Industrial Engineering

B.S. in Industrial Engineering

Do you have strong time-management skills? Are you a creative problem-solver? Do your talents include math, mechanical know-how and quantitative reasoning? Are you an organization and efficiency freak, a good communicator and a super salesperson?  If so, you might enjoy a career in industrial engineering.

Industrial engineers serve as efficiency experts, finding ways to streamline production and provide adept processes that balance labor, materials, machines, time management, worker safety, environmental concerns and costs.  Being a team player is extremely important because your job is impacted by others who will help you collect information to implement your solutions.

As a PVD (physical vapor deposition) industrial engineer for a defense contractor, you could develop and execute manufacturing process plans for weapon system component manufacturing, conceptualize design and execute tooling requirements.

You might work as an industrial engineer for a large supermarket chain, improving quality, reducing costs, increasing productivity via safe methods, optimizing procedures, equipment and systems.

As an R&D process modeling engineer for a commercial chemical manufacturing company, you might interact with scientists and their engineering force to develop and apply engineering fundamentals and computational tools to the design operation and optimization of titanium dioxide production facilities.

Some industrial engineers (manufacturing engineers) focus entirely on the automated aspects of the manufacturing process. In total, industrial engineers devise ways to manufacture parts or products or deliver services with maximum efficiency.

The Vern Industrial Engineering Advantage

Preparing you to be fundamentally sound and application-ready

A common core engineering curriculum allows exposure to all disciplines before selecting a major. For the first three semesters, all engineering majors will take the same core courses in the same sequence. All students will take at least one course in industrial as well as electrical and mechanical engineering. In addition to becoming well-rounded, you will have the option to switch majors if you find an affinity for one over the other.

Four semesters of interdisciplinary design courses

The first-year design course features an industry-based project that gives you real-world hands-on project experience. It will be mentored by industry professionals overseeing a team of three to five students on a project.

The second-year design course focuses on designing a problem-solving solution using advanced and additive manufacturing techniques.

The third-year design course will be a co-op or research experience.

The fourth-year design course will be a senior capstone design course spanning the entire senior year. As with the first year, all engineering program students at the senior level will be integrated into this course and broken into teams consisting of three to five students.

All delivered in a new model for higher education

Alvernia is committed to creating programs, educational experiences and delivering services that meet the 21st century demands of both students and industry partners. The student-centered business incubator provides experiential learning opportunities where you can engage in innovative and creative thinking as well as real-world problem-solving.

With the 2019 launch of Reading CollegeTowne, Alvernia’s new building at 401 Penn Street will house our engineering programs, state-of-the-art labs and research facilities.  Our engineering programs will partner heavily with local industry including the entrepreneurial community and other institutions of higher education to deliver a world-class education.

Careers in Industrial Engineering

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of industrial engineers is projected to grow eight percent by 2028, faster than the average for all occupations. Firms in a variety of industries will continue to seek new ways to contain costs and improve efficiency.

• Aerospace engineer
• Applications engineer
• Controls engineer
• Design engineer
• Engineering analyst
• Field services engineer
• Lean manufacturing engineer
• Logistics engineer
• Materials engineer
• Safety engineer
• Validation engineer

Industrial Engineering Program Details

Curriculum

To earn the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, students must successfully complete a minimum of 123 semester credits.

Industrial Engineering Major Core (52 credits):

• EGR 107 Engineering Lab Safety  (1 credit) 
• EGR 110 Engineering Design I (1 credit)
• EGR 206 Mechatronics (3 credits)
• EGR 210 Engineering Design II (1 credit)
• EGR 480 Senior Capstone Design I (2 credits)
• EGR 481 Senior Capstone Design II (2 credits)
• EE 200 Circuits I with lab (4 credits)
• IE 201 Work Systems & Operations Management (4 credits)
• IE 211 Modern Manufacturing with lab (4 credits)
• IE 302 Production & Inventory Control (3 credits)
• IE 310 Stochastic Models in Operations (3 credits)
• IE 321 Industrial Automation & Robotics (3 credits)
• IE 331 Production Engineering (3 credits)
• IE 402 Product Quality (3 credits)
• IE 410 Financial Optimization (3 credits)
• IE 421 Systems Engineering Design (3 credits)

Major Electives (9 credits):

EGR 311 Engineering Design III, IE 351 Topics in Industrial Engineering (multiple can be taken as long as the course descriptions are different), or any EE or ME courses at the 300-400 level

Required Related Areas (46 credits):

• MAT 209 Probability & Statistics (3 credits)
• MAT 230 Calculus I (4 credits)
• MAT 231 Calculus II (4 credits)
• MAT 322 Differential Equations (3 credits)
• MAT 345 Applied Probability & Linear Models (4 credits)
• PHY 200 Physics I (4 credits)
• PHY 201 Physics II (4 credits)
• PHY 202 Statics (3 credits)
• PHY 304 Modern Physics (4 credits)
• CHE 104 General Chemistry I (3 credits)
• CHE 110 General Chemistry I lab (1 credit)
• CS 155 Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (3 credits)
• PHI 208 Ethics & Technology (3 credits)
• THR 244 Computer-Assisted Design (3 credits)

SEARCH Liberal Arts Core

As with all of our programs, the engineering program will develop ethical leaders with moral courage, extensively prepared and qualified to handle the rigors of your chosen discipline.

Engineering will seamlessly integrate SEARCH - an arduous, open inquiry into the enduring questions that shape the human experience - into the curriculum.

Our core discipline training provides the foundation to start a successful career, but it is the general education (SEARCH) curriculum that will enable you to sustain and advance in your career and remain life-long learners.

Experiential Learning 

Through internships and co-ops, engineering students have opportunities to apply theories and knowledge learned in the classroom in a variety of professional settings.

In addition to providing exposure to the activities and expectations of a real-world workplace, internship experiences help students develop a network of professional contacts.

Engineering majors will have the opportunity to participate in advanced industry-applied research complimented by professional mentoring. Students will intern in advanced industry or faculty research labs, be exposed to cutting edge technologies, and work side by side with industry professionals.

Tuition

To determine the cost of this program, please visit our Tuition page.  For a personalized estimate, please contact an admissions counselor at 610-790-8269 or at admissions@alvernia.edu.

Financial Aid

100% of Alvernia students receive some form of scholarship and/or aid. Our admissions counselors can help you identify the aid that is available to you and for your program. For more information, visit our Financial Aid page.

Accreditation

All programs offered by Alvernia University are approved by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

Learn More

For more information about Alvernia's Industrial Engineering Program, please contact the Admissions Office at 1-888-ALVERNIA or 610-796-8269 or admissions@alvernia.edu.