Combined graduate programs

The Engineering Global Leadership (EGL) specialization is a unique opportunity for students interested in integrating engineering into a global business environment. EGL students continue at the University of Michigan (U-M) beyond the College of Engineering Honors Program to earn a Master’s in an engineering discipline. EGL prepares students to communicate across engineering and business boundaries, thereby breaking down the barriers to global competitiveness. The focus on global operations/business enhances students’ understanding of operations and the corporate environment, including the basics of marketing, accounting, strategy and finance. The program includes an international minor for engineers that exposes students to the language, history and customs of another part of the world. Emphasis is placed on the idea that integration of these disciplines is vital to success in today’s global business environment. Students admitted to the College of Engineering Honors Program who choose a global business/operations focus are eligible to apply for EGL.

For more information on EGL please visit the Honors College website and for more information about Tauber Institute for Global Operations.

Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Program (SUGS)

The Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) has established a five-year Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Study (SUGS) program that allows outstanding students to receive the BSE and MSE degrees after completing a minimum of 152 credit hours. This is accomplished by allowing students to “double-count” six credit hours of previously approved graduate-level courses in order to satisfy all requirements for both the BSE and MSE degrees. Double-counted courses appear as transfer credit on the student’s Rackham transcript and are selected from graduate-level general electives or non-IOE Technical Electives. Students who are second-term juniors with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 may apply for provisional admission to the program. Students who do not meet the GPA or other admission requirements may petition the U-M IOE Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid Committee for provisional admission by providing other credentials such as letters of recommendation from faculty and/or other evidence of special accomplishments. SUGS students must enroll in Rackham for at least two full terms, paying Rackham tuition. Normally, this will be the final two terms of enrollment in the five-year program.

To learn more about the SUGS program, click here!

Dual Master’s degree program

A program in which the student receives two Master’s degrees from two departments, both of which must be part of the Rackham Graduate School. A student may double-count up to one-sixth of the total credit hours of both programs subject to departmental approval, thus reducing the total number of credit hours necessary for the two degrees.

Interdisciplinary PhD program

An individual interdepartmental PhD program may be developed for any student with the approval of the departments concerned and the Dean of the Graduate School.

For a student in an interdepartmental PhD program, the U-M IOE qualifying exam requirements of the department apply at a reduced level (approximately half). The interdepartmental PhD student must also satisfy the doctoral student examination requirements (possibly at a correspondingly reduced level) of the other department. All the other PhD degree requirements remain the same.

Dual MBA/MS(IOE) degree program

The School of Business Administration and the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering offer a dual degree program enabling a student to pursue concurrent work in business administration and industrial and operations engineering leading to the MBA and MS (IOE) degrees. The program is arranged so that all requirements for both degrees are completed in two and one-half years of enrollment (65 credit hours). Students interested in the MBA/ MS (IOE) combined program must apply to and be admitted by both schools, using their respective application forms and indicating that application is being made to the dual program. In particular, the statistics requirement for the IOE program should be discussed with an advisor prior to commencing either program.

This combined program is not open to students who have earned either the MBA or MS (IOE) degrees. However, students registered in the first year of either program may apply. Students admitted to this dual program must satisfy the following degree requirements:

1. The 30-credit hour MBA core
2. 15 elective hours in business administration (12 of the 15 hours must be approved by IOE).
3. 18 credit hours in graduate-level IOE courses (at least 12 of which must be in courses numbered 500 or above).
4. A two-credit independent study in IOE or the Business School, which, would lead to a paper integrating business and IOE perspectives on a particular area of interest.

The dual program can begin with studies in either school. However, because of the sequenced nature of the core courses in the MBA program, most students will find it advantageous to start the first year in the Business School. Students who wish to begin with Industrial and Operations Engineering should consult a counselor in the Business School to work out an appropriate plan of study.