Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Graduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Industrial Engineering, PhD


Cullen College of Engineering  > Department of Industrial Engineering  > Industrial Engineering, PhD


The PhD degree program in Industrial Engineering provides doctoral students with rigorous academic preparation for positions in both academia and the private or public sector. In addition to required coursework, students conduct independent research that results in original scholarly work.

For more information, please visit the Industrial Engineering Ph.D. Degree Program page.

Admission Requirements


  • The Cullen College of Engineering requires a minimum of 3.0/4.0 G.P.A. over the last 60 semester hours or 90-quarter hours for the admission to the graduate programs.
  • Students who transfer from another graduate program must have at least a 3.0/4.0 G.P.A. on all graduate work completed.
    • Complete application & payment of application fee ($25 domestic/$75 international) must be completed via the online application found on the How to Apply to UH Graduate School.
  • Applicants for all graduate programs must submit official GRE scores.
    • The applicant must meet English language proficiency requirements, either via degree completion in the US or another certified English-speaking nation, or via submission of TOEFL/IELTS scores. Full details are found on the International Graduate Students website.
  • All Ph.D. applicants should have completed an appropriate Master’s program with thesis or demonstrated ability for research and technical writing. Students who have not written a thesis will be required to demonstrate such capabilities through work at UH. Highly qualified students with a BS degree can also be considered for our Ph.D. program.
  • A degree in an engineering discipline is recommended. However, applicants with degrees in closely related fields may be accepted to the graduate program subject to completion of leveling courses approved by the IE Graduate Program Director. The students must obtain a grade of B or better in all leveling courses. Note that leveling courses are not counted toward the graduate program course requirement.

Educational Background

The Industrial Engineering Department considers graduate admission applicants with a variety of undergraduate majors. However, all applicants are expected to have completed a minimal core of mathematics, science and engineering courses before admission can be granted. This core background is described below. Listed courses (or their equivalents) are required.

  • MATH 1431 Calculus I
  • MATH 1432 Calculus II
  • MATH 2433 Calculus III
  • MATH 3321 Engineering Math / Differential Equations
  • INDE 1331 Computing for Engineers
  • INDE 2333 Probability & Statistics I

Students who have completed all but six hours of the above core requirements and also satisfy all other admission requirements may be admitted for graduate study in Industrial Engineering. Completion of remaining core requirements remains a pre-requisite to graduate degree completion.

Degree Requirements


Credit hours required for this degree: 84.0

Students are required to take 84 semester hours of approved graduate courses beyond the Bachelor’s Degree; this includes 54 semester hours of approved graduate courses plus 12 hours of doctoral research and 18 hours of dissertation.

Students who earned both their BSIE and MSIE degrees from an accredited university must take minimum 24 semester hours of approved graduate courses, and 12 hours of doctoral research and 18 hours of dissertation.

Candidates with MS degrees in other disciplines are required to take 54 semester hours of approved graduate courses. Students with Masters in Science and Engineering disciplines may receive a maximum credit of 18 hours of course work, which will result in their taking minimum 36 semester hours of approved graduate courses, and 12 hours of doctoral research and 18 hours of dissertation.

Students transferring from other institutions may petition up to 6 semester hours with a minimum grade of “B” to be transferred upon approval of the IE Chair and the Associate Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering.

The course selection must be approved by the student’s dissertation advisor.

Students whose primary language is not English may be required to complete an engineering communications course (INDE 6359). The engineering communications course is not required for the international students who score 150 or higher for the verbal section of the GRE exam.

Students are required to complete one year residency with full time enrollment.

Satisfactory performance on the Ph.D. screening examination and oral defense of proposal is required prior to final defense of the Ph.D. dissertation.

The Ph.D. degree will be confirmed upon the successful defense of the dissertation followed by submission of the approved copy of the dissertation to the UH Graduate School.

List of the IE Graduate Courses and Research Areas:

Engineering Management


Distribution & Logistics


Ergonomics/Occupational Safety/Human Factors Engineering


Academic Policies


Dissertation Advisory Committee

The candidate must select a dissertation advisory committee, whose composition is subject to the approval of the IE Graduate Program Director and the IE Department Chair.

  • The advisory committee must be composed of at least five faculty members, including at least three members from the IE department and two faculty members outside the department.
  • The IE Graduate Program Director and the IE Department Chair must approve any subsequent changes to the composition of this committee.
  • Students are not allowed to change committee members without the permission of the Ph.D. Program Director and the department chair. A formal petition must be submitted to the department for changing Ph.D. committee members.

Formal Dissertation Proposal

A formal written dissertation proposal must be submitted to the dissertation advisory committee in a timely manner after completing the Ph.D. screening examination. The student should provide committee members with a copy of the proposal approximately two weeks before the scheduled presentation.

Department Academic Policies

Graduate Academic Policies: Cullen College of Engineering  

University of Houston Academic Policies