Industrial Engineering

Overview

Education

The program of study requires a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, exclusive of credit for the master’s thesis. This includes a minimum of 36 graduate credit hours of course work beyond the bachelor’s degree and 24-36 credit hours of doctoral research and dissertation work.  The Industrial Engineering program is offered by the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

For a master’s program completed at another institution or in another field, the requirement may exceed the 36 credit hours of course work (other than research and dissertation) dependent on the previous program of study. 

The student’s major professor, with the concurrence of the dissertation committee, will prepare a program plan outlining what courses will be taken. The student’s dissertation committee should include at least two ISE tenure-track or tenured faculty members and at least one member out of the ISE department.

Admission to the PhD program requires an undergraduate degree and academic background that meets the admission criteria for the master’s program in industrial engineering or a master’s degree in industrial engineering (or a closely related field), and previous academic performance that clearly demonstrates the capacity to do original research and technical investigative work with potential for a successful scholarly career. 

All applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. A student may apply for admission to candidacy after passing the comprehensive examination and successfully defending the dissertation proposal.