We know that selecting the best graduate program can be a difficult decision, but think of this as an investment in your future.  Obviously, cost is a factor, but some other questions you should consider include the following:

1. How flexible is the program and how well will it prepare me to meet my professional goals?
2. What kind of job opportunities will I be prepared for?
3. What is the program’s placement record for its graduates?
4. What opportunities might be available to me for internship or co-op assignments?
5. What is the size of the department? Is it big enough? Small enough?
6. How many faculty members are there and what is their national reputation? Are there adjunct faculty who bring in current industry experience?
7. Is it located in a college town or a big city? What is the nature of industry (if any) in the area?
8. What is the cost of living? What recreational and/or extra-curricular options might I have?

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Why IE at Pitt?

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Please refer to the Graduate Manual for more details.

The Master of Science in Industrial Engineering is a STEM designated degree program (CIP code 14.3501).  It is highly flexible and requires a minimum of 30 credits of graduate study, and it may be obtained with or without a thesis option. With either option, the student is required to take three core courses that count for 9 credits, and at least two courses from an elective core that count for an additional 6 credits. We also offer two joint degree programs in cooperation with the Katz Graduate School of Business, both of which can be completed in two years or less.  

For part-time students, it typically takes two to three years of study to complete the program. Many courses are offered in the evenings for the convenience of working professionals and at least three courses are offered over the summer term.

Requirements

Non-thesis option (30 credits of graduate coursework): 

• Required Core (9 cr.):
  • IE 2001: Operations Research
  • IE 2005: Probability & Statistics for Engineers
  • IE 2006: Introduction to Manufacturing Systems
• Elective Core: at least 2 of the following (6 cr.)
  • IE 2003: Engineering Management
  • IE 2007: Statistics and Data Analysis
  • IE 2088: Simulation
  • IE 2100: Supply Chain Analysis
  • IE 2303: Work Design
• The remaining 15 credits can be specialized or broad-based and selected based upon the student's interests and the approval of the advisor. These can come from the elective core or from other graduate course offerings in the department. Up to 9 credits can be from other approved graduate offerings within the University. 

Thesis option (24 credits of graduate coursework, plus 6 to 8 thesis credits):

• Required Core:
  • Identical to the non-thesis option
• Elective Core
  • Identical to the non-thesis option
• IE 2999: MS Thesis - 6 to 8 credits
• Another 9 credits to be freely selected from the elective core or from other graduate course offerings in the department. One approved out-of-department elective is permitted with the thesis option.

The master's thesis must show marked attainment in one of the departmental concentration areas. Acquisition of the methods and techniques of scientific investigation should also be demonstrated. A faculty member knowledgeable in the student's area of interest must supervise the thesis.

Common Requirement

• With either option, any student who does not possess an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering MUST select IE 2303 from the elective core.
• The university also requires an overall GPA of at least 3.00 for graduation

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For more information, contact gradie@pitt.edu

The Department of Industrial Engineering is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities to part-time students at the Master's degree level.

The academic requirements for part-time students are identical to those of full-time students; however, the nature of part-time education precludes some of the interactions that are possible for full-time students. A majority of Master's level courses are offered during the evening so that students working during the regular workday can attend. Courses that require team projects often require part-time and full-time students to work together and exchange ideas. 

For more information, contact gradie@pitt.edu

Within the guidelines of the department's requirements, a student's individual program is highly flexible.  It can be very broad-based with courses in very diverse areas; more generally focused on areas such as operations research, manufacturing sciences, or engineering management; or more narrowly focused on a specialized concentration area. By judiciously selecting their electives, the following optional concentrations are currently possible:

Data Science

Requirements:

• IE 2007 Statistics and Data Analysis (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2064 Applied Data Analytics

Three courses from the following list that do not overlap with each other or the required classes:

• IE 2065 Statistical Analysis and Optimization
• IE 2088 Digital Systems Simulation (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2186 Reinforcement learning
• IE 2187 Optimization for Machine Learning
• INFSCI 2710  Database Management
• INFSCI 2595 Machine Learnng
• INFSCI 2160 Data Mining
• INFSCI 2440 Artificial Intelligence
• BQOM 2557 Multivariate Data Analysis
• BQOM 2537 Forecasting
• Other related graduate courses (with prior advisor approval)

Safety Engineering

Requirements:

1. IE 2301 Introduction to Safety Engineering
2. IE 2302 Engineering for Process Safety
3. IE 2303 Work Design (Part of IE elective core)

Two courses from the following list:

• IE 2007 Statistics and Data Analysis (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2076 Total Quality Management
• IE/BIOENG 2725 Design for Injury Prevention
• CEE 2213 Construction Safety
• ENGR 2104 Nuclear Operation Safety
• ENGR 2125 Case Studies in Nuclear Codes and Standards
• ENGR 2130 Environmental Issues & Solutions for Nuclear Power
• Other related graduate courses (with prior advisor approval)

Engineering Management

Requirements:

• IE 2007 Statistics and Data Analysis (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2003 Engineering Management (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2123 Project Management

Two courses from the following list:

• IE 2303 Work Design (Part of IE elective core)
• IE 2102 Lean Six Sigma 1
• IE 2103 Lean Six Sigma 2
• IE 2086 Decision Models
• IE 2122 Fundamentals of Systems Engineering
• Appropriate graduate courses in Finance, Marketing or Organizational Behavior from KGSB (with prior advisor approval)

This joint degree program, offered in conjunction with the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, combines quantitative and analytical engineering coursework with coursework in business topics. It positions individuals with an undergraduate degree in engineering or the hard sciences to leverage their skills and become supply chain professionals who can work in a business environment. bout four years. This program can be completed in 4 terms over a 20-month period and results in two degrees: the MSIE from Swanson and the MSSCM from Katz.

A total of 24 credits from the Department of Industrial Engineering are required:

• 12 credits in required classes comprising the department's 3-course required core, plus IE 2100: Supply Chain Analysis from the elective core, and
• 12 credits in I.E. electives, at least 3 of which (i.e., one course) comes from the remaining four courses in the elective core (Note: students without an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering are required to take IE 2303: Work Design from the elective core).  

The following is a sample program schedule; an actual schedule can be developed in conjunction with the student's academic advisers:

Fall, Year One

Spring, Year One

Fall, Year Two

Spring, Year Two

For application instructions and details on the curriculum requirements for the MSSCM portion of the program, please visit the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.  

This joint degree program, offered in conjunction with the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, positions individuals with an undergraduate degree in engineering or the hard sciences to take a management role in a company that has a significant engineering and/or technological focus. Full-time students can complete both degrees in 20 months, while part-time students can do so in about four years.

A total of 25.5 credits from the Department of Industrial Engineering are required (12 credits in core classes, 12 credits in electives, and 1.5 credits in the integrated project) as follows:

Required Core ( 2 courses: 6 credits ) 

• IE 2001: OPERATIONS RESEARCH (3 Cr.)
• IE 2006: INTRODUCTION TO MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS (3 Cr.)

Elective Core: at least two of the following ( 2 courses: 6 credits )

• IE 2003: ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT (3 Cr.)
• IE 2007: STATISTICS AND DATA ANALYSIS (3 Cr.)
• IE 2088: SIMULATION (3 Cr.)
• IE 2100: SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS (3 Cr.)
• IE 2303: WORK DESIGN (3 Cr.)*

*IE 2303 is required from the elective core for students without an undergraduate degree in IE

Free Electives ( 4 courses: 12 credits )

• Any elective offered by the IE department (including courses in the elective core above)

Integrated Project (1.5 credits of IE 2998, with additional 1.5 credit from equivalent KGSB course )

For application instructions and details on the curriculum requirements for the MBA portion of the program, please visit the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business website.

Offered by the Swanson School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh, the goal of this certificate program is to develop students with the specific competencies and analytical tools required for effective problem solving relevant to quality management and process engineering in the health care industry. These students will be prepared to serve as quality champions and change agents in addressing the challenges facing health care in the 21st Century Engineering student will gain knowledge of health care operations, the organization culture and strategic issues facing the industry. Health care management students will apply engineering principles, models and tools within a systems approach to analysis, problem-solving and project implementation.

This certificate is intended for individuals pursuing careers in health systems management and process engineering. Primarily designed for Master's degree students in the Department of Health Policy & Management and the Department of Industrial Engineering, this program will provide a rigorous and multi-disciplinary education as a complement to the core curriculum of both programs. With a focus on enhancing innovation, effectiveness and efficiency in health care and public health, the program's ultimate goal is to produce well-educated professionals and leaders in their disciplines.

Click here to see a suggested study plan for the HSE certificate.

Health Care Systems Engineering Certificate

For more information, contact Caroline Kolman, HSE Certificate Program Director

Program Description

The University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering (SSoE) has created a Safety Engineering graduate program dedicated to meeting the nation's critical and ongoing workforce development needs for safety engineering professionals. By offering a distance-enabled Graduate-Level Certificate in Safety Engineering, the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Industrial Engineering (IE) furthers its commitment to make a major contribution to the Pittsburgh region's industrial, oil and gas, nuclear, construction, healthcare and other workforce development needs. By offering this unique program in several critical industry sectors, IE is well-positioned to build a technical base of competency to address the safety engineering needs of regional and national employers, as well as to bring publicity and notoriety to the Pittsburgh region.

The graduate Safety Engineering Certificate program was developed to meet the ever-increasing importance of and need for engineers to be trained in the application and implementation of safety engineering concepts, principles and practices. The increasing presence of the oil and gas industry in the region, the increasing emphasis on world-wide nuclear energy, the increasing evidence of safety-related concerns and injuries in the healthcare industry and the sustained concern of safety engineering in construction, manufacturing and mining have fueled the interest in and implementation of this certificate program.

The certificate is intended for engineers seeking training in safety engineering to enhance their operational abilities or if they become newly assigned to positions that have higher levels of safety engineering responsibilities. The certificate will also enhance the capabilities of non-engineering based safety professionals seeking training in safety engineering.

Safety is fundamental to planning, construction and installation, operation, maintenance and dismantling and disposal, etc. Therefore, it has a place in all industries at all points in the life cycle. This certificate program, through its acceptance criteria, course work and design experiences, produces trained engineers with a fundamental background in safety engineering where quantitative analysis methods and design principles are thoroughly covered.

The safety engineering field is governed by several well-recognized and widely-known certifying entities. These entities require that board certified safety professionals maintain their certifications through specific educational and work-experience related activities. Most state engineering licensing boards also require that licensees actively seek on-going education and knowledge development. The proposed certificate program affords the opportunity for engineers and other working professionals to maintain their certifications and licensure.

Program Objectives

Equip the engineering professionals taking these courses with broader capabilities in safety engineering-related analytical skills, problem solving and solutions design.

Engineers will acquire a more thorough and in depth understanding of critical operational safety related hazards.

Engineers will gain an understanding and an ability to analyze dynamic hazard scenarios and design protective systems preventing those hazards from manifesting themselves into injuries, fires, explosions, releases, etc.

Engineers will be able to analyze and quantify risk as well as be able to apply risk-based safety and business decision making.

Engineers will gain an understanding of human performance and human-based system.

Provide for the energy, health care, manufacturing and construction industries, a pool of engineering professionals qualified to address the challenges posed by the hazardous nature of our industries.

Admissions

The admission requirements for the graduate certificate program are equivalent to the admission requirements for the MS in Industrial Engineering. When completing the application, simply click the appropriate "certificate" box on the application indicating their interest in applying for the safety engineering certificate program. If one does not have an undergraduate engineering degree, work experience will be considered and with the approval of the program director and an additional leveling course or two (depending on the nature of the degree held), one can still be admitted to the program.

Students already enrolled in the Swanson School of Engineering may apply for admission to the program by contacting their respective Graduate Coordinator. Certificate admission may be initiated anytime after the applicant has been admitted to the degree program. Once approved by the coordinator, the certificate applicant will submit to the certificate admission committee a brief statement addressing interest in safety engineering, previous experience and areas of interest with safety engineering and their relation to career goals.

Prerequisite Courses

There are no prerequisite courses for this program, however if an applicant does not have an undergraduate engineering degree, there may be some additional courses required for acceptance in the program. This will be determined by the program director in consideration of the applicant's work experience and undergraduate degree.

Possible considerations may be:

• IE-2001 Operations Research
• IE-2005 Probability and Statistics

Core Courses (must take all three)

• IE-2301 Introduction to Safety Engineering
• IE-2302 Engineering for Process Safety
• IE-2303 Work Design

Elective Courses (must take any two - this list will be dynamic and other courses will be added as the program is implemented)

Bioengineering

• BIOENG-2725 Design for Injury Prevention

Civil and Environmental Engineering (including Mining Engineering Certificate)

• CEE2201 Construction Cost Estimating
• CEE2202 Construction Scheduling
• CEE2203 Construction Methods and Equipment
• CEE2207 Construction & Cost of Mechanical Systems
• CEE2230 Building Information Modeling
• CEE2347 Bridge Engineering
• CEE2700 Traffic Management Operations
• CEE2711 ITS Operations and Design
• CEE2725 Public Transportation Systems
• CEE2730 Highway Engineering
• CEE2750 Project Development and Implementation
• ENGR2710 Traffic Control Systems
• ENGR2205 Construction Finance and Cost Control
• ENGR2725 Public Transportation Systems
• ENGR2633 Minerals Industry Risk Management
• ENGR2638 Mining Health and Safety
• ENGR2639 Mine Evaluation and Management
• ENGR2635 Mine Ventilation Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• ECE2646 Special Topics (Advanced Power Electronics or Smart Grid Technologies and Applications)
• ECE2777 Power System Transients 1 (offered every even numbered year)
• ECE2774 Power Systems Engineering and Analysis II
• ECE2250 Power Electronics Circuits and Applications
• ECE2795 Special Topics: Protective Relaying and Automation
• ECE2795 Special Topics: Renewable and Alternative Energy Systems

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Sciences (including Nuclear Engineering certificate)

• ENGR2102 Nuclear Plant Dynamics and Control
• ENGR2130 Environmental Issues & Solutions for Nuclear Power
• ENGR2115 Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow
• ENGR2100 Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering
• ENGR2103 Integration of Nuclear Plants with the Reactor Core
• ENGR2112 Nuclear Chemistry and Radiochemistry
• ENGR2125 Case Studies in Nuclear Codes and Standards
• ENGR2110 Nuclear Materials
• ENGR2120 Mathematical Modeling of Nuclear Plants
• ENGR2104 Nuclear Operation Safety
• ENGR2105 Heat and Mass Transfer
• ME2053 Heat and Mass transfer
• ME2045 Linear Control System

The Industrial Engineering Department provides students with a unique opportunity to pursue certification in the Six Sigma discipline.  The Six Sigma methodology found its roots in the manufacturing sector as a way to effectively apply data to drive strategic organizational decisions.  Since that time, the successful implementation and application of Six Sigma methodologies has seen the application of these techniques expand to financial institutions, the service sector, hospital administration and many more.  

Students are provided the ability to achieve both a Green and a Black Belt Certification.  Both courses provide in depth training in the DMAIC process.  Students also explore the application of Change Management in Six Sigma projects and the relationship of Six Sigma and Lean techniques.  

The Co-op program provides graduate students, including international graduate students, with an optional work opportunity as part of their education. In addition, it also enables them to earn a reasonable amount of money over a 14-16 week work rotation. While placements cannot be guaranteed, the Swanson School of Engineering has a dedicated co-op office that works with many companies to place students in suitable positions.

Eligibility: The program is open to any full time Master’s student after completing two academic terms, as long as he/she is in good academic standing. Typically, the co-op rotation would be over the summer between the first and second years, although it could be also be over the fall term of the second year. SSoE undergraduates who go directly into the program are allowed to co-op the term before starting their graduate degree program as well as the term between their first and second graduate years. In general, the program is not open to full time PhD students unless an exception is granted by both the student’s advisor and the graduate program director.

Procedure:

1. All participating students must first obtain approval from the graduate program director and their academic advisor prior to signing up for the program.
2. Students must then sign up officially with the Co-op Program Office, including signing the “Co-op Contract” and agreeing to follow all Co-op rules and policies including payment of the necessary
3. The Co-op Program will coordinate company interviews to place the student in an appropriate
4. The students are charged the regular Co-op Fee as well as the other applicable University of Pittsburgh fees. The student also registers for the 1 credit that is covered by the Co- op Fee.
5. The student is required to prepare a short paper describing his/her rotation, including the skills learned and used and its educational relevance. The paper is due within two weeks after completion of the In addition, the student must also complete the required evaluation forms.
6. Upon acceptance of the paper by the graduate program director, the student receives an “S” grade for the 1 credit. If the paper is not acceptable, an “I” grade is awarded. If an acceptable paper is not received and approved by the graduate program director by the end of the term following the rotation, the student receives a “U” grade and will not be allowed to participate further in the

Welcome to the Department of Industrial Engineering's Master of Science program! We are committed to providing you with the best education possible and to preparing you for a successful professional career.  You will probably find the academic system here at Pitt to be a lot different from what you are accustomed to as an undergraduate, and while the faculty and staff will always help you adjust, it will also require effort on your part.  Our experience is that it would benefit you greatly to use any time you have between now and your start date to (a) improve your English as much as possible if you are a non-native speaker, and (b) do some self-study on three topics: computer programming, linear algebra, and statistics. 

This is completely optional and does not affect your admission status in any way – it is just a suggestion to maximize your chances of being successful in your studies. Please visit the Preparing for the Masters Program page for details.