Industrial and Systems Engineering, Ph.D.

School/College:  College of Engineering
Degree(s) Offered:  Master of Science, Doctoral
Graduate Coordinator:  Eui H. Park  Email:  park@ncat.edu        Phone: 336-285-3732
Department Chair:  Paul Stanfield   Email:  stanfiel@ncat.edu    Phone: 336-285-3735

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) program prepares students for successful careers as teachers, researchers, and leaders in academia, industry and the public sector.   The program emphasizes the systems engineering, collaboration and engagement skills critical to addressing the complex societal problems of tomorrow.  ISE graduate students tackle these problems in a supportive environment working with nationally-recognized faculty. 

Additional Admission Requirements

• At least one degree in Engineering or Computer Science.
• A Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering or Computer Science with a cumulative Credit Point Average of 3.5 or above on a 4-point scale; OR  a Master of Science degree in a discipline related to Industrial & Systems Engineering from a college or university recognized by a regional or general accrediting agency with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.3 or above on a 4-point scale.
• A Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Aptitude Exam score

Program Outcomes:

The Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Systems Engineering program will prepare graduates to

• Demonstrate broad knowledge of industrial and systems engineering sub-disciplines and deep knowledge of a specific sub-discipline.
• Effectively teach industrial and systems engineering methods and tools.
• Independently perform research with mentoring from a faculty member.
• Decompose systems into component parts and logically model and evaluate using mathematical, statistical and computational tools.
• Construct and improve integrated systems or processes consisting of people, materials, information, equipment and energy considering life cycle factors.
• Formulate and solve multi-objective problems using industrial and systems engineering methods and tools.
• Communicate Industrial and Systems Engineering research information in written, oral, and presentation formats.

Degree Requirements:

The Ph.D. graduation requirements are given below:

• Credit Requirement: A total of 75 credits after the B.S. degree, of which 18 credits are toward dissertation work, and 57 credits are toward course work. Of the 57 credits of course work, up to 24 credits of Industrial & Systems Engineering-related course work at the MS-level may be applied towards the 57 course credit requirements.
• Supervised Teaching/Supervised Research Requirement: Students must complete 3 credits of either supervised teaching or supervised research. Students may meet this requirement by either teaching an undergraduate course in the department (Supervised Teaching) or completing a semester-long research effort at a research laboratory in industry or government (Supervised Research).
• Seminar Requirement:  Students must register and complete Graduate Seminar class (INEN992; 1 credit) in a least two semesters except for students who enter the Ph.D. program without an MS degree.  These students must register and complete the Graduate Seminar class in at least four semesters (2 semesters of INEN 792 and two semesters of INEN 992).
• Quantitative Requirement:  Students must complete a specified Ph.D.-level (INEN821) statistics class or (INEN841) optimization class, depending on program specialization.
• Course Credits:  At least 24 course credits, including the quantitative requirement, will be at the 8xx level.  At least 9 of these credits must be from a specified list of courses in the area of specialization (HMSE or MSEE) chosen by the student.

Subject Core Course(s)(12 Credit Hours)

Human-Machine Systems Engineering Specialization

INEN 721(3 credit hours)

INEN 812(3 credit hours)

INEN 813(3 credit hours)

INEN 814(3 credit hours)

INEN 821(3 credit hours)

Manufacturing and Service Enterprise Engineering Specialization

INEN 852(3 credit hours)

INEN 833(3 credit hours)

INEN 841(3 credit hours)

INEN 853(3 credit hours)

Course subject area(s) (25 Credit Hours)

INEN 993(3 credit hours)

INEN 994(3 credit hours)

INEN 991(1 credit hours)

INEN 995(3 credit hours)

INEN 997(18 credit hours)

Electives (12 hours required):

Engineering courses at the 700-level or 800-level

These 12 hours in addition to the 24 hours from Master's equivalent program.  18 of these 24 hours must be Industrial and Systems Engineering related courses.  6 hours may be from any Engineering or Computer Science discipline.

Seminar Courses (if applicable) (2 credit hours)

INEN 992(2 credit hours)

Dissertation:     18 Coursework Hours            

Comprehensive Exam, if appropriate:       Required

Admission to Candidacy

A student becomes a doctoral candidate upon passing the Preliminary Examination (INEN 995) and oral proposal of the dissertation topic.

Assistantships

Limited financial support is available from the department for positions as Graduate Teaching Assistants or Graduate Research Assistants.  The number of assistantships available varies from semester to semester as the research and other needs of the department and the operating budget changes.  Students should make known their financial needs to their major professor or to the Graduate Program Coordinator.  The major professor may have support available for his/her students.  The final decision on the award of an assistantship to any student is made by the Department Chairperson.  In addition, there are other financial supports for African-American students interested in the Ph.D. programs through two types of fellowships:  Title III and Sloan.

Students should not depend on assistance from North Carolina A&T State University in making their financial plans.  Assistantships are strictly dependent on the availability of funds.

Advising

All students enrolled in the graduate program must have an academic advisor.  Upon admission to the program, the Graduate Program Coordinator acts as the student's advisor on a temporary basis.  Ph.D. students must choose a major professor by the end of the second semester. Thereafter, the major professor also serves as the student's Academic Advisor. The major professor must be a graduate faculty as designated by the School of Graduate Studies.

Committees

The Ph.D. committee consists of a major professor and three committee members, and the major professor acts as the chair of the committee. Students may select a non-ISE faculty for his/her committee, but the student may not have more than one outside member on this committee. If a student would like to have a non-ISE faculty member as a major advisor, he/she must select another ISE faculty member as a departmental advisor. Any outside member for a student's committee must be approved in advance by the departmental Graduate Program Committee.

Research Opportunities/Experiences

Limited financial support is available from the department for positions as Graduate Research Assistants.

Directory of Faculty

• Davis, Lauren, Associate Professor, BS, Computational Mathematics, Rochester Institute of Technology; MSIME, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; PhD, North Carolina State University
• Desai, Salil, L., Associate Professor, BSME, University of Bombay; MSIE, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Jiang, Steven, Associate Professor, MSME, East China Institute of Technology; MS, Nanjing University of Science & Technology; PhD, Clemson University
• Jiang, Zongliang, Assistant Professor, BS, Shanghai Jiao Tong  University ; MS, PhD, North Carolina State University
• Li, Zhichao, Assistant Professor, BS, MS, Tianjin University of Technology and Education ; Ph.D., Kansas State University
• McBride, Maranda, Assistant Professor (Joint with Business Administration), BS, MS, PhD, North Carolina A&T State University
• Ntuen, Celestine A., Distinguished University Professor, NCE, College of Education, Uyo, Nigeria;  BSISE, MSIE, PhD, West Virginia University
• Park, Eui H., Professor, BS, Yonsei University;  MBA, City University; MSIE, PhD, Mississippi State University
• Qu, Xiuli, Assistant Professor, BEEE, MSEE, University of Science and Technology Beijing; MSIE, PhD, Purdue University
• Ram, Bala, Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research, BSME, MSIE, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras;  PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
• Sarin, Sanjiv, Professor and Vice Provost for Research, Graduate Programs and Extended Learning and Dean, Graduate School, BSChE, MSIE, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
• Seong, Younho, Associate Professor, BSISE, MSIE, Incheon University; PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
• Smith-Jackson, Tonya, Professor and Chair, BS, UNC-Chapel Hill; MS, PhD, North Carolina State University
• Stanfield, Paul, Associate Professor, BSEE, MSIE, Ph.D., North Carolina State University; MBA, University of North Carolina at Greensboro