Chair's Message

Welcome to Industrial Engineering! We take pride in the fact that we are the only IE department in the Commonwealth of KY.

IEs are engineers and problem solvers who have a passion for designing and optimizing systems and processes that impact our lives. Besides mathematics and science, they have outstanding business and social skills that also help them evaluate the impact of engineering solutions on a business and people. Their ability to use IE techniques such as operations research, data analytics, engineering statistics, quality control, simulation, ergonomics, and additive manufacturing make them sought-after by companies focusing on logistics and supply chain management, advanced manufacturing, healthcare systems, and energy systems.

In our department, you may choose from any of the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Science (BSIE) – an ABET-accredited 4-year program; Accelerated pathway available to receive BSIE+MSIE or BSIE+MEngEM in <5 years
• Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (MEngEM) – a 100% online degree with 8-week classes that enables working engineers to learn both engineering and management skills while they maintain their current job
• Master of Science (MSIE) – two options: on-campus (15-week classes) and 100% online (8-week classes); the degree allows students and professionals the flexibility to learn advanced methodologies in a specific IE domain; offers a career-boosting opportunity for those with a non-IE BS degree
• Doctoral (PhD-IE) – a research-focused, terminal degree allowing students to further science by developing new methodologies to solve unsolved or new problems of societal relevance

The Undergraduate curriculum also includes three mandatory semesters of paid co-operative internships. Students on co-op work full-time in a real engineering job for three alternating semesters, and usually earn upwards of $30,000 across the three co-ops to cover most of the cost of their college education. Nearly all students receive a full-time job offer prior to graduation.

Our Graduate Programs offer students the opportunity to gain advanced knowledge and/or research experience in specific areas of IE, may it be Operations Research, Data Analytics, Logistics and Supply Chain, Healthcare, Engineering Management, Human Factors, or Advanced Manufacturing. Many students work alongside a faculty mentor on specific research topics leading to inventions, publications, and translational solutions with immediate impact. Such experiences have allowed our MEngEM, MSIE, and PhD graduates to be offered prestigious positions as engineers, researchers, and faculty at outstanding institutions around the world.

Graduate students may also add to their curriculum one of the certificates, with minimal to no added course work:

• Six Sigma (fully online)
• Healthcare Systems Engineering (starting Fall 2023)

The IISE and INFORMS student chapters are thriving places for both UG and Graduate students to meet fellow IEs in the department and IE professionals in the region, add technical skills through additional certifications offered by the chapter, develop leadership skills, and build their resume to get a job in a company of their liking.

If you are interested in becoming an Industrial Engineer, then there is no better place than the Department of Industrial Engineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Pratik J. Parikh, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Professor
pratik.parikh@louisville.edu