Quality Engineering and Management

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Mission Statement

The mission of the School of Applied Engineering and Technology is to provide value to our stakeholders through innovation in applied engineering education.

Graduate work leading to a Master of Science in Quality Engineering and Management is offered by the School of Applied Engineering and Technology. The objective of the program is to develop quality and management professionals who can plan, coordinate, design, implement, and control the quality function in manufacturing and service companies in order to increase productivity, optimize resources, decrease waste, and improve product quality. Course offerings and research are available in the areas of quality assurance, six sigma, lean manufacturing, project management, and reliability. The program provides advanced education for students with baccalaureate degrees in engineering, engineering technology, technology, and also an excellent continuing education opportunity for individuals with technical degrees who wish to expand their education in the area of quality and management systems.

Master of Science (M.S.) in Quality Engineering and Management

Admission

Candidates for this program must be accepted by the Graduate School and the School of Applied Engineering and Technology. Candidates should possess a bachelor’s degree with a major in a technical area and have a GPA of no less than 3.0/4.0 on the entire last undergraduate GPA earned at the time of application. A student whose undergraduate training is deficient may be required to take additional courses to compensate for deficiencies identified by the school's graduate program committee.

This program requires a nonrefundable $65 application fee that must be submitted with the application for admission to graduate study in Quality Engineering and Management. Applicants must pay this fee by credit card.

Program Requirements

Graduate students who have been admitted into the M.S. in Quality Engineering and Management program must complete a total of 30 credit hours of graduate-level credit. 

Within the 30 credit hour requirement, students must complete the following four core courses:

  • QEM 510: Quality Assurance (3 CH)
  • QEM 525: Six Sigma Black Belt II (3 CH)
  • QEM 530: Lean Manufacturing II (3 CH)
  • QEM 540: Reliability Analysis (3 CH)

The remainder of the 30 credit hours must consist of at least 18 credit hours of QEM courses as specified in the student’s program of study. Elective courses in QEM are:

  • QEM 535: Service Quality (3 CH)
  • QEM 545: Project Management II (3 CH)
  • QEM 550: Project Leadership (3 CH)
  • QEM 555: Human Safety and Risk Management (3 CH)
  • QEM 565: Management of Information Technology Resources (3 CH)

Students not meeting specific requirements for the above core courses will be required to complete the following list of courses:

  • QEM 543: Project Management (3 CH)
  • QEM 527: Lean Manufacturing (3 CH)
  • QEM 503: Six Sigma Green Belt (3 CH)
  • QEM 500: Six Sigma Green Belt II (3 CH)
  • QEM 515: Six Sigma Black Belt (3 CH)

In the thesis option a program of study including the above required courses (12 credit hours), the master’s thesis (six credit hours), and the remaining 12 credit hours will be selected by the graduate adviser and the student.

Additional Information

Teaching or research assistantships and fellowships are available for qualified applicants. Additional information about programs, courses, assistantships, and fellowships may be obtained from the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics or from the director of the school.   

Accelerated Master's Program

The accelerated master’s program is designed for motivated and high-achieving students who are currently enrolled in the undergraduate program in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering (IMAE). The program allows students to earn both a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering and a Master of Science in Quality Engineering and Management (QEM) within 5 years. Up to 9 credit hours of coursework can be shared between the undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Students have the following options:

  • The Quality Engineering and Management accelerated program with the non-thesis option requires satisfactory completion of twelve credit hours in core courses: QEM 510, QEM 525, QEM 530 and QEM 540 and eighteen credit hours of elective graduate credit, including pre-requisite graduate courses.
  • The Quality Engineering and Management accelerated program with the thesis option requires satisfactory completion of twelve credit hours in core courses: QEM 510, QEM 525, QEM 530, and QEM 540, six credit hours of thesis and twelve credit hours of elective graduate credit, including pre-requisite graduate courses.

Undergraduate students may request program entry as early as their third year with the approval of the school. The program director and the student will work out an accelerated Master’s degree memorandum of interest (MOI) that will identify up to nine credit hours that may be counted toward both the undergraduate degree and the Master’s degree. The courses identified on the list in the MOI must be graduate-level courses as listed in the Graduate Catalog for the catalog year in which the student is enrolled in the course.

Please refer to the Graduate Degree Requirements section of the catalog for more details on Accelerated Master’s Degrees.