MBA+MS in Product Design & Manufacture
The Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Questrom School of Business offer a coordinated Master of Business Administration + Master of Science in Product Design & Manufacture, which is designed to train modern engineers to generate compelling new ideas—as well as the passion and leadership skills to translate those ideas into the practical design and mass production of innovative and cost-effective new products. Individuals taking courses on a full-time basis complete the program in two calendar years and receive two degrees. Students applying to this program must complete both the Questrom School of Business application and the College of Engineering application. Within each application, candidates should express his or her interest in this particular dual degree program. Candidates will then receive separate decisions from each school regarding admission to that portion of the dual degree. Please note that candidates may be admitted to one but not both of the schools in which the dual degrees are housed and may choose to pursue that individual degree. That said, they must be accepted by both schools in order to be eligible to complete the dual degree.
Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the dual MBA+MS in Product Design & Manufacture program will be able to:
- Understand contemporary issues in manufacturing engineering and the intimate relationship between product design and manufacturability.
- Develop knowledge of both contemporary manufacturing tactics and strategic manufacturing practice.
- Develop and implement analytic, communication, technical, and team-building skills.
- Recognize that technological change quickly obsoletes conventional design thinking.
- Create product designs that are sensitive to user needs and robust against unanticipated uses and misuse.
- Employ advanced prototyping methods to shorten design cycles and narrow alternatives without restricting innovation.
- Understand the process of converting customer needs into engineering specifications.
- Incorporate “Design for Manufacture” and “Design for Supply Chain” early in the engineering process.
- Learn how to predict and leverage technological and societal trends.
- Create safe, reliable, and cost-effective products.
- Understand and debate the roles and responsibilities of a product designer/manufacturer on society.
Program Requirements
Students pursuing the dual MBA+MS at the Questrom School of Business and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering (ENG) must give special attention to the course requirements of both schools. Students should meet with their academic advisors in both schools before the first semester and as needed during the program.
Dual Degree Requirements
Students may enroll in this dual degree program on a full- or part-time basis. A total of 80 credits is required of students pursuing this dual degree program full time. In this format, students must take 40 credits in residency at the Questrom School of Business. If completing the MBA as part of the PEMBA program, students need a total of 72 credits; 32 of these must be taken at Questrom. In either format, the remaining credits must include 32 credits taken at the College of Engineering and 8 credits taken at either school or, by permission, elsewhere in the University.
MBA Requirements
Full-time students complete the standard 34-credit MBA core curriculum through study in Questrom plus 6 credits of MBA electives. Part-time students complete a similar, but distinct, 32-credit MBA core curriculum, and they are not required to complete electives to meet their minimum Questrom enrollment for this dual degree.
Mechanical Engineering Requirements
Master of Science students are required to complete a minimum of 32 credit hours applicable to the degree according to the program planning sheet. All 32 credits must be at the 500 level or above. To graduate, a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (B) must be attained in the set of courses used to satisfy the program requirements for the degree.
Structured Course Requirements for MS in Product Design & Manufacture (with Practicum)
The 32 credits must be selected as follows:
- Four courses (16 credits) must be Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering Core courses:
- ME 690 Advanced Product Design (2 semesters/8 credits)
- ME 510 Production Systems Analysis
- ME 584 Manufacturing and Supply Chain Strategy
- One course (4 credits) must be a graduate-level engineering or physical science elective (any 500/700-level course from any department or division of the College of Engineering; or an appropriate course in the College of Arts & Sciences).
- Two courses (8 credits) must be Product Design and Manufacturing electives:
- ME 502 Intellectual Assets
- ME 507 Process Modeling and Control
- ME 517 Product Development
- ME 518 Product Quality
- ME 526 Simulation of Physical Processes
- ME 555 MEMS: Fabrication and Materials
- ME 579 Nano/Microelectronic Device Manufacturing
- BE 695 Advanced Biomedical Design and Development
- One course (4 credits) must be a Practicum option:
- ME 560 Precision Machine Design
- ME 606 Industrial Practicum
- EK 691 Lean and Agile New Product Development
Candidates are encouraged to contact the Department of Mechanical Engineering graduate programs coordinator, who will help them plan their curricula with an advisor at the time of first enrollment in the dual degree program.
For completion of the dual degree, students must be in compliance with time limits set by each school. Questrom School of Business and the College of Engineering require that dual degree requirements be completed within six years of matriculation.
Credit cannot be given for two or more courses having significant overlap (including overlap with courses that had been taken to fulfill the candidate’s undergraduate degree requirements).
