Industrial Engineering, PhD

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 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: BS to PhD, 72.0; MA to PhD, 54.0

PhD Degree Programs in the Cullen College of Engineering

List of the IE Graduate Courses and Research Areas

Academic Policies

• University of Houston Academic Policies  
• Graduate Academic Policies: Cullen College of Engineering  
• Department 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.