Industrial engineers have an important role in every organization, serving as a bridge between engineering and management to analyze and adapt processes or create new ones. Whether it’s a manufacturing procedure, a staffing model, or a redesign of physical space, industrial engineers identify the people, materials, technology, information, and energy required for a process to be efficient—and determine how these resources should interact to be effective.
WPI’s Industrial Engineering Program prepares students with the knowledge, experience, and leadership skills needed to tackle current and future organizational problems in the global economy.
Our students are immersed in current methods for design and analysis of processes; issues relative to design principles, such as lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, and common problems, such as inventory management, and how to address them; and the system view, which includes information technology, organizational behavior, supply chain planning and control, and financial analysis. Students also have traditional engineering, math, and science coursework, an array of electives, and real-world project experiences.
Average Starting Salary
WPI Graduates:
- Bachelor’s: $67,046
- Master’s: N/A
- PhD: N/A
Average National Starting Bachelor’s Degree Salary (reported by the NACE Salary Survey): $63,061
Download the WPI Post-Graduation Reports for more information on salaries.
Companies That Have Hired WPI Industrial Engineers
- CVS Health
- Fidelity Investments
- Lake Region Medical
- SABIC
- US Air Force
- UPS
Download the WPI Post-Graduation Reports for more companies that have hired WPI graduates.
Sample Job Titles
- Business Analyst
- Industrial Engineer
- Process Engineer
- Product Engineer
- Quality Engineer
- Supply Chain Engineer
Visit O*Net Online or MyPlan for more information on job titles.
Sample Graduate Schools
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Sample Professional Associations and Clubs
- Alpha Pi Mu Honor Society
- Institute of Industrial Engineering (IIE): WPI Chapter, Professional Association
- Association for Operations Management (APICS): WPI Chapter, Worcester Chapter
- American Society for Quality (ASQ)
- Decision Sciences Institute (DSI)
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science (INFORMS)
- Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI)
- LeanCor Supply Chain Group
- Production and Operations Management Society (POMS)
Visit What Can I Do with This Major? for more associations and clubs.
Examples of MQPs
- Cost Allocation Analysis for Deutsche Bank – Sponsored by Deutsche Bank
- Supply Chain Benchmarking – Sponsored by Nypro
- VA Linen Distribution Optimization – Sponsored by New England Veterans Engineering Resource Center
Visit WPI’s Electronic Projects Collection for more MQP titles.
Popular Industries for Industrial Engineers
- Manufacturing
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Visit MyPlan for a list of more industries.