PhD Degree Requirements

The PhD program in IE is designed to educate leading researchers and educators in industrial engineering. In order to receive a PhD degree, PhD students are required to:

Have at least 90 total graduate credit hours, which must include:

  • 3 credit hours
    Engineering Economics/Decision (IE 545, IE 546)
  • 3 credit hours
    Human Factors and Cognitive Engineering (IE 556, IE 559, IE 577)
  • 3 credit hours
    Manufacturing Processes and Production Systems (IE 566, IE 570, IE 575, IE 579)
  • 3 credit hours
    Optimization and Stochastic Processes (IE 535, IE 536, IE 580, IE 581)
  • 6 credit hours
    Two three-credit hour 600-level industrial engineering courses, excluding unlabeled IE 690 (individual project), IE 697 (seminar), IE 698 (research MS thesis), and IE 699 (research PhD thesis)
  • Include courses from at least one related field of study outside the area of industrial engineering
  • Varies - Additional courses pertaining to your research
  • Varies - Research credit hours (IE 699) are not included on the Plan of Study

Have an approved plan of study filed with the Graduate School.

Have at least two continuous regular (non-summer) semesters of full-time study on the campus of Purdue University.

Submit a formal research proposal.

Pass a preliminary examination based on a written research proposal in the specific area of research.

Successfully present a one-hour seminar and defend a dissertation in a final examination, meeting all requirements of Industrial Engineering and the Graduate School. At least one year must elapse between the preliminary and final examinations.