Engineering Electives (1 unit)
     To achieve depth in their IE program, students are required to take one additional unit of advanced IE courses. Students may choose to focus in operations design and planning, information systems design, or operations research, or to elect a more general program by selecting courses from several areas. A course counted toward the IE core cannot be counted again as an elective. Industrial Engineering courses (listed with an OIE designation), MIS 3720 and MIS 4720, and Operations Research courses in Mathematics at the 3000/4000 level qualify.

    Technical Electives (1 unit)
     Industrial Engineering electives and other Engineering Science/Design courses qualify. Courses that can be counted as Engineering Science/Design are described on page 35.

    For students planning on taking the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, the following courses are recommended:
    ECE 3601 - Principles of Electrical Engineering
    ES 2001 - Introduction to Materials Science
    ES 2501 - Introduction to Static Systems
    ES 2503 - Introduction to Dynamic Systems
    ES 3004 - Fluid Mechanics

    (3) Major Qualifying Project (1 unit)
     The MQP is expected to provide a capstone design experience for industrial engineering majors. If the MQP does not fulfill this 1/3 unit requirement, the student should speak with the Industrial Engineering Program Director to determine an appropriate method for fulfilling this requirement.

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Last modified: February 26, 2008 10:24:02