Ph.D. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering
The Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MFG) track offered by the ISE department is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully meet the most difficult challenges of modern manufacturing industries on a global scale. The track provides engineers with detailed state-of-the-art knowledge of both traditional and advanced manufacturing technologies, systems integration techniques, economic analysis methods, and operations management practices and principles. Based upon this knowledge, students develop the ability to perform analysis, evaluation, and synthesis for a broad range of problems related to the design, implementation, and efficient operation of manufacturing systems.
Prerequisites for any manufacturing systems engineering degree are an ABET-accredited B.S. degree in engineering (or equivalent).
Students within the graduate program in the manufacturing systems engineering track are assumed to have had undergraduate courses in simulation and optimization. If this is not the case, such students must make up this deficiency by either taking the appropriate undergraduate courses or by taking graduate courses in these areas. If graduate courses are taken, they can be used in the plan of study as elective credits towards the degree requirements.
The Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MFG) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is designed to provide an opportunity for in-depth independent research in a highly-focused problem domain approved by the student’s advisory committee. To perform such research, courses relevant to the problem domain are necessary. The culmination of the research is the Ph.D. dissertation. The Ph.D. degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering is intended primarily for those desiring to develop expertise in a particular, focused problem domain. Degreed students typically seek research-oriented industrial positions or academic appointments.
The Ph.D. curriculum in Manufacturing Systems Engineering normally requires a M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering or a related field as a pre-requisite for admission to the program. The Ph.D. builds on the M.S. curriculum with a minimum of seven additional courses as well as elective course credits and doctoral research. The requirements below do not supersede University requirements (as stated in the Graduate Policies and Procedures and Course Catalog) but are intended to focus the student on research relevant to manufacturing systems engineering..
The requirement of a M.S. degree as a precursor for admission into the Ph.D. program is for the student to gain knowledge, maturity and research experience in order to undertake more challenging and creative work associated with a doctoral dissertation. At the same time, performance of the student at the M.S. level demonstrates his/her capabilities and constitutes an important criterion for his/her admission into the Ph.D. program. It is essential that only bright and diligent students with demonstrated exceptional performance at the M.S. degree level be admitted into the Ph.D. program. In rare instances, however, when a student demonstrates truly exceptional abilities by his/her performance as an undergraduate, he/she can be considered for admission, upon request, into the Ph.D. program without having to complete the M.S. degree. The decision to that fact is made by the graduate admissions committee upon reviewing the candidate’s credentials.
The minimum total credit hours required are 90, all beyond the B.S. degree. Minimum credit hours are distributed as follows:
| Credit Hours | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Core | 18 | 51 |
| Electives | 33 | ||
| Dissertation Research | 39 | ||
| Total | 90 | ||
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 5204 | Manufacturing Systems Engineering | 3 |
| ISE 5244 | Facilities Planning and Material Handling | 3 |
| ISE 5405 | Optimization I | 3 |
| ISE 5424 | Simulation | 3 |
| ISE 5454 | Production Planning & Control | 3 |
| One (1) advanced mathematics/statistics course | 3 | |
| Total | 18 | |
A suggested list of courses from which to select the required advanced mathematics/statistics course is given below. Alternatively, a student may elect to take another relevant course approved for graduate credit and offered by the mathematics or statistics departments subject to the approval of the student’s committee.
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 4225 | Elementary Real Analysis I | 3 |
| MATH 4226 | Elementary Real Analysis II | 3 |
| MATH 5226 | Real Analysis II | 3 |
| MATH 5524 | Matrix Theory | 3 |
| MATH 5545 | Calculus of Variations & Optimal Control Theory I | 3 |
| MATH 5546 | Calculus of Variations & Optimal Control Theory II | 3 |
| STAT 5104 | Probability & Distribution Theory | 3 |
| STAT 5114 | Statistical Inference | 3 |
| STAT 5204 | Experimental Design and Analysis I | 3 |
Four or more courses from general electives and two or more from other electives are required. Additional courses may also be selected from within the department, or from a related area, as long as such courses are approved by the student’s advisory committee. In all cases, each candidate must satisfy the following requirements:
- At least one course outside the ISE department.
- At least two 6000-level courses.
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 5406 | Optimization II | 3 |
| ISE 5414 | Random Process | 3 |
| ISE 5424 | Simulation I | 3 |
| ISE 5464 | Queuing Theory | 3 |
| ISE 6404 | Graph Theory and Network Flows | 3 |
| ISE 6424 | Dynamic Programming | 3 |
| ISE 6434 | Scheduling and Sequencing Theory | 3 |
| Stat 5004 | Applied Statistics | 3 |
| Stat 5204 | Experimental Design and Analysis | 3 |
| Stat 5615 | Statistics in Research I | 3 |
| Stat 5616 | Statistics in Research II | 3 |
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ISE 4214 | Lean Manufacturing | 3 |
| ISE 5264 | Semiconductor Manufacturing | 3 |
| ISE 5984 | Special Topics in Manufacturing Systems Engineering | 3 |
| ISE 6284 | Advanced Topics in Manufacturing Systems Engr. | 3 |
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EE 5554 | Theory and Design of Computer Vision Systems | 3 |
| ISE 5314 | Industrial Applications of Robotics Devices | 3 |
| ISE 6424 | Computer Integrated Manufacturing | 3 |
| ISE 6434 | Scheduling & Sequence Theory | 3 |
| ME 4524 | Introduction to Robotics and Automation | 3 |
| ME 4634 | Introduction to Computer Aided Design & Manufacturing | 3 |
| ME 5604 | Computer-Aided Design I | 3 |
| ME 6604 | Computer-Aided Design II | 3 |
| Stat 5004 | Applied Statistics | 3 |
| Course No. | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CS 5114 | Theory of Algorithms | 3 |
| CS 5804 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| ISE 5264 | Semiconductor Manufacturing | 3 |
| ISE 5406 | Optimization II | 3 |
| ISE 5414 | Random Process | 3 |
| ISE 5464 | Queuing Theory | 3 |
| ISE 5044 | Production Systems Analysis | 3 |
| ISE 6404 | Graph Theory and Network Flows | 3 |
| ISE 6414 | Integer Programming | 3 |
| ISE 6424 | Dynamic Programming | 3 |
| ISE 6434 | Scheduling and Sequence Theory | 3 |
| ISE 6514 | Advanced Topics in Mathematical Programming | 3 |
Thirty-nine hours or more of dissertation research are required (ISE 7994: Research and Dissertation). The student’s advisory committee must consist of at least two tenure/tenure track faculty members from the Manufacturing Systems Engineering track. The committee chair (or at least one of the co-chairs) must be a tenure/tenure track faculty member from the Manufacturing Systems Engineering area.