Semi-whats?
Before she began her BU senior design project, Stephanie Prager ('08) didn't know the first thing about semiconductors. By the end of the semester, she was helping a semiconductor company improve its manufacturing process.
It's very rewarding to make these products that really do help people in their day-to-day lives.
After graduation, Stephanie started a job with a medical device company—even though she'd never worked with medical devices. Now she's an integral member of the company's quality control team.
Stephanie says getting up to speed in a new manufacturing field–whether it's semiconductor chips or spinal implants–is easy because BU gave her a strong engineering foundation and taught her how to learn.
"The engineering curriculum taught me how to understand new things," she says. "At BU, they teach you how to dive into problems and come up with effective solutions."
Manufacturing Engineering
Degrees Offered
Department Links
What Is Manufacturing Engineering?
Ever look at something and wonder “how’d they do that?” As a manufacturing engineer, you’ll know how. Manufacturing engineering encompasses all aspects of manufacturing products—designing everything from the mechanical and electrical components of the products, to automated assembly processes, to the supply chain that gets materials to the factory. Companies must produce their products at a competitive cost, so a successful manufacturing engineer has an understanding of business and economics in addition to hands-on technical skills. Manufacturing engineering is becoming increasingly sophisticated: researchers in the field are currently working to develop such things as fuel cells, robotic systems, green manufacturing processes and microelectromechanical devices and systems.
What Do Manufacturing Engineers Do?
Many of our graduates immediately find work in the manufacturing industry. In addition, our undergraduate students are often accepted into graduate engineering programs, MBA programs and law school (typically with the intention to study patent law).
Common job titles among our graduates include:
- Manufacturing engineer
- Process engineer
- Project manager
- Consulting analyst
- Quality engineer
Master of Science in Global Manufacturing
Degrees Offered
- Graduate & Post-Graduate
- Master of Science
- More Info
Boston University offers a Master of Science program in Global Manufacturing that exposes students to different engineering cultures and markets, and how to adapt products for use in varying environments. To train this new “global engineer,” the Global Manufacturing program provides students with both engineering skills and business know-how, and requires them to complete a portion of their coursework and research at our partner institution in Aachen, Germany.
Graduate Programs & Research Opportunities
Boston University is a pioneer in the field of manufacturing engineering and offers several master’s degree options for graduate students, including a distance learning program. Housed within the Mechanical Engineering Department, the Manufacturing Engineering program includes research in:
- Global Product Development
- Manufacturing Operations Management
- Systems and Operations Research
- Automation and Control in Manufacturing
- Engineered Materials and Processes
- MEMS/Microelectronics Fabrication
- Sensors & Instruments
- Lean Supply Chain Design
Where Do Our Alumni Work?
- General Electric
- Raytheon
- Pratt & Whitney
- Pepsi
- Boston Scientific
- Apple Computer
- Miller Brewing Company
Why Study At BU?
Boston University has a long history of educating manufacturing engineers. Our Department of Manufacturing Engineering—now part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering—was the first department of its kind in the country. Undergraduate students who concentrate in manufacturing engineering gain a valuable blend of business knowledge and hands-on engineering design experience. They create product prototypes with state-of-the-art 3D printers and can opt to complete their capstone design projects in real-world industry settings.
We offer a range of options for graduate study, including a Master of Science in Global Manufacturing, a dual MS/MBA program and concentrations in global product development, microelectronics fabrication, manufacturing operations management and several other specialties.
What Does BU Offer?
- Manufacturing Concentration for Undergraduates Majoring
in Mechanical Engineering - Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering
- Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
- Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering:
Distance Learning Program - Master of Science in Global Manufacturing
- MS/MBA Dual Degree in Manufacturing Engineering & Management
Visit the Mechanical Engineering website for more information.
Academics
- Find a Degree or Program
- Programs
- Special Programs
- Master of Engineering
- Graduate Certificate Programs
- Distance Learning Program
- Departments & Divisions
- Study Abroad
- Faculty