Minors & Certificates

The School of Industrial Engineering strongly recommends students consider pursuing minors, certificates, and other methods of developing a coherent curriculum plan to supplement the core coursework required for the BSIE degree. Many minors/certificates contain courses that can be counted toward required technical electives and/or general education electives. More information about curriculum plans and minors/certificate requirements can be found in the General Education Elective Program and the Technical Elective Program manuals (see the Curriculum Requirements for your catalog term to view the corresponding manuals). It is possible to complete more than one minor/certificate. Minors/certificates do not necessarily increase the number of courses necessary to graduate with the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (BSIE) degree and minor/certificate.

Not all courses used for a minor/certificate may count towards degree requirements. Regardless of the additional classes, many minors/certificates still easily fit into the BSIE program. When selecting a minor/certificate, the student should consider the impact on their semester credit hours and workload to determine if a minor/certificate is in their best interests. Consulting the technical elective and general education elective manuals will assist a student in determining how their minor/certificate coursework will fit their B.S.I.E. program. Consulting with an advisor is strongly recommended. It is the student's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements of a minor/certificate.

In most cases, simply notifying an advisor of your interest in a minor/certificate and pursuing the classes is enough to formally “enter” the minor/certificate. Your IE undergraduate advisor takes care of adding it to your record. In some cases, departments will require the student apply for the minor/certificate and fill out extra paperwork to take the required courses (e.g., ECE). Your advisor will direct a student as to any extra tasks needed to enter the minor/certificate.

Comprehensive lists of minors and certificates available to students and their policy documents can be found in the university catalog.

Please note, requirements correlate with the catalog term in which a student officially adds the minor/certificate to their student record. To verify this, please contact your primary academic advisor.

Minors/certificates with special restrictions

In some cases, due to overlap with IE coursework, certain courses that would satisfy minor requirements cannot be taken to satisfy the BSIE degree requirements. A list of common minors/certificates with these restrictions, among other restrictions, is given below.

Management

IE students cannot use MGMT 30400, MGMT 30500, MGMT 30600, MGMT 31000, or MGMT 36100 to satisfy BSIE requirements. These courses can be taken as the “excess” courses (i.e., those not used for TE or GE requirements).

Economics

IE students cannot use ECON 36000 towards degree requirements. In addition, ECON 45100 can only be used as a TE.

Statistics

A recommended pathway through the STAT minor is suggested in the minor documentation (IE 23000, IE 33000, STAT 51200, STAT 51300/IE 53000, and STAT 51400). IE students can complete the STAT minor through alternative paths, but three of the five courses used toward the minor must be housed or cross-listed with “STAT” courses (IE 53000 is cross-listed with STAT 51300, so this course counts as a “STAT” course in the suggested pathway).

 

Minors/Certificates

The School of Industrial Engineering manages the Manufacturing minor and Systems certificate.

Manufacturing minor

The manufacturing minor is available to students from the College of Engineering and Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Specific minor requirements can be found in the corresponding documentation in the university catalog. A brief reminder that requirements correlate with the catalog term associated with a minor on a student’s academic record.

Systems certificate

The systems certificate equips students with skills that are widely applied globally by companies, governments, and communities. The certificate can be completed by an industrial engineering student with just three courses (approved as technical and select general education requirements for the BSIE). Additional information about the systems certificate for undergraduate students can be found here.