Manufacturing Systems Engineering

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A Master of Science (M.S.) Degree Program

The Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program (MSEP) degree provides a solid foundation for individuals seeking to manage manufacturing operations in internationally competitive environments. The highly flexible curriculum includes a wide variety of engineering and business classes. It allows graduates to build the cross-functional expertise required to drive creative product development, efficient production and timely delivery.

The MSE Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison combines the outstanding features of two top-ranked institutions: the College of Engineering and the Wisconsin School of Business. Based on a core curriculum, MSE students can tailor the master’s degree to their interests, choosing from a wide variety of courses in engineering and business. This integrated focus prepares engineers for top performance both on the shop floor as well as in the board room. MSE graduates have a unique understanding of today’s industrial environment and their mastery of issues from business strategy to technical operations provides them with excellent career opportunities.

How to Apply

Review information below carefully for how to apply for to the Master’s of Science in Manufacturing Systems Engineering program.

Admission to the master’s program in Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MSE) follows these steps:

Apply at the UW-Madison Graduate School.
Submit the required application materials to the MSE program (see the Admissions Requirements tab for more details on what should be sent to the MSE program). With the application deadline in mind and for other practical reasons, get started on this step while you complete your graduate school application.

The application deadline for entry in the fall semester is December 15.

After you have submitted all the application materials to the MSE program as well as the graduate school, we will review your qualifications and check if everything is complete. The MSE program will then recommend qualified candidates for admission to the graduate school.

If you have any questions about the admissions process to the MSE program, please contact us at mse@engr.wisc.edu.

Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MSE) provides many opportunities for students from different engineering backgrounds. Admission to this highly flexible master’s degree program is based on a holistic approach where grades, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, past work experience, English proficiency, and GRE test scores are taken into account. In general, the program admits students who have:

Earned an undergraduate engineering degree from an ABET-accredited program or its equivalent. A physical sciences degree coupled with considerable industry experience will also be considered.
Achieved an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
GRE scores greater than: Verbal Reasoning = 150, Quantitative Reasoning = 155, Analytical Writing = 4. TOEFL exam scores greater than IELTS = 7.0 or TOEFL internet = 92.
A minimum of two years of relevant industry experience and/or project work.

To enable the admissions review process, potential students must submit:

An official application to the UW-Madison Graduate School.
Official transcripts from the institution granting the undergraduate degree sent directly to the MSE Program either electronically sent to mse@engr.wisc.edu or by direct mail to the mailing address below.
Recommendation letters submitted electronically through the online application with the Graduate School by three persons who are familiar with you and your work.
A statement of purpose sent included in the online application with the Graduate School.
TOEFL exam scores for all students who completed their B.S. degree outside of the United States.
A résumé sent directly to the MSE Program to mse@engr.wisc.edu.

Mailing Address:

Attn: Manufacturing Systems Engineering – Grad Admissions
UW Madison / College of Engineering
3182 Mechanical Engineering
Madison, WI 53706

Students receiving their undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison can complete the M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering in one year after graduating with their B.S. Undergraduate students from UW-Madison:

Do not need to submit GRE scores when applying.
Do not need to have 2 years of work experience. We are looking for industrial internship and/or coop experience.
Can transfer up to 7 credits of courses from their B.S. degree to their M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering. To transfer, courses must be 400-level and above. They must also be courses that would normally count towards the M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering.

Application Steps

Admission to the master’s program in Manufacturing Systems Engineering (MSE) follows these steps:

Apply at the UW-Madison Graduate School.
Submit the required application materials to the MSE program (see the Admissions Requirements tab for more details on what should be sent to the MSE program). With the application deadline in mind and for other practical reasons, get started on this step while you complete your graduate school application.

The application deadline for entry in the fall semester is December 15.

If you have any questions about the admissions process to the MSE program, please contact us at mse@engr.wisc.edu.

Admissions Requirements

Earned an undergraduate engineering degree from an ABET-accredited program or its equivalent. A physical sciences degree coupled with considerable industry experience will also be considered.
Achieved an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
GRE scores greater than: Verbal Reasoning = 150, Quantitative Reasoning = 155, Analytical Writing = 4. TOEFL exam scores greater than IELTS = 7.0 or TOEFL internet = 92.
A minimum of two years of relevant industry experience and/or project work.

To enable the admissions review process, potential students must submit:

An official application to the UW-Madison Graduate School.
Official transcripts from the institution granting the undergraduate degree sent directly to the MSE Program either electronically sent to mse@engr.wisc.edu or by direct mail to the mailing address below.
Recommendation letters submitted electronically through the online application with the Graduate School by three persons who are familiar with you and your work.
A statement of purpose sent included in the online application with the Graduate School.
TOEFL exam scores for all students who completed their B.S. degree outside of the United States.
A résumé sent directly to the MSE Program to mse@engr.wisc.edu.

Mailing Address:

Attn: Manufacturing Systems Engineering – Grad Admissions
UW Madison / College of Engineering
3182 Mechanical Engineering
Madison, WI 53706

UW-Madison Undergraduates

Do not need to submit GRE scores when applying.
Do not need to have 2 years of work experience. We are looking for industrial internship and/or coop experience.
Can transfer up to 7 credits of courses from their B.S. degree to their M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering. To transfer, courses must be 400-level and above. They must also be courses that would normally count towards the M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering.

Frequently Asked Questions by Prospective Students

Why should I get an MSEP degree instead of an MBA?

MSEP graduates possess a unique understanding of today’s industrial environment, combining advanced technical knowledge with relevant managerial expertise. Topics that are relevant to manufacturing competitiveness today include Design for Assembly, Design for Manufacture, CIM Systems, Concurrent Engineering, Rapid Prototyping, Robotics, Controls, and more. In-depth coverage of these topics requires many technical prerequisites. Such courses do not easily fit in an engineering undergraduate sequence and, clearly, the topics are too technical to be covered in a business school curriculum. In view of the trends in manufacturing today, many firms are opting to fast-track MSEP students for management positions instead of the MBAs that they have traditionally utilized.

Why should I get an MSEP degree instead of a Master's in Mechanical, Industrial or Electrical Engineering?

While degrees in specialized disciplines will always have their place, manufacturing firms also need technical people whose knowledge can span across disciplines. Competitiveness today is highly dependent on teamwork and communication. MSEP graduates have been very successful at coordinating and implementing advanced manufacturing projects that require communication among mechanical, electrical, industrial and process engineers, and management.

What distinguishes UW-Madison's MSEP program from other universities?

Our MSEP program is unique in many ways. It was the first Manufacturing Systems (MSEP) program to be established in the United States. The MSEP program was the recipient of a four million dollar award by IBM as one of five institutions selected. In addition, the program received the University LEAD Award in 1988 from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and that same year, the World Bank chose the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a partner in a three-year study on International Manufacturing Competitiveness. The program has maintained a healthy mix of strong ties to industry and innovative research in theoretical aspects of manufacturing systems. Thus, students are exposed to both practical problems and cutting-edge theoretical concepts.

Graduate Student Handbook (updated September 2019)

Forms for Current Students

Study Plan

Click here for a fillable PDF of the Study Plan that must be updated each semester

Course Transfer / Substitution

Click here for fillable PDF forms and draft letter needed to transfer courses and request course substitutions for classes taken at another institution.

Click here for fillable PDF forms and draft letter needed to transfer courses and request course substitutions for classes taken as a Special Student at UW-Madison.

Add / Change of Degree or Specialization

Click here for the form to add or change a degree program.

Faculty

All Faculty

Gregory A. DeCroix

Grainger Professor in Supply Chain Management
Wisconsin School of Business
E-mail: gdecroix@bus.wisc.edu
Website: https://business.wisc.edu/directory/profile/greg-decroix

Rafael Lazimy
Associate Professor, Operations & Information Management
Wisconsin School of Business
E–mail: rlazimy@bus.wisc.edu
Website: https://bus.wisc.edu/faculty/rafi-lazimy

Jingshan Li
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
E-mail: jingshan@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Li_Jingshan/

Kaibo Liu
Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
E-mail: kliu8@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Liu_Kaibo/

Miron Livny
Professor, Computer Science
E–mail: miron@cs.wisc.edu
Website: https://www.cs.wisc.edu/people/miron

Ella Mae Matsumura
Professor, Accounting & Information Systems
Wisconsin School of Business
E-mail: ematsumura@bus.wisc.edu
Website: https://bus.wisc.edu/faculty/ella-mae-matsumura

Sangkee Min
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
E–mail: sangkee.min@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Min_Sangkee/

Michael Oliva
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
E–mail: oliva@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/cee/faculty/oliva_michael

Tim A. Osswald
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
E–mail: tosswald@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Osswald_Tim/

Frank E. Pfefferkorn (Director)
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: frank.pfefferkorn@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Pfefferkorn_Frank/

Robert G. Radwin
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
E-mail: radwin@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Radwin_Robert/

Bin Ran
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
E-mail: bran@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/cee/faculty/ran_bin

Shiva Rudraraju
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Email: shiva.rudraraju@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Rudraraju_Shiva/

Leyuan Shi
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
E-mail: leyuan@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Shi_Leyuan/

Kumar Sridharan
Distinguished Research Professor, Engineering Physics
E-mail: kumar.sridharan@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ep/faculty/sridharan_kumar

Donald S. Stone
Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
E-mail: dsstone@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/mse/Faculty/Stone_Donald/

Krishnan Suresh
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: ksuresh@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Suresh_Krishnan/l

Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: turng@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Turng_Lih-sheng/

Raj Veeramani
Professor, College of Engineering and School of Business
E-mail: raj.veeramani@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Veeramani_Raj/

Xin Wang
Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
E-mail: xin.wang@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Wang_Xin/

Urban Wemmerlöv
Professor, Operations & Information Management
Wisconsin School of Business
E-mail: urban.wemmerlov@wisc.edu
Website: https://business.wisc.edu/directory/profile/urban-wemmerlov/

Shiyu Zhou
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
E-mail: szhou@engr.wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/ie/Faculty/Zhou_Shiyu/

Michael Zinn
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: mzinn@wisc.edu
Website: https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/me/Faculty/Zinn_Michael/

Executive Committee

Jingshan Li, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Tim Osswald, Mechanical Engineering

Frank Pfefferkorn, Director, Mechanical Engineering

Robert Radwin, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Leyuan Shi, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Lih Sheng (Tom) Turng, Mechanical Engineering

Raj Veeramani, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Urban Wemmerlöv, School of Business

Shiyu Zhou, Industrial and Systems Engineering

If you are interested in the online Master’s of Engineering degree in Manufacturing systems, visit the online degree website for more information.