What is industrial engineering?
Industrial engineering is devoted to the design and optimization of the systems of people, materials, technologies and facilities that produce the goods and services needed for our economic development and improved standards of living.
What do industrial engineers do?
Industrial engineering is often described as being where “engineering meets people." Like other engineers, industrial engineers solve difficult problems using science and mathematics. However, they are uniquely educated in dealing with the human factor, the people issues that arise when human beings work in complicated technical systems. This “engineering for human factors” is an essential part of creating smooth, competitive operations that keep people safe while enabling productivity and promoting well-being.
Where do industrial engineers work?
Our graduates are eagerly recruited by large corporations, small businesses, government and research organizations. These include manufacturers, health care providers, transportation companies, engineering consulting firms and national laboratories.
Industrial engineering provides students with broad career opportunities, ranging from investment banking to automotive manufacturing. Our graduates begin their careers in a variety of technical positions, including quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, technical sales, logistical planning and management engineering. Most then move into supervisory and management roles and many become executive leaders in their chosen industries.
Why study industrial engineering at Texas A&M University?
Our program ranks eighth among the nation's public undergraduate and graduate engineering programs in U.S. News & World Report's latest Best Colleges rankings. We have strong teaching and research programs in manufacturing systems, health care engineering, quality management, human ergonomics, operations research, cognitive human factors, system simulation and transportation.
Among states, Texas has one of the strongest industrial economies, and our students have numerous opportunities to interact with potential employers through summer internships, senior design projects and cooperative employment. We also encourage study abroad and regularly have programs in Egypt, Qatar and other locations.
If you would enjoy solving the challenging problems that arise when bringing together diverse groups of people and technologies to create productive systems of goods and services, we invite you to talk with our faculty and advising staff.